BILLINGS — Billings Central claimed its first Class A football title in six years Saturday, topping Laurel 31-21 in the state championship game behind a solid ground game and a stiff-enough defense at Herb Klindt Field.
Jack DeBourg ran for two touchdowns — he also kicked a field goal and was 4 for 4 on extra points — and the Rams rushed for 251 yards overall to complete a dominating season in comfortable fashion.
Laurel led once, at 7-3, and twice answered a Rams touchdown with one of its own on the following possession. But Central led by 17 at one point and went on to finish the season an undefeated 12-0.
The title is the Rams’ first since 2018 and their sixth overall. The Locomotives were trying to win their first championship since beating Central for the crown in 2020. Both teams made their third title-game appearance in the past five seasons.
Central’s game-opening drive ended in a 26-yard field goal from DeBourg. The teams played to a standstill for the next few possessions before Laurel’s Travis Caton pounded on the first of two Locomotives’ fumble recoveries, and on the very next play Curtis Fox scampered up the middle for 68 of his game-high 138 yards and the team's only lead after Luke Maack’s point-after kick.
The Rams shook the miscue off, though, and drove 74 yards on seven plays, with DeBourg rumbling in from a yard out for a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Central never trailed again.
Rams quarterback Howie Martin, who completed 9 of 11 passes for 119 yards, found Kael Aldrich over the middle to put Billings Central up 17-7.
The Locomotives responded with a 70-yard drive, which culminated in a Krew Hunter 2-yard run and went into halftime trailing 17-14.
Central scored the next two touchdowns, though, first on a 7-yard run from Martin. An 8-yard score from DeBourg followed with 8:08 to play and gave the Rams their 31-17 lead.
Laurel came back with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Hunter to Steele Hansen, but the long drive consumed four and a half minutes and left just 3:26 on the clock.
The Locomotives forced a three-and-out, but there was too little time left. The game — and the season — ended when Central’s Jace Hamilton spearheaded a group sack on Hunter as the Laurel QB desperately tried to keep the play alive.
Laurel’s big chance to stave off Central’s momentum came when the Locomotives recovered a second Rams fumble near midfield.
But the Locomotives, trailing 24-14 at the time, fumbled the ball right back to the Rams on the very next play, and Central took advantage on DeBourg’s second TD nine plays later.
The Rams earned coach Jim Stanton his fourth state title at the school and his fifth overall. In head-to-head matchups, Billings Central is now 60-19-1 all-time in what many consider one of the fiercest rivalries in the state.
In its 12 games this season Central never scored fewer than 31 points. Laurel’s 21 points on Saturday tied for the most the Rams had allowed this season.
Billings Central defeated Laurel 31-7 on Sept. 9, the fourth game of the season.
