The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

By Kody Farmer

BCJ Sports

The Chinook Sugarbeeters football team looked to bounce back after suffering a difficult loss to start to season. They traveled west to face the Simms Tigers in another big Northern C clash.

The team wasted little time and getting the upper hand on the Tigers, scoring four times in the first quarter on their way to a commanding 36 - 8 win. The victory would even their season record at 1-1.

The Sugarbeeters took the opening kickoff and were intent on getting points their first possession.

The drive seemed to stall as the 'Beeters found themselves in a fourth and three situation early in the possession.

Senior Kade Friede ran hard picking up six yards to the Simms 32-yard line, keeping the 'Beeter drive going.

Senior Tate Niederegger gained 34 yards on second down to put the 'Beeters in business at the Tiger 1-yard line. Friede then scored with 9:32 left in the opening stanza to put Chinook on top 6-0.

On the 'Beeters first defensive play of the game Friede stepped in front of a errant Tiger pass for a nice interception to give Chinook the ball back.

On first-down a Friede run of 13 yards was followed by a penalty on the Tigers giving Chinook the ball just eight yards shy of the end zone.

Again the 'Beeters found themselves in a fourth down situation, this time five yards from paydirt.

Niederegger would score his first touchdown of the game to give Chinook a 12-0 lead with 6:30 remaining in the first quarter.

Senior Michael Warburton made a great stop onthe Simms ball carrier on first down. The Tigers followed that play with a loss of eight and were going backwards.

Senior Kyle McMaster stood tall and defense and intercepted the Tiger pass returning it the all the way to the 2-yard line to give Chinook the ball back late in the first quarter.

Friede scored his second touchdown of the game, this time from two yards out with 3:35 left in the first to give Chinook a 18-0 lead.

The 'Beeters were stout again on defense the ensuing Tiger possession, forcing them into a fourth and seven situation.

Chinook brought pressure on the punt, forcing a bad snap that went over the head of the punter.

Senior Kyler Johnson was Johnny on the spot and recovered the ball for the Sugarbeeters setting them up once again with great field position.

The 'Beeters wasted little time in finding the end zone as Niederegger scored his second touchdown of the game using his speed to get the corner and score from 12 yards out with just 1:15 left in the opening quarter. The touchdown gave the 'Beeters a commanding 24-0 lead heading into the second quarter.

Chinook's defense would hold the Tigers scoreless in the second stanza and was highlighted by a great interception by sophomore Brendan Edwards.

The Chinook offense was also held scoreless and the teams went to halftime with Chinook holding a 24-0 advantage.

The 'Beeters would get the offense rolling again in the third quarter has they scored on their second possession of the half.

A nice run by Niederegger set the 'Beeters up with good position at the Tiger eight yard line. Friede rolled to his left where he would eventually find sophomore James Christensen for an eight yard touchdown pass and a 30-0 Chinook advantage.

The 'Beeter defense again forced a turnover as Niederegger recovered a fumble giving the 'Beeters back the ball with 6:11 remaining in the third quarter.

Following a seven yard pass from Friede to Christensen Chinooks offense would advance the ball to midfield with a nine yard run.

Friede would eventually score on a 5-yard run easily finding the end zone to give Chinook 36-0 lead with 1:55 remaining in the third.

The 36 point advantage meant that the clock would now continue to run due to the mercy rule employed in class C football.

The Tigers added a score late to make the final tally 36-6 in favor of the 'Beeters.

Chinook's impressive win put their season back on track and evened their season mark at 1-1.

Niederegger finished the contest with 159 yards and two scores on 24 carries. Friede scored three times and gained 56 yards on 19 attempts.

Warburton recorded six solo stops, picked up a quarterback sack and recovered a fumble in a solid effort.

Johnson finished with eight tackles including the 19 yard loss on the punt.

Friede, McMaster and Edwards all picked off Tiger passes.

"The defense played really well and we moved the ball very well on offense," said Kade Friede. "We gotta cut down on our miscues but it is always a great feeling to get a win in Simms."

Tammy Edwards

manhandles the Tiger runner during first quarter action of the 'Beeters 36-6 Norther C win.

Head coach Scott Friede and the coaching staff were also very happy with the teams performance, "Against Simms I thought our defensive line played very well. They got a lot better last week. Because of that our defense looked much better. We moved the ball pretty good most of the night. We had fewer mistakes and put together some good drives."

Chinook will be on the road again this week as they will travel to Belt on Friday to face the Huskies.

This early season battle potentially could have huge implications on the post season and Friede will have his team ready, "Belt has a good looking team. We will have to continue to prepare hard. The Green kid has good speed and we will definitely have to contain him to have a chance," concluded Friede.

Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.