The Thompson Falls-Plains Blue Hawks ended their season on a positive note last week with coach Michael Scharfe reflecting on the growth his team has showed this fall. The Hawks wrapped up lay falling 5-1 to Whitefish in Thompson Falls Thursday and played their last game of the season in a tight 3-0 loss to Bigfork in Bigfork Friday.

Both of those teams had defeated the Hawks by large margins earlier this season, showing how much the Hawks have improved in the last several weeks.

“I am extremely proud of this team, they endured through a lot this year and kept getting better and better as the season went on,” he said. “I loved that they were able to finish strong.”

Scharfe said the Hawks had lost 10-0 to powerful Whitefish in Whitefish earlier this season and was impressed with how his boys played the Bulldogs this time around. “This was a huge improvement from the last time we played,” he said.

“Going into this game we had definite game plan for them and our boys executed it perfectly, they cut off passing lanes, limited their scoring opportunities, played tighter on defense, and we possessed the ball a lot more,” Scharfe added. “Which resulted in more shots on the goal and eventually a score for us.”

The Bigfork contest was more of the same from his Hawks, Scharfe added. “Our boys again played them tougher than our last meeting,” he said, “even though we were a bit sore from the game with Whitefish the previous day, they still played strong.”

Scharfe said the Hawks worked the ball around effectively in Bigfork, ending up with nine shots on goal – five from Andrew Wrobleski, three from Caleb Hutchings and one from Arrow Hyde.

“It was impressive that our boys moved the ball so well to create all these scoring opportunities,” he said.

Scharfe said seniors Wrobleski, Hyde and Isaac Wilhite played their last high school games in Bigfork and thanked them for their efforts and contributions to the team.

    BLUE HAWK GOALKEEPER Jacob Howell of Thompson Falls in action during Whitefish’s 5-1 win over the Hawks at Previs Field in Thompson Falls Thursday. (John Hamilton/vp-mi)
  

    BLUE HAWK JUNIOR Kylee Huff (14) looks to defend a kick by Whitefish’s Atley Bingham in Thompson Falls Thursday. Other identifiable Hawks in the photo are Solveig Nygaard (5), Elisabeth Weedeman (18) and goalkeeper Ava Lawyer (orange shirt). (John Hamilton/vp-mi)
  

    BLUE HAWK JUNIOR Lexi Volk-Ocacio controls the ball during Thursday’s game with Whitefish as Lady Bulldog Adele Flynn defends in Thompson Falls. (John Hamilton/vp-mi)