[Editor's Note: This story was inadvertently omitted from last week's edition of the Valley Press/Mineral Independent.]

It was a good day to be a Hot Springs sports fan.

After a highly successful role as host of the District 14C volleyball playoffs Thursday and Friday, including a second seed finish by the Hot Springs Lady Savage Heat that included an upset over top-seed Charlo, the playoff spotlight swung to the football team.

And the unbeaten Savage Heat responded in fine fashion, crafting a 40-6 win over the visiting Valier Panthers Saturday afternoon.

With three to four foot banks of snow ringing the freshly shoveled and remarkably green grass of the football field, the Heat opened the first round of their six-player football championship quest when junior tight end/defensive end David Chapman plunged through the Valier defense on a one-yard run that capped a long Heat drive fueled by several long runs from junior Weston Slonaker.

The PAT kick, which is worth two points at the six-player level, was wide left, leaving the home team with 6-0 lead with just under a minute to play in the opening quarter.

Hot Springs running back Slonaker doubled the Savage Heat lead with less than one minute gone in the second quarter when he broke free around the left side and outran the Valier defense for a 20-yard touchdown. The PAT kick was no good, but with 9:04 left in the first half, Hot Springs held a 12-0 lead.

Later in the second quarter junior running back Johnny Waterbury hauled in a five-yard TD pass from junior QB Nick McAllister. This time the PAT kick was good, boosting the Savage Heat advantage to 20-0 with 1:43 to play before the intermission.

Valier took the ensuing kickoff and put together several long runs to move the ball to the Hot Springs 13 yard line in the first minutes of the third quarter. On the next play from scrimmage, Valier running back Chance Horn tossed a 13-yard scoring pass to senior lineman Tristen Valdez, (linemen are eligible receivers in six-player football) cutting the Hot Springs lead to 20-6.

The next Savage Heat possession, which began when Hot Springs pounced on an onside kick attempt that set the Heat up on the Valier 38 yard line, was temporarily marred when McAllister was injured and lay on the ground for several minutes. However the gritty junior was eventually able to get up and walk to the sidelines. Moments later, after testing the injured leg with some sideline sprints, McAllister returned to the game.

With 5:38 remaining in the third quarter, McAllister hooked up with Waterbury on a five-yard scoring strike. The PAT kick was blocked but Hot Springs led 26-6.

Meanwhile, the Heat defense swarmed all over Valier, forcing them into several changes of possession by downs, and swatting away several long pass attempts as the Valier receivers seemed ready to haul them in for long gains.

McAllister threw his third TD pass of the game with 3:16 to go in the third quarter when he connected with senior Quincy Styles-Depose, the lone upperclassman on the Hot Springs roster, from 10 yards out. Styles-Depoe then kicked the extra points try, giving the host team a 34-6 advantage at the end of three quarters of play.

McAllister wrapped up game scoring in the fourth quarter when he danced through the Valier defense on a 22-yard scoring run, giving Hot Springs a 40-6 lead and putting the finishing touches on the first round playoff win.

Hot Springs’ win earned them another home playoff game, this coming Saturday at 1 p.m., against Harlowton-Ryegate, a co-op team from central Montana. The now 9-1 Engineers swamped Bridger 59-14 in their first round playoff contest, also this past Saturday.

The win upped Hot Springs to 8-0 on the year.

Prior to the game, the Heat honored the memory of teammate Jody Page with a release of black and orange helium balloons, while two players held jersey number 44 during player introductions, the number that was worn by Page, who passed away two weeks earlier. A moment of silence in the sun-splashed stadium was also held before the opening kickoff.

    Savage Heat running back/linebacker Johnny Waterbury tackles Valier running back Jonas Horn (7) during first half action of their playoff game Saturday in Hot Springs. The Heat won 40-6 to advance to the second round this coming Saturday, also at home. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    Junior running back David Chapman (red jersey, #334) crosses the pile of players at the goal line to score the Savage Heat's first touchdown against Valier in a first round playoff game Saturday in Hot Springs. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    Hot Springs running back Weston Slonaker gets a block from Savage Heat QB Nick McAllister during the Heat's 40-6 first round playoff win over Valier Saturday in Hot Springs. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)