There will be a time when the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks enter a playoff game with an unbeaten record in 11-player Montana high school football.

The school has all the elements in place: superior coaching, awesome facilities and a good group of student athletes from which to build a team. 

It’s just a matter of time. The leap from 8-player to the next level up is a big one. 

But T Falls will be there. 

Saturday, they got a taste of the top rung of 11-player football when they traveled to Malta for a meeting with the unbeaten Mustangs in the first round of this year’s post-season journey. 

Malta won the game 45-8. 

After qualifying last week as the fourth seed from the Western B conference with a last-day-of-the-season win over Whitehall, the Blue Hawks earned the right to take on Malta, which came into the game with a 9-0 season record. 

After a scoreless battle throughout most of the first quarter, Malta put the first points on the scoreboard when Dawson Hammond snared an eight-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Stockton Oxarat.  The point after touchdown (PAT) kick was good giving the Mustangs an early 7-0 lead with 3:36 left in the first quarter. 

As the powerful Malta defense continued to contain Thompson Falls’ offense, the home team exploded for four touchdowns in the second quarter, beginning with a two-yard touchdown run by Blaine Downing.  The PAT was good, putting the Stangs up 14-0 with 9:50 remaining in the second period. 

Later in the second quarter, Hammond caught another TD toss from Oxarat, this time good for 49 yards.   The PAT attempt split the uprights and with 3:45 left before halftime, Malta held a 21-0 lead. 

The Mustangs defense got the ball back for the offense a short time later and Oxarat put the finishing touches on a drive when he ran 11 yards for another score.  The successful PAT try pushed Malta’s lead to 28-0 with 1:21 left in the first half. 

Malta regained possession of the ball and cashed in a drive when Oxarat found Treyton Wilke with an 11-yard scoring pass with 22 seconds left before the intermission.  The PAT was good, boosted the host team to a 35-0 halftime advantage. 

Malta kept up the offensive pressure in the third quarter and, with 7:10 remaining in the third quarter, Blaine Downing broke through the Thompson Falls defense and sprinted 57 yards for a touchdown that increased the Mustangs’ lead to 42-0 with the successful PAT kick. 

Thompson Falls avoided a shutout when, with 2:09 left in the third quarter, Ian Meyers hauled in a 34-yard pass for a TD from quarterback Kaiden Robbins.   The pair then hooked up on a two-point PAT pass play, cutting the Malta lead to 42-8. 

Malta closed out the game’s scoring with an 18-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter, giving the Mustangs a 45-8 lead. 

The loss dropped the Blue Hawks to 3-7 on the year in what was their final game of 2024. 

Malta advanced to the state quarterfinal this coming Saturday against Three Forks with the win.