Pushing through the aches and pain
A coach’s biggest fear going into the heart of the conference schedule is to have a player come up and say, "coach I think I pulled a muscle." In Rick Philion’s case, he had three of his playmakers seeing the doctor before the rival game against West Region opponent Dickinson Trinity last Friday. Brent Sorensen, quarterback turned leading rusher, was questionable all week with a neck and lower-back strain. Senior Chad Marshall pulled a groin muscle in practice during the week and Baylee Carr dinged up his head in the previous week’s contest so he was advised to stay away from contact. Hazen also had a couple linemen nursing nagging injuries. "We had some kids that were pretty banded up," Philion said. "They played through it." Play through it they did, as the Bison outscored the Titans 22-7 in the second half to hand the Class AA competition its second loss in as many games. The 37-22 win also marked the first time Hazen has stolen a W from Whitney Stadium in at least 12 years. "One coach believes it (is) the first win since 1986 and (the) other coach believes it the first time we’ve ever won there," Philion explained. Big is an understatement as after a last play loss to Watford City the Friday before, fans weren’t sure what to expect out of the green and white until Carr opened up the scoring in the first quarter with a 22-yard touchdown run.
"Anytime we can beat them it’s a big thing for the kids," he added.
