Scobey Clinches Conference Football Title With 60-0 Win

The Scobey Spartans achieved one of their goals on Friday when they stopped Culbertson, 60-0, to clinch the conference championship.

“It feels great,” Scobey Coach Brock Berryhill said. “Our goal is always to be better this week than we were last week.”

The Spartans accomplished the mission of having a strong game as Scobey earned a 48-0 halftime lead against the Cowboys.

“Defensively, I was very pleased,” Berryhill said. “To keep Brooks Solem bottled up isn’t easy.”

The coach credits Teagan Fishell, Quinn Axtman and Kolten Machart for having particular strong games for the Spartans.

Scobey will finish its regular season at Fairview on Friday, Oct. 25. The Spartans will then have a home first-round playoff game on Saturday, Oct. 31.

“You should feel something to be in the playoffs because not many teams can make it,” Berryhill said.

In the contest against a banged-out Culbertson squad, the Spartans got into scoring position quickly when Reese Tande connected with Asher Handran on a 41-yard pass play to the Culbertson 15. On the next play, Axtman broke loose for a touchdown run with 11:32 left in the opening quarter.

After Scobey’s defense forced the Cowboys into a punt, the Spartans took over on their own 36. Axtman dashed 25 yards on first down to the Cowboy 19. The Spartans went on to score on a 13-yard run by Axtman. Tande passed to Handran for the twopoint conversion to put the margin at 14-0.

Scobey was soon in scoring position again thanks to an interception by Fishell. A third-down pass completion from Tande to Cam Cromwell kept the drive alive at the 17. After gaining a first down at the eight, Axtman scored again with 3:34 left in the first quarter. Tande hit Cromwell for the twopoint conversion for a 22-0 lead.

After two tackles for loss by Aydan Stentoft, the Cowboys were able to move the ball to midfield on a 12-yard keeper by Solem along with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Culbertson’s threat ended when Cromwell stopped Solem’s fourdown run short of the needed yardage.

Scobey extended its lead to 28-0 on a 26-yard run by Machart early in the second quarter.

Defensive plays by Handran and Machart forced the Cowboys into another punt. The Spartans were soon in scoring position due to a 44-yard gain by Machart on a counter run. On first down at the 13, the Spartans scored when Axtman made an outstanding move to reach the end zone for a 34-0 lead with 8:08 left in the half.

The Cowboys made a big play when Wyatt Martin recovered a bad pitchout and went all the way to the Scobey 22. Defensive plays by Sebastian Mc-Gowan, Stentoft and Blake Lekvold ended the threat.

A 20-yard run by Fishell put the ball into Culbertson territory. Tande then fired a 32-yard touchdown pass to Cromwell with 5:11 left in the half. Liam Leininger ran in the conversion for a 42-0 lead.

Leininger scored on a 45-yard run in the final seconds of the half for a 48-0 margin.

Scobey’s Tate Johnsrud scored two rushing touchdowns for the Spartans in the second half for the 60-0 final.