Beavers stymie Maroons
By Bruce Sayler, of The Montana Standard - 11/11/2007

DILLON — Dillon marched down the field and scored.

Second verse? Same as the first.

So, the anthem played on for the Dillon Beavers, who are good and showed it Saturday, never punting, never trailing and defeating old nemesis Butte Central 45-8 in the semifinals of the state Class A high school football playoffs. The game was played at Vigilante Field on a sunny, 50-some-degree temperature fall day, unusually mild for mid-November, with occasional strong winds.

A big crowd took time away from hunting to mostly fill the bleachers and stand, ringing part way around the playing field. Another one might show up next Saturday when the Beavers will try to avenge their only loss of the season. They’ll play Billings Central at 1 p.m. at Vigilante Field for the state championship, Dillon seeking its third straight and trying to do it against an undefeated squad that handed the Beavers a 20-8 non-conference loss the second week of this season.

Heads are gonna knock.

Billings Central creamed Libby 45-0 in Saturday’s other semifinal. Libby had been undefeated on the field, but forfeited a first-week win over Kellogg, Idaho, over use of an ineligible freshman.

“Defensively, we didn’t give up the big play,” said Dillon head coach Terry Thomas, telling what he thought was the most important element in the Beavers beating Butte Central. “It was important too keep them up front and not give up the cheap scores. We did a good job of that.

“Offensively, I thought we did a nice job of run and pass blocking. It gave Bryce (Carver, quarterback) time to find his receiver and allowed us to mix in the run, which was important.”

Carver, a 6-foot, 160-pound junior, totaled 454 yards in total offense with four touchdowns. He ran behind an all-senior offensive line for touchdowns measuring 1, 30 and 15 yards, and threw to Michael Allen for a 37-yard TD pass. The Beavers never punted, but did suffer an interception and three lost fumbles. Two of the fumbles, however, occurred late as the clocking was winding down.

“Our line is the best there is, I think,” Carver said. “I give them a lot of credit.”

The QB indicated that maybe more passing was in the Dillon game plan, but weather became a factor and so he ended up being more of a runner than a thrower in this game, though he showed plenty of prowess in both ways to attack.

“I think the wind altered Coach’s calls on the pass,” Carver said, “and the line hit run (assignments) perfectly.”

The Beavers were bigger and older at most positions in the trench and cashed in the physical advantage. The spots were mostly manned by Hartz, Adam LaPierre, Ben Christensen, Brock Myllymaki and Cory Eisenzimer. Also, a good Dillon secondary blanketed the Maroons’ corps of receivers, forcing Ritter to try to make something from nothing on out-of-the-pocket escapes.

“The biggest thing I can remark on about this game is Dillon is very good,” Butte Central head coach Don Peoples Jr. said. “They’re big, have great speed and they’re very physical.”

The Beavers led 17-0 after the first quarter and 31-8 at halftime. Jake McGinley’s 24-yard run with 5:07 left in the third quarter gave Dillon the 45-8 margin and the clock then ran continuously to game’s end on the 35-point difference rule.

Dillon’s other touchdown was by slotback Jackson Berkram when Carver bounced a fumble and Berkram gathered it in on the Maroons’ 7-yard line and took it on in for the score. Tim Goins kicked a 31-yard field goal in the first quarter.

Butte Central’s touchdown was by Ritter on a 1-yard plunge at the 1:24 mark of the second quarter. It was Ritter’s 29th rushing TD of the season, tying a state record. Mike Kowalski had 29 rushing touchdowns for Cut Bank in 1990. Combined with his 18 touchdown passes thrown this season, Ritter finished the season with 47 TDs, also a state record. He has 43 rushing touchdowns in his career.

The Maroons finished a 9-2 season. Ritter was held to 88 yards rushing and 72 passing by the Dillon defense. He was hurried much and had six of his aerials dropped by receivers as went 6-for-25 with two interceptions in the air game. Freshman Jon Richards was Butte Central’s leading receiver with two catches for 47 yards.

Carver connected on 12 of 17 attempts. Five of the completions were to Allen, good for 105 yards.

“I’m proud of our kids,” Peoples said. “This is a hard way to end the year because we had a real good season. I’m really proud of the accomplishments.

“It’s always tough to see a great senior class go, too. These kids contributed a lot to the program. They set some examples and were great role models.”

