FRENCHTOWN — Prior to kickoff, few outside the Frenchtown community believed the Broncs could take down mighty Billings Central for the Class A state football championship.
The Broncs fed off that underdog mentality — and then out-muscled the favored Rams en route to an improbable 31-21 title win fit for a movie script in front of an estimated crowd of 2,000 fans who swelled with we-can-do-this confidence as the game progressed.
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"We fed on it all year. We looked forward, we wanted it back, we wanted our revenge," Frenchtown senior Bailey Corrette said, referencing the Broncs' 35-7 regular-season loss to the Rams in Billings. "All coach (Seth) Mason says is nobody has to believe in you except for you, and everybody in this community — nobody else but this community — believed, and we got it done."
Frenchtown rallied for the win despite digging an early deficit. Central took a 14-3 lead in the second quarter on the strength of scoring runs by Layne Alexander and Michael Thomas.
But, after Broncs starting quarterback Dawson Rodoni left the game early with an injury, freshman Cody Forthofer stepped in — and thrived. He ultimately led the Broncs to four touchdown drives, throwing TD passes to Jordan Warner in the second quarter and Corrette in the third.
"Holy cow, that kid stepped up in a big way," Mason said. "A freshman coming in, balling out, his brother (Jake Forthofer) getting his first varsity start ever in the backfield — just magical, unbelievable. I’m at a loss for words. I’m so damn proud of these kids, what a great group."
Photos:Cody ForthoferBut Cody Forthofer and Frenchtown didn't back down. They put together a sustained drive, leaning on their run game to move the ball down the field. Forthofer — who admitted "he was really nervous at the start, but I got better during the game" — finished off the drive with an 18-yard touchdown for the go-ahead score with 2:27 left.
"We saw they were running a three(-player defensive) front. I don’t know why they were lining up like that. We took advantage of it," Corrette said. "We’ve been doing it all year. That was our game plan — pound the rock, pound the rock. We did just that, and we drove it down their throat and got it done."
After Cody Forthofer's go-ahead TD, the Broncs' defense stood tall on the ensuing possession. They backed the Rams up and then stopped them just short of the line to gain on fourth down to give the ball back to their offense. Then Frenchtown sealed it.
On fourth down with just over a minute remaining in the game, receiver Konnor Klimpel took the ball from Forthofer and swung out wide to his right. He sailed a pass to Warner, who caught the ball, then danced his way into the end zone to clinch Frenchtown's first championship since 2009.
"We knew that was our fourth-down call, we loved it," Mason said. "Trusted a senior kid in Konnor Klimpel to another senior, Jordan Warner. We said, let’s put the ball in their hands, see what they can do, and they made it happen. God, that was sweet. That was incredible."
