With a convincing 53-6 win at Tri-City, the Big Sandy Pioneers have won half the North in Montana 6-man football.
The victory sets up a meeting with the Northern 'A' winner for the top seed out of this "quarter" of the state Friday, Oct. 25, or Saturday, Oct. 26. Undefeated Power-Dutton-Brady (5-0) is the most likely opponent for Big Sandy.
Big Sandy Athletic Director Melanie Schwarzbach said the initial deciding factor in where the game would be played tips in favor of the team who has played fewer home games. However, Big Sandy and PDB are each scheduled to play their fourth home game in Week 7, in the latter's case a Monday, Oct. 14, makeup contest against Sunburst, which snow postponed back in Week 5. Schwarzbach said Sunday she was reaching out to the coach from Geraldine-Highwood who oversees administration of the 'A' division for further clarification on procedures to determine the host.
PDB is the 'A' favorite but may not clinch until and unless they defeat Sunburst. It is unlikely, but those who are fans of utter chaos should root for a Geraldine-Highwood win against PDB as it could create a 3-way tie at 3-1 atop the North, between the Rivals, PDB and Denton-Geyser-Stanford, if the Bearcats beat Sunburst Friday in North Toole County and the Refiners were then to fall Monday at PDB.
The Pioneers returned to a successful M.O. of big plays to gain their latest win, especially Kade Strutz runs-to-daylight to rack up pinball-like numbers of yards. Strutz's first pair of touchdowns in the first quarter went for 52 and 70 yards before he completed the hat trick with a 15-yard scamper to push to a 26-0 lead early in the second period.
In between, Brady Pleninger caught his first TD pass on the season, a 46-yard connection with quarterback Parker Proulx.
The next Pioneer six came airmailed from Proulx to Strutz from 20 yards out. Strutz ran another in 41 yards from midfield to make it 40-0 against the co-op of Hobson, Moore and Judith Gap.
Enter Strutz the Younger.
Kody Strutz took a pick-six to the house from 35 yards out for a 47-0 edge at the break. He later added the Pioneers' lone second-half score via a 35-yard scramble after the Titans' Rhett Patnode broke one for 38 yards to the end zone, avoiding a goose-egg for the night.
Kade Strutz finished with 193 yards on a mere 7 carries and Proulx had a perfect 4-for-4 night, throwing the ball for 80 yards. Darlington and Ryan Roth each added an interception, while Elijah Wagoner racked up a game-high 6.5 tackles.
The Pioneers (6-0) come home to wrap up their league slate against Heart Butte (0-5) for Chili Feed. The junior high season finale kicks off at 4 p.m. with varsity set for 7 p.m.
Week 6 media polls across the state barely budged as only one Week 5 "upset" nudged MonDak in - and Tri-City out - of the 406MTSports.com Top 10. Big Sandy remained atop the Great Falls Tribune Top 5 and second to defending state champ Wibaux in the MontanaSports.com, 406MTSports and Treasure State Media polls. Week 6 results/Week 7 scheduled matchups for the 406MTSports.com Top 10 appear below. Big Sandy diehards will be most interested in the Jordan-Wibaux contest. It will likely decide the Eastern champion, through which a state title run will likely need to pass this season.
1. Wibaux (5-0): won 59-0 at Custer-Hysham, next vs. No. 5 Jordan
2. Big Sandy (6-0): won 53-6 at Tri-City, next vs. Heart Butte
3. Hot Springs (6-0): def. Noxon, 67-28, next at Sheridan
4. Power-Dutton-Brady (5-0): def. Harlowton-Ryegate, 28-12, next at Geraldine-Highwood
5. Jordan (5-1): won 68-19 at Savage, next at No. 1 Wibaux
6. Richey-Lambert (4-2): won 36-32 at MonDak, next vs. Savage
7. MonDak (4-2): lost 36-32 to Richey-Lambert, next at Froid-Medicine Lake
8. White Sulphur Springs (4-2): def. Sheridan, 65-12, next at Valley Christian of Missoula in Alberton
9. Shields Valley (5-1): won 47-15 at Broadview-Lavina, next at Roy-Winifred
10. Geraldine-Highwood (3-2): lost 19-6 at Denton-Geyser-Stanford, next vs. Power-Dutton-Brady
