Throughout their years playing for the Hot Springs Savage Heat, now graduated seniors Jack McAllister and Kyle Lawson were often the two best players on the football field.

The two best friends carried the Savage Heat to four straight winning seasons as the Heat ruled the roost in Western Montana six-man football.

They would then transition to the basketball courts where the pair were a matchup headache for opposing coaches with their husting, hard-nosed play.

McAllister and Lawson, which sounds like a good name for a law firm, hooked up routinely on pass and catch touchdowns, rapid attack running plays and stellar efforts on the defensive side of the ball.

They were, by all accounts, a “generational” duo that not just six-man, but all other classes of football coaches dream of coaching and having on the field of play.

And although their Red Team (Western players) succumbed to an epic 34-28 comeback win by the Blue Team (Eastern players), McAllister and Lawson showcased their ample skills one more time in a wild and damp game played in Custer, Montana this past Saturday.

McAllister, who is among other things pursuing a rodeo career on the Montana pro circuit, ran and passed his way to offensive co-MVP. He shared the award with Shields Valley standout Dylan Flatt.

Lawson also had an impressive game, hauling in a five-yard touchdown pass from White Sulphur Springs quarterback Sam Davis in the opening minutes of the second quarter, then breaking free on a 55-yard TD scamper in the third quarter as the Red Team fought to hold onto a 22-8 first half lead.

Lawson’s long scoring run came after a lengthy weather-related delay due to heavy rains that soaked the Custer field.

But the Blue team, which featured several players from the 2022 State 6-man champion Froid-Medicine Lake squad, had cut the lead to 22-16 in the opening minutes of the third quarter. The Eastern team was then awarded two points when a safety was called on the Red Team for kneeling on the ball in the end zone making it 22-18 in favor of the Eastern squad.

Then came Lawson’s burst which put the West back up 28-18. After that it was all Blue team as Froid-Medicine Lakes wideout Ashdyn Hobbs hauled in a pair of scoring strike that, when coupled with a pair of successful PAT kicks, put the East up 34-28 as time ran out.

The game had been interrupted in the early moments of the third quarter when a nasty rain storm, complete with lightning and thunder, passed through the area. The storm caused a 79-minute delay before play was resumed.

The game was likely the last as teammates for McAllister and Lawson. As McAllister hits the rodeo trail and pursues training in welding, Lawson will be off to Montana-Western in Dillon on a football/academic scholarship.

Lawson has also been selected to play in the Montana East-West Shrine game, a gathering of the top players from all classifications of Montana high school football. That game is set for Saturday, June 18 in Great Falls.