Levi Nelson's Five-Touchdown Night Powers Hawks Past Sunburst 48-13 on Pink Night
By Chad Smith / HLSN Sports
It was a chilly but beautiful fall evening under the lights at CJI Field, with temperatures in the low 50s at kickoff and sliding into the upper 40s by the final whistle, and the Hawks warmed up in a hurry. Junior Levi Nelson ran for four touchdowns and returned an interception for a fifth as CJI beat the Sunburst Refiners 48-13 on Friday night, improving to 5-2 on the season. Predictors had the Hawks winning a close one, 24-20, and they blew past that number while playing without two key starters, quarterback Avery DeVries and Ryan Ramberg, both sidelined with injuries. Sophomores Brody Fossen, Connor Mattson, and Shane Woods were among those who stepped up in their absence.
The game was the Hawks' annual Pink Night at CJI Field, benefiting Pack the Place in Pink, a Montana non-profit that provides financial support to Montana residents battling breast cancer. It is the same cause CJI's volleyball team supported earlier this month, with proceeds from both nights going to the organization.
Sunburst struck first, driving 55 yards in 10 plays on its opening possession, capped by an 11-yard touchdown run from senior Wyatt Rogers, to lead 6-0. CJI answered right away, with Nelson running in from six yards out to tie it at 6-6. The Hawks defense then dug in deep in its own territory, forcing a turnover on downs after Nelson broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone. With 20 seconds left in the first quarter, Nelson broke two tackles and raced 66 yards for a touchdown, and Ivar Englund's extra-point kick made it 14-6.
The second quarter belonged to the Hawks as well. Jace Ramberg caught an 18-yard pass from Brody Fossen to move CJI to the Sunburst 1-yard line, and sophomore Shane Woods punched it in from there for his first career varsity touchdown, making it 20-6 with 3:04 left in the half. Then, with just 8 seconds left in the first half, Nelson stepped in front of a Sunburst pass, intercepted it near the 35-yard line, and ran it back 31 yards for a touchdown, sending CJI to the break up 26-6.
Nelson was right back in the end zone early in the third quarter, scoring on a short run at 8:18 to make it 34-6 after Englund's kick. After the Hawks defense forced a fumble that Jaxon Buffington recovered, Nelson scored again on a 15-yard run with 5:35 left, and Englund's kick made it 42-6. Late in the quarter, Nelson fielded a punt and returned it 21 yards, and a long run was brought back by a penalty. On the very next play, Fossen found Lex Wolery on a 29-yard touchdown pass with 2:34 left in the quarter to push the lead to 48-6.
Nelson put together a monster night. He carried the ball 18 times for 236 yards and four rushing touchdowns, from 6, 66, 5, and 15 yards out, then added a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown, accounting for 30 of CJI's 48 points. He also anchored the defense with a team-high 12 tackles and 2 pass breakups, and returned a punt for 21 yards. Englund made 3 of his 6 extra-point kicks and handled five kickoffs for a 40.6-yard average, with Dane Grammar adding three kickoffs at a 47-yard average.
Fossen, filling in at quarterback for DeVries, ran the offense efficiently, completing 4 of 9 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, with his completions going to Jace Ramberg (2 catches for 37 yards), Wolery (a 29-yard touchdown), and Buffington (12 yards). Woods added that rushing touchdown, a 16-yard catch, 5 tackles, and a pass breakup, contributing on both sides of the ball. As a team, CJI gained 337 yards on just 36 plays, 243 on the ground and 94 through the air.
The Hawks defense did its best work on third down, holding Sunburst to 1 of 13 and to just 229 total yards. Sophomore Connor Mattson stepped into a bigger role and was everywhere, with 11 tackles (6 solo), 2 assisted tackles for loss, and 2 pass breakups. Grammar had 9 tackles, a sack, and a pass breakup, Jace Ramberg added 6 tackles, and Lex Wolery and Buffington each had 4, with Buffington adding the fumble recovery. The group finished with 53 tackles and 6 pass breakups, and ended Sunburst drives with an interception, a fumble recovery, and four stops on downs.
Sunburst did not go away quietly, and the Refiners kept the ball for most of the night, running 57 plays to CJI's 36 and moving the chains on 5 of 10 fourth-down tries. Rogers was the workhorse, rushing 27 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns, catching 4 passes for 40 yards, and adding 6 tackles on defense. Junior quarterback Nick Bucklin completed 10 of 24 passes for 89 yards, and junior Ethan Samsal caught 5 passes for 49 yards. Rogers broke free for a 27-yard touchdown run with 15 seconds left, and Sunburst added a one-point conversion run to account for the final score.
In the fourth quarter, the reserves took over for CJI. Owen Peterson carried the ball six times, including a fourth-and-3 conversion, and Dylan Johnson and Ranveer Maan each contributed on defense.
The win sets up a big finish to the regular season. CJI is 2-1 in North division play and sits third in the standings, and with the top three teams advancing, the playoff field is set and only the seeding is left to be decided. The Hawks close out the regular season Thursday, October 22, with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff on CJI Senior Night, with the game moved up a day because of a referee shortage. The Hawks will honor seniors Dane Grammar, Ryan Ramberg, and foreign exchange student Ivar Englund. Their opponent is Highwood, which comes in 7-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play, leading the North after a 35-34 upset of Big Sandy last week. That loss dropped Big Sandy, which beat CJI the week before and lost to three of the state's top teams during its non-conference schedule, to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Sunburst fell to 3-4 on the season and 1-3 in conference play.
