By Brandon Walker EBS STAFF
ABSAROKEE – Playing on the road for their final contest of the season on Oct. 23, the Lone Peak High School varsity football team was beaten by the Absarokee Huskies 38-26 as the Huskies rallied back from a 14-point deficit in the second half to seize the victory.
“It was our best performance of the year. [The] guys really came together against a team that beat us pretty badly early in the season,” said Big Horns Head Coach Adam Farr.
After a 36-19 defeat at the hand of the Huskies in their first matchup on Oct. 2, LPHS made a statement to start the game. Freshman Juliusz Shipman weaved through Absarokee defenders and returned the opening kickoff roughly 65 yards to the end zone for the early Big Horn touchdown. Sophomore Pierce Farr converted the rushing 2-point conversion, leaving the score 8-0 Lone Peak.
The Big Horns continued their early success when sophomore quarterback Isaiah Holst found junior wide receiver Isaac Singer open for an approximately 22 yard passing touchdown. The touchdown was Singer’s first of the season.
In a near reversal of roles from their first meeting, in which Absarokee led 22-6 at the half, Lone Peak would eventually take a 20-6 lead into halftime thanks to their final touchdown of the first half—a 50 yard screen pass from Holst to Farr who evaded the Huskies defenders to reach the endzone.
In the second half, turnovers became the Big Horns’ Achilles heel. Farr detailed, after a first half that was turnover free, three second half fumbles shifted the momentum of the game in favor of the Huskies. Capitalizing on the Big Horns mistakes, Absarokee outscored LPHS 32-6 in the second half to come away victorious.
Holst capped off the Big Horn scoring when he found some room to run in the fourth quarter and rushed into the endzone from roughly 15 yards out. Meanwhile, Holst’s back field mate, Farr finished the game with a hefty 24 tackles in his effort to stave off the Huskies.
“Again, the team really came together and had a stronger performance against a team that we lost badly to earlier in the season,” Farr said.
LPHS finishes the season with an 0-7 final record. Lone senior Kole Maus is the only athlete not returning to the gridiron for Lone Peak next season.
“I’m feeling great. We got great contributions [from] freshmen, sophomores, all over the place this season,” Farr said. “We we’re in virtually every game except for a couple. The maturity that they gained from the varsity season, with very few upper classmen, I think will translate well into next year.”
