The winning streak is over after week 5. Let another winning streak begin in week 6.

That is the hope for the Thompson Falls football team at least.

Capping a stretch that saw the Falls boys play four road games in the first five weeks of the season, the previously unbeaten Blue Hawks fell 47-7 to No. 1 ranked Florence in Florence Friday in a game that was, or at least could have been, much closer than the final score would indicate.

And the Hawks can use this loss, painful as it may be as incentive to do better next time, and the next time after that until the end of the season, whenever that may prove to be.

A still impressive 4-1 overall, and 1-1 in Western B play, the Hawks host Kellogg Friday for the 2026 Thompson Falls homecoming and the final non-conference game of the season. The Wildcats are reportedly 0-5 in Idaho high school play so far.

Coach Jared Koskela was complimentary towards the top-ranked Falcons but also thinks the Hawks could have played better in Florence.

“Florence is very good, athletic at most positions and pretty dialed in on what they are trying to do,” Koskela said. “We missed some tackles, they made some big plays but we did have some chances too. We dropped five possible interceptions, if we had held onto a couple of those, things could have gone a little differently.”

A recent commit to play football for Montana Tech, senior quarterback Jake Schneiter led Florence to the win scoring a touchdown himself along the way, and Luca Calderone scored two TDs for the Falcons on what Koskela described as a slightly slippery play of field in Florence.

Carson Kenney scored Thompson Falls’ only touchdown and Brandin Laird kicked the extra point after.

The Falcons did a good job of effectively shutting down Thompson Falls’ running attack, which had been their bread and butter for most of this season.

Senior two-way stalwart Michael Koskela led the Hawks with 39 yards rushing on six carries, caught a pass for another four yards and on defense, pulled down 16 tackles, including 11 unassisted with two of those for loss and one being a quarterback sack.

Brylon Van Elswyk completed five passes for 89 yards with two to Jason Myers for 70 yards, including a long one of 64 yards.

Kenney backed up Koskela on defense with eight tackles including four unassisted with one for a loss, Myers added six tackles with four solo, Dean Williams had five with three unassisted, VanElswyk five with two unassisted, Tristan Kelly four with three unassisted, and Owen Franck four with two unassisted.

Jesse Buchanan had two quarterback sacks in Florence.

The loss may hurt the Hawks, but Thompson Falls still looks to have a realistic shot of having a great final record, with winless Deer Lodge, Loyola and Eureka the other games remaining on the schedule.

“We could go 8-1 and we are going to own it,” coach Koskela said. "The loss to Florence was a wakeup call. We need to use it as a lesson, to show some pride and come back and play strong in the next game.”

    LEADING HAWK TACKLER Michael Koskela recorded 16 total tackles, including 11 unassisted and two for a loss in Florence Friday. Koskela is pictured letting a victim up after making one of those tackles. (courtesy photo)