ANACONDA – A game delayed by lightning and heavy rains from the opening kickoff turned into a slugfest until the very end. Anaconda dominated the first half and, unfortunately for the Homecoming crowd at Mitchell Stadium, the visitors returned the favor after halftime.
The Blue Hawks scored 21 unanswered points in the second half and essentially sealed the win with a Michael Koskela interception with 2:30 left in the game, as Thompson Falls stayed undefeated with a 28-24 win over the Copperheads.
Anaconda finally got rolling late in the first quarter, marching down the field thanks to a 36 yard pass down the seam from Ryder Anderson to Carson Lacey. Five plays later, the two hooked up again on a 6-yard TD pass on Fourth down for the first score of the game with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
The Copperheads would score on three of their next four possessions — with Anderson finding Pesanti from 23 yards out at the 7:59 mark, Bohdi Keeland from 17 yards and Pesanti with the exclamation point with an 84 yard kickoff return with just 43 seconds left in the half.
The only second quarter possession Anaconda didn’t score on was thanks to a Blue Hawks interception at midfield, the turnover that essentially put them on the board. Quarterback Braylon Van Elswyck found Michael Koskela open deep, crossing the goaline just before fumbling out of the back of the endzone from 43 yards out.
But the second half was all Blue Hawks. They ate up close to eight minutes to start the third quarter capped by a Carson Kenny 1 yard TD run. Then, after forcing a three-and-out, Van Elswyk called his own number on a zone read. He got the edge and beat Anaconda down the sidelines for a 73 yard TD run to pull back within three at 24-21 with 2:21 left in the third.
Anaconda essentially couldn’t string plays together in the second half, completing just 3-of-11 nine yards and minus-13 yards rushing. On the final scoring drive, Thompson Falls converted on Fourth and 1 thanks to an encroachment penalty then, following a holding call that set them up with Third and 18, Anaconda committed a pass interference to make it manageable. The drive was finished off on a 2-yard TD run by Koskela with 2:41 left in the fourth.
Both teams had four touchdows, but the difference was Thompson Falls converting on all of its PATs while Anaconda did the opposite — missing a PAT and then failing to convert on two-point conversions on the final three attempts.
Anderson completed 15-of-32 for 168 yards with three TDs and two interceptions. Lacey was the main target, hauling in a career-high 10 receptions for 102 yards and a TD. Pesanti and Gillie Everett each had two catches as well. The Copperheads were held to minus-16 yards on 13 carries, losing bulk yardage on fumbled snaps.
Conversely, Thompson Falls rushed for 266 yards on 47 carries — 219 of them in the second half. Van Elswyk led the team with 102 yards with the bulk of the carries going to Kenny, rushing 23 times for 95 yards and a TD. Koskela had three receptions for 61 yards to lead the Blue Hawks.
Anaconda is on the road next Friday at Eureka, needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Thompson Falls heads to No. 1 Florence.
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TFALLS 0 7 14 7 – 28
ANACONDA 6 18 0 0 – 24
FIRST QUARTER
A – Carson Lacey 6 yard pass from Ryder Anderson (PAT failed)
SECOND QUARTER
A – Owen Pesanti 23 yard pass from Anderson (conversion failed)
A – Bohdi Keeland 17 yard pass from Anderson (conversion failed)
T – Michael Koskela 43 yard pass from Brylon Van Elswyck (PAT good)
A – Pesanti 84 kickoff return (conversion failed)
THIRD QUARTER
T – Carson Kenny 1 run (PAT good)
T – Van Elswyck 73 yard run (PAT good)
FOURTH QUARTER
T – Koskela 2 run (PAT good)
PASSING — TFALLS: Van Elswyck 6-14-80-1-1. ANACONDA: Ryder Anderson 15-32-168-3-2.
RECEIVING — TFALLS: Koskela 3-61, Baird 1-15, Myers 1-4. ANACONDA: Lacey 10-102, Pesanti 2-35, Gillie Everett 2-14, Keeland 1-17.
RUSHING — TFALLS (47-266): Van Elswyk 10-121, Kenny 23-95, Koskela 5-11, Baird 5-25, Myers 2-9, Newman 1-6, Helvey 1-(-1). ANACONDA (13-(-16)): Anderson 7-(-17), Rory Cromwell 6-1.
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