Powder River Examiner -

The Broadus varsity football team finished the season with a 4-4 record after falling to Forsyth 38-0 last Saturday.

Broadus was able to stop Forsyth's first drive, but had a tough time getting the offense going, as QB Matt Hansen had limited snaps this season after replacing Cooper Zimmer, who went out two weeks ago against Park City. Later in the game Hansen would go down with concussion-like symptoms and leave the field and go to the hospital to be on the safe side. He is doing well, according to Coach Williams.

"We struggled on offense against Forsyth," Williams said of the game. "Our defense started out playing well but gave up some big plays, and that's all she wrote."

Broadus finished with 145 total yards, 138 of which came on the ground. Matt Hansen accounted for 60 of those yards, with a longest rush of 28 yards. Landen Capp had 33 hard fought yards on 14 carries.

"One major positive from the Forsyth game was the physicality displayed by our team – that may have been the most physical game I've seen our guys play," Assistant Coach Frankie Schoonover commented on the loss.

Three teams from the Southeast 8 man division will continue on to the playoffs. First place is Joliet, with a 6-1 overall record, 5-0 conference record, and current #6 in the state ranking. Second is Forsyth, with a 4-1 conference record. Third is Park City, with a 3-2 conference record. Broadus finishes fourth in the conference with a 2-3 conference record, with Lodge Grass fifth a 1-4, and St. Labre at 0-5.

Coach Williams is now looking towards next season, with a strong crop of around 20 players remaining on the roster, and only three players graduating (and at least that many expected to come up from this year's 8th grade class).

Williams is also planning for the team to attend some football camps next summer, in order to hone their skills.

Wyatt commented on the season: "Though I'm disappointed we didn't move on, I'm a glass half full kind of guy – we missed the playoffs by one game, and I saw a lot of improvement in the kids over the season. We had some guys really step up, and I look forward to seeing the team improve in the coming years."

He went on to comment on the graduating seniors: "Colton Playle was new to the program this year but he stepped up and did a great job of playing where we needed him. Colton Biesheuvel started the season out with an injury but came back and excelled – he turned into one of our best offensive linemen, which is really impressive considering he's 5'7" and 130 lbs. Paysen Kuhbacher was, in my opinion, our defensive all-star. He had the most sacks on the team, and played really well at defensive end as well as tight-end on offense. Those guys will be missed."

Williams wanted to thank the players' mothers, who helped make sure the team was provided with food on some of the game days in towns without much for restaurants. He also thanked the dads and others who helped run the chain gang on the sidelines, as well as the families and fans who went the extra mile to help support the team from the cheering section.

Last but not least, Williams wanted to thank his assistant coaches, Brett Emmons and Frankie Schoonover, for all their help and commitment to the team, as well as volunteer coaches Matt Hagedorn and Elliott Barnhart for their help in guiding the team forward.