Another Sentinel High School football season is in the books. Sentinel finished the year with a total of five wins and six losses. The team finished fifth of eight in the AA Western conference, with the same regional ranking as last year. The Spartans ended the season with a 50-18 loss to the Helena Capital Bruins. Though there was not much difference on paper between this year and last for the Spartans, the team didn’t win as many games, and they finished the season with a losing record. Even if the season didn’t turn out exactly how the team wanted, they still had considerable success.
The pressure on the Spartans’ football team to succeed was greatly increased by the comparison to the Spartans’ football teams in previous years. A successful season looks less successful when it’s compared to the huge accomplishments made by other teams in the recent past. Domination becomes the norm when a fanbase knows it’s achievable. In the 2021-2022 season, for example, the Spartans won every game and won the state championship. They finished 12-0 and achieved the highest possible honor that season, for the second year in a row. The Spartans were undefeated the season before that as well.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Spartans dismantled the Bozeman Hawks with a crushing score of 42-19. The Spartan offense was rolling in this game, led by Jace Koshatka. The star quarterback had 126 yards and an astounding four touchdowns on the ground. The Hawks seemed to have no answer for Sentinel’s rushing attack, as Sentinel finished the game with more than 300 yards on the ground. Ryan Haidle was the second-leading rusher with 124 yards.
Offensively, the Hawks put up a fight but were ultimately no match for the Spartan offense. Kash Embry, the Hawks’ quarterback, threw for over 200 yards and added two touchdowns through the air. He had an impressive 71.4% completion percentage, but he also excelled on the ground. His 46 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown may not have been significant compared to the heroic effort from Koshatka, but Embry certainly kept Sentinel’s defense on their toes with the rushing threat.
This game improved Sentinel’s overall record to 5-5, and allowed them to move on to the next round of the AA playoffs. The next game would be against the Helena Capital Bruins, the following Friday.
The game against the Bruins resulted in a 50-18 loss for the Spartans. Sentinel’s defense had no answers for the powerful Bruins offense, and the teams’ second matchup went down in a very similar way to the first. Capital’s quarterback, Griz commit Merek Mehlish, was unstoppable again in this game. The outstanding soon-to-be collegiate athlete put on a show with more than 300 yards passing and three passing touchdowns. He also finished the game with six carries for 94 yards, including a huge 50-yard QB rush.
Someone had to be on the receiving end of Merek’s passing frenzy. Capital’s Almquist brothers, Dylan and Drew, were the two leading receivers for the Bruins. They combined for five touchdowns in the win against Sentinel.
The Spartan offense this year was heavily centered around Jace Koshatka. Koshatka will go on to play for the Montana State Bobcats next year, which leaves a question mark at the quarterback position for the Spartans. The question is this: who will be able to fill the shoes of the player who made the offense what it was? The rest of the team enabled Jace to shine like he did, but his valor on the field shouldn’t be underestimated. If the Spartans want their offense to be as powerful as it was this year, they need to find that key player who will step up to the all-important role of field general.
