Chiefs use ground attack to surge past Indians in 2nd half
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BROWNING — When things are going wrong for the Ronan Chiefs, they go back to the basics and do what they do best; running straight at their opponents, and that was too bad for the Browning Indians Friday night.
After losing two of their running backs in the opening minutes in Browning Friday and falling behind the Indians at halftime, the Chiefs started running the ball up the gut in the second half, scoring 22 straight points in a 28-14 season-opening victory.
“In the second half we got back to doing what we do best. We started pounding the ball and exerting our will on the line of scrimmage,” Ronan coach Jim Benn said.
Even with their two starting running backs Lucas Black and J.J. Tanner only combining for five carries before being sidelined with injuries, running behind the big offensive line, the Chiefs averaged 6.4 yards a carry, rushing for 306 yards on 48 carries.
Marcus Hungerford, who started the game as a wide receiver, led the Chiefs with 84 yards on three carries. Most of those yards came on a 56-yard TD scamper that gave the Chiefs a 14-8 lead early in the second half.
Ronan QB Robbie Gauthier added to their lead with a 3-yard run. Gauthier finished with 57 yards on 19 carries and also threw for a touchdown in the first quarter.
Jack Humphreys finished the scoring for Ronan with a 35-yard run.
Dallas Jore, the only starting running back to make it through the entire game, finished with 75 yards on nine carries.
“He didn’t run like a sophomore,” Benn said of Jore. “He ran tough.”
After taking a 6-0 lead on a 9-yard TD reception by tight end Gordon North Piegan, the Chiefs were in disarray the rest of the first half and went into the break trailing 8-6 after a 38-yard touchdown run by Browning quarterback Charles Old Chief in the second quarter.
“I’m real proud of how the kids responded to the situation,” Benn said. “Even when their backs were against the wall, there weren’t any excuses. There was no panic. Nobody freaked out. They did what we needed to do to.”
“Am I completely happy with how we played the game, no. But the kids did what they needed to do to win the game and that’s the important thing.”
The long touchdown run by the Indians’ quarterback was about the only mistake the Chief defense made on the night – Browning’s second touchdown didn’t come until very late in the fourth quarter when the game had already been decided.
The Chiefs held Browning to 172 yards offensive yards and smothered their running attack. The Indians only averaged 2.2 yards a carry, finishing with 103 yards on 47 carries.
“Anytime you can hold a team to two yards a carry, you’ve got a real good chance to win. You’re going to win more often than you’re not if you can do that,” Benn said.
The Chiefs travel to Stevensville to take on the Yellowjackets, who are coming off of an upset over Columbia Falls.
Summary
Ronan 28, Browning 14
Ronan 6 0 14 8–28
Browning 0 8 0 6–14
R - Gordon North Piegan 9 pass from Robbie Gauthier (pass failed)
B - Charles Old Chief 38 run (Ethan Foote run)
R - Marcus Hungerford 56 run (pass failed)
R - Gauthier 3 run (Robert Faoa pass from Gauthier)
R - Jack Humphreys 35 run (Dallas Jore pass from Gauthier)
B - Curt Red Crow 14 pass from Zach Wagner (run failed)
