It was close call win for the Thompson Falls Bluehawks last Friday at Deer Lodge with only a seven to zero win over the District 6-B Wardens.

The first quarter and second quarters proved difficult for the Bluehawks as Deer Lodge shut the door on all their attempts to drive the ball down the field. Bluehawk Coach Doug Padden said that the team was forced to use their passing skills and good ball control before they could see any real gains.

In the third quarter the Bluehawks were finally able to find an opening in Deer Lodge’s defense as a few good plays allowed Hayden Cristaldi to make a four-yard charge into the end zone that was followed by a successful point after kicker Owen Rafuse.

“[Deer Lodge] did a pretty good job shutting down our running game. We had to go with a passing attack,” Padden said, and credited his defense highly for keeping to the team’s philosophy of being “men that don’t break.”

Offensively, Padden wanted to credit the team’s tight end Mike Wood, a junior, for making some critical catches that allowed the team to move down the field to make the game winning touchdown. Wood totaled 95 yards in five catches. “They were blitzing our middle pretty good, but Mike wood made some pretty critical catches,” Padden said.

Team progress was also a big theme of the night for Padden. He said that with this game, he was able to watch the Bluehawks push forward both defensively and offensively, refining their technique.

“Every game I see improvement and that to me is the most important thing,” Padden said.

For upcoming games, Padden said he expects their defense to continue displaying their chops, but he also expect to work harder with his offense on more fundamentals.

“We have a developing offense,” Padden said. He explained that at the moment the team is trying to create balance between a strong running offense and a strong receiving offense.

“My goal right now is to have balanced attack,” he added. “I want to pass the ball as much as possible and I also want to put it on the ground. When you become predictable you become beatable.”

The Bluehawk Coach also said he understands the game was very close and attributed this to the great preparation by Deer Lodge, “They did prepare well for us and the game could have easily gone either way,” Padden said.

Deer Lodge quarterback Patrick Wakefield threw 179 yards on 16 of 44 passes while Bluehawks’ quarterback Brandon Wakefield was 9 of 18 for 126 yards. The game drops the Wardens to 0-2 for the season and boosts the Bluehawks 2-0.