The opening kickoff carried into the end zone and so Butte Central set up shop on its own 20-yard line. Ritter gained 13 yards on a third-and-eight for firstdown. The Maroons picked up another one on a 41-yard Ritter-to-Richards pass play. But the Dillon defense dug in, and then a holding penalty hurt the drive. It died on a fourth-down incompletion at the Beavers’ 27-yard line.

Carver took off on a 27-yard run on second down, then connected with Allen for 18 yards and another first down. The Maroons flushed Carver out of the pocket, but he scrambled for 18 yards before being hauled down at the Butte Central 1-yard line. Carver went over the goal line on the next play, Conor Hartz kicked the extra point and Dillon had the lead for good.

Dillon faced third down on offense only six times, twice after reserves went in late in the contest. It converted four of the third-down situations, wound up kicking a field goal on an enusing fourth down, and turned the ball over on downs in the other instance.

Adam Fine intercepted a pass for Butte Central, which launched the Maroons’ scoring drive. Brett Lasher and Sean Ferriter each recovered fumbles.

Robert Sawyer recovered a Butte Central fumble for Dillon to set up a TD, and Berkram stole the ball from Fine in a pile-up to set up another. Brandon Robinson had an intercpetion for the Beavers late in the game.

The game was the last for Butte Central for Marooons seniors Jake Hogart, J.D. Holland, Ritter, Fine, Jared Peters, Tanner Neumann, Zack Bair and Lasher.

Dillon will take a 9-1 record into next week’s state championship game.

Notes — Dillon students handed out ribbons honoring Mariah McCarthy at the stadium entrances in the memory of a Butte girl who died two weeks ago from being hit by a vehicle while walking with friends. Many Butte Central players had Mohawk-styled haircuts in honor of Mairissa Peoples, a Butte Central junior and daughter of their head coach. She is undergoing cancer treatments in Seattle.

Butte Central 0 8 0 0 — 8

Dillon 17 14 14 0 — 45

First Quarter

DIL — Bryce Carver 1 run (Conor Hartz kick), 5:57. Drive — 73 yards in 7 plays. Key play — Carver 18-yard scramble to Butte Central 1-yard line.

DIL — FG Tim Goins 31, 1:42. Drive — 54 yards in 9 plays. Key play — Stephen Resset 15-yard pass from Carver to Butte Central 28-yard line.

DIL — Michael Allen 37 pass from Carver (Hartz kick), 2:05. Drive — 62 yards in 2 plays. Key play — Allen 25-yard pass from Carver to Butte Central 37-yard line.

Second Quarter

DIL — Carver 30 run (Hartz kick), 11:40. Drive — 30 yards in 1 play. Key play — Robert Sawyer recovered Butte Central fumble at Butte Central 30-yard line.

BC — Matt Ritter 1 run (Ritter run), 1:24. Drive — 54 yards in 15 plays. Key play — Four penalties for 17 yards and two first downs against Dillon in scoring drive.

DIL — Carver 15 run (Hartz kick), :52. Drive — 65 yards in 4 plays. Key play — Stephen Resset 7-yard pass from Carver and 15-yard penalty against Butte Central on same play to Butte Central 43-yard line.

Third Quarter

DIL — Jackson Berkram 7 fumble recovery (Hartz kick), 7:50. Drive — 65 yards in 12 plays. Key play — Carver 9-yard run to Butte Central 17-yard line.

DIL — Jake McGinley 24 run (Hartz kick), 5:07. Drive — 67 yards in 5 plays. Key play — Cody Russell 22-yard run to Butte Central 24-yard line.

BC Dil

First downs 11 24

Rushes-yards 26-102 39-257

Passes 6-25-2 12-17-1

Passing yards 72 197

Return yards 0 69

Punts-avg. 5-45 0-0

Fumbles-lost 4-2 5-3

Penalties-yards 6-50 7-42

Individual Statistics

Rushing — Butte Central, Matt Ritter 19-88, Adam Fine 7-14. Dillon, Bryce Carver 17-144, Cody Russell 12-76, Jake McGinley 1-24, Brandon Robinson 5-16, Jackson Berkram 0-7, Matt Sawyer 1-1, Brock Myllymaki 1-(-2), Pete Waldie 2-(-5).

Passing — Butte Central, Ritter 6-25-2-72. Dillon, Carver 12-17-1-197.

Receiving — Butte Central, Jon Richards 2-47, Fine 3-24, Jake Hogart 1-1. Dillon, Michael Allen 5-105, Russell 3-41, Berkram 2-29, Resset 2-22.