Where there’s guts, there’s football glory.

Turning in another gutsy, comeback effort, this one in a hostile environment in the snake-pit home of the Anaconda Copperheads, the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks remained unbeaten, improving to 4-0 after charging back from as many as 18 points down to register a memorable 28-24 win over the Copperheads Friday on Anaconda’s homecoming night.

The Hawks unapologetically ruined the ‘Heads homecoming, roaring back to win after falling behind 18-0 early and still trailing 24-7 at halftime.

Thompson Falls brandished good old-fashioned, smash-mouth football, taking control of the line on both sides of the ball and outscoring the Copperheads 21-0 in the second half, scarcely giving Anaconda any opportunities with their suffocating ball-control offense and efficient, hard-hitting defense.

It was the resilient Hawks’ second gut-check comeback win after being down 14 points or more this season. Thompson Falls defeated Whitehall 30-27 in the first one back on Sept. 4.

Improving to 1-0 in Western B 11-Man conference play with the win, the Hawks, winners of three road games so far, face their biggest road test yet at No. 1 ranked Florence this week.

Sporting a 2-1 record, Florence was playing Western A power Frenchtown Friday before a lightning storm first delayed, then forced cancellation of that interesting game.

Coach Jared Koskela is very wary of the top-ranked Falcons, who have won more than their fare share of State 11-Man titles over the last decade.

“Florence is very good without a doubt,” Koskela said. "Stopping or at least slowing down their quarterback (Jake Schneiter) will be a focus. On offense, we might show them a new wrinkle or two, we’ll see how they react to what we do and go from there.”

The win over Anaconda was a sweet one, especially after a disheartening start.

Behind the passing of Ryder Anderson, the Copperheads quickly abandoned the running game and went straight to the air, scoring three touchdowns on pass plays in the first half to build an 18-0 lead. Unable to establish a running attack against the Blue Hawk defense, Anaconda wound up throwing the ball over 40 times Friday.

Answering Anaconda’s TD passes with one of their own, the Hawks got on the board with 1:03 left in the first half when Brylon VanElswyk connected with Michael Koskela on a 43-yard touchdown pass over the middle. With Landin Baird’s extra-point kick added on, Anaconda’s lead was cut to 18-7.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the Copperheads returned the ensuing kickoff some 85 yards for a touchdown to erase Thompson Falls’ good feelings and send the teams into their respective locker rooms with Anaconda still leading 24-7.

Koskela said a spirited discussion with his squad at halftime led to the Hawks coming out with renewed determination in the second half.

“We talked about it a little bit, got a few things straightened out,” he said. "And did a lot better job in the second half.”

Indeed, the Hawks took their first possession of the second half and, behind a steady diet of Carson Kenney runs soon reached the end zone on a Kenney carry and, with the Laird PAT tacked on, the Anaconda lead was now only 24-14.

Later in the third quarter after the Haws got the ball back, Van Elswyk took off on a quarterback keeper run around left end and wound up finding himself alone flying down the sideline on an exciting 73-yard touchdown run, and the Hawks closed to within 24-21 with 2:21 left in the period.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Blue Hawks as they sealed the comeback win with a long time-consuming drive, using up almost seven minutes of game time on a 12-play, 65-yard drive, culminating with a one-yard touchdown dive by Michael Koskela with 2:41 left in the game and, with the extra point added, the Hawks led 28-24.

Providing the dagger defensive play to seal the game, Koskela then intercepted an Anaconda pass and wisely dropped to his knees on the next series, knowing the Copperheads were down to only one timeout and could not stop the Hawks from running out the clock after that.

“That was a smart play, the unselfish thing to do right there,” an obviously proud father and coach Koskela said. “These guys got it done in the second half.”

VanElswyk enjoyed one of this best games ever to lead the Hawk offense, completing six passes for 80 yards and a touchdown and rushing the ball 10 times for 121 more yards and another touchdown, giving him 201 yards of total offense in the game.

Koskela added his two touchdowns and 81 yards of total offense, Kenney ran the ball 23 times for 95 yards and Baird carried the rock five times for 25 yards, in addition to catching a pass for another 15 yards.

Jason Myers returned two kickoffs for 95 yards, including a 74-yard return in the first half, although the Hawks weren’t able to cash in on that opportunity.

Michael Koskela led the Hawk defense with seven tackles, including two unassisted stops, with a tackle for loss and a half a sack, Owen Franck made five tackles with two unassisted and a sack, and Jacobe Wood had four stops with two solo, one for a loss and half another sack.

Kenney added four tackles with three solo and two for a loss, Baird made three unassisted tackles, Tristan Kelly had four tackles with three solo, and Dean Williams had four tackles with one unassisted.

Koskela and Baird grabbed interceptions.