Football is sometimes not for the faint of heart.

To wit, the down-to-the-wire cardiac tester of a game Friday night in Butte between the Joliet J-Hawks and the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks.

This battle of the birds went to the J-Hawks, who held off a late Blue Hawks drive that ended with an incomplete pass at the goal line as time ran out in what was an epic football clash.

Joliet escaped Montana Tech’s Oredigger stadium with a narrow 18-13 victory Friday night as the last play pass from T Falls quarterback Bryson LeCoure careened through a sea of hands before falling to the turf for an incomplete pass.

The Blue Hawks had put together a classic fourth quarter drive down the field after Joliet took a 13-12 lead earlier in the fourth quarter of this hard fought battle.

What turned out to be the J-Hawks winning drive was capped by an 11-yard TD pass that gave them the lead for the first time in the game.

But LeCoure and company got one last chance to claim victory and moved the ball down to the Joliet 10-yard line with time running out in the game.

But a sack and the ill-fated fourth down throw that ensued and fell to the ground ended the drive and Thompson Falls’ chance of pulling out a last second win.

Thompson Falls opened scoring with a first quarter surprise that wound up with mega-lineman Hayden Hanks busting into the end zone for a touchdown on a two yard pass from LeCoure for a 6-0 Blue Hawks lead. The point after touchdown kick was good, and the first quarter ended with T Falls ahead 7-0.

Hanks had reported as an eligible receiver prior to his touchdown catch, aka a lineman’s dream. The 6-4, 260-pound senior, who signed a football scholarship earlier this year to attend Boise State University next fall, wrapped his extra large hands around the pass as he crossed the goal line.

Joliet got on the scoreboard for the first time in the second quarter on a one-yard quarterback keeper for six points. The J-Hawks PAT try was no good, preserving the T Falls lead at 7-6 midway through the second quarter.

Before the quarter and first half came to an end, T Falls put together a long drive, aided by a costly holding call on Joliet. That drive culminated in a 14 yard TD pass from LeCoure to senior receiver Nick Tessier. A missed PAT try put the score at 13-6 in favor of the Blue Hawks as time ran out in the first half.

The Blue Hawks opened the second half by driving to midfield before Joliet’s defense forced them to punt. The punt was tipped by a Joliet player and the J-Hawks got the ball at their own 31 yard line.

A few plays later, a Joliet receiver hauled in a wide open 47 yard TD throw for six points. The PAT was no good but the score moved the J-Hawks back to within one point, 13-12.

In the fourth quarter, Joliet embarked on a long march down the field, assisted by a pass interference call on Thompson Falls, giving the J-Hawks the ball at the T Falls 11 yard line.

On the next play from scrimmage, Joliet scored via an 11-yard pass, putting them ahead 18-13 and, after another missed extra point try, setting up the final Thompson Falls drive.

The game was played in Butte as part of a meet-you-halfway agreement between the two schools who are separated by 423 miles of Montana real estate.

The win boosted Joliet to 2-0 on the year, while the heart-breaking loss dropped T Falls to 1-1 this season following their schedule-opening win over Conrad a week earlier.

Next up for Thompson Falls is a home game this Friday (Sept 8) against Manhattan.