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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Frenchtown starting quarterback Dawson Rodoni left the game early with an injury, and in stepped freshman Cody Forthofer. He led the Broncs to four touchdown drives, throwing TD passes to Jordan Warner and Bailey Corrette.
Corrette's score, a 10-yarder with 23.9 seconds remaining in the third quarter, gave Frenchtown a 17-14 lead after the Broncs trailed 14-3 in the first half.
Central, which entered the game riding a 23-game winning streak and the odds-on favorite to win a second straight title, responded in the fourth quarter, capping a long drive with a Howie Martin touchdown on a quarterback sneak to retake the lead 21-17 midway through the period.
But 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 finished off the drive with an 18-yard touchdown for the go-ahead score with 2:27 left.
The Broncs' defense stood tall on the ensuing possession and forced the Rams to turn the ball over on downs. Then Frenchtown sealed it.
On fourth down with just over a minute remaining, 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.
This story will be updated.
