Spartans Were In It To Win It But Came Up Just A Little Short

The last paragraph in last week’s issue of this newspaper on this same page stated the following: “Simply put, the Spartans had numerous opportunities to score (against Culbertson) but failed to do so (in a 25-0 loss). If they take advantage of those same type of opportunities in Fairview they indeed have a chance of winning Friday night!”

There were probably many Leader readers out there thinking “yeah right.”

After all, the Scobey varsity football team (4-3, 216-107, 30.8-15.2) was visiting Starr Field in Fairview Friday, October 11, for a 7 p.m. East C Division 8-man contest. The hometown Warriors, the current Montana High School Association defending Class C 8-man state champion, brought a 6-0 record into the matchup, as well as an 18game winning streak dating back to the 2023 season.

Fairview (7-0, 342-106, 48.8-15.1) was sitting pretty with a 28-8 lead with 3:49 left in the third quarter but the Spartans were not ready to throw in the towel yet.

Starting their sixth offensive possession from their own 15-yard line, the Scobey boys rushed the ball five consecutive times, with quarterback Brecken Maher and runningback Torsten Lamb sharing the carries. It was third-and-8 from their own 27-yard line when head coach Brock Berryhill called a timeout with 1:16 remaining in the quarter. Maher had to scramble to his right (south) to elude defensive pressure chasing him, heaving a bomb flying east and being close to 47 or so yards in the air. His target was senior tight end Ryan Halverson, who was very tightly covered along the south sideline but some how some way made the catch for a 43-yard gain at the 10-yard line. Two plays later Maher and Halverson hooked up again through the air for a 5-yard touchdown making it a two-possession game with 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The 2-point conversion rush did not have the ball breaking the goal-line plane, leaving the score at 28-14.

The two teams swap...