COLUMBIA FALLS — One of the smallest guys on the field came up with the biggest play.
Wyatt Green, a speedy and shifty 5-foot-8, 175-pound junior running back, returned a kickoff 90 yards to set up the game-winning touchdown for Columbia Falls in Saturday’s 9-6 Class A playoff football victory over Northwestern A rival Polson.
Polson (3-6) took a 6-3 lead on Tanner Wilson’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Hudson Smith, who outjumped a Wildcat defender in the back corner of the end zone, in the third quarter.
Green immediately followed with his game-breaker and Columbia Falls quarterback Dakota Bridwell scored on the next play, bulling his way into the end zone for the touchdown.
Those points came 20 seconds after Polson had scored.
“Huge,” Columbia Falls coach Jaxon Schweikert said of the return.
“What a way to answer. We answered right back.”
Schweikert said it was the third time Green has almost taken a kickoff the full distance. All three of those, he said, have been inside the 5-yard line.
Columbia Falls (5-3) and Polson were limited offensively by a steady rain, which lasted the entire game.
Bridwell was held to 60 yards passing on eight completions in 18 attempts. Polson quarterback Tanner Wilson was 4 of 15 passing for 19 yards.
“As the game goes on, the field conditions got muddier and muddier, and it was harder to throw the ball,” Polson coach Scott Wilson said.
“Not being able to run the ball consistently put us in a lot of second- and third-and-long situations.”
Bridwell suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter, which didn’t help matters for the Wildcats offense.
“He couldn’t push off and throw the ball,” Schweikert said.
It also limited his running.
“He’s a great short-yardage runner,” Schweikert said.
Columbia Falls rolled up 274 yards on the ground in 46 attempts. Polson was limited to 85 yards on 28 carries.
Green led the ground game with 129 yards on 32 rushes.
Colton Cote rushed nine times for 55 yards and set up Polson’s lone score when he ripped off a 41-yarder to put the Pirates in position at the Columbia Falls 26.
“Our defense was outstanding,” Schweikert said.
“Polson has run the ball on everybody they have played this year. Cote is a great lead back. Those guys (Cote and Wilson) are really good. It’s difficult to defend those guys. But our guys, our D-line and our linebackers were just outstanding, coming down hill and attacking.”
The game featured a bizarre play, a scary one for the host team if you may since it was Halloween, when Columbia Falls’ Tristan Steinwand picked up a punt by Polson, which had been touched by a Polson player, and ran 45-plus yards the wrong way to the Polson end zone.
Steinwand dropped the ball, a Polson player jumped on it and the Pirates thought they scored a touchdown.
“I’ve coached a long time, never seen a kid pick up the ball and run the wrong way,” Schweikert said.
“They (officials) were blowing whistles all over the place. Half the kids stopped.”
Schweikert said Steinwand “was just playing hard and he just got lost in the moment.”
“I have never seen anything like that in my 20-plus years of coaching,” Wilson added.
“A strange play ... it caught everybody off guard.
“It was tough, both coaches screaming at (the officials to plead their case).
“It didn’t affect the football game,” Wilson added.
“They won the battle up front.”
And that was the difference.
“We were relentless today,” Schweikert said defensively.
“We blew it the heck up. They didn’t have any chance to get the momentum.”
The victory advances Columbia Falls to quarterfinal play on Saturday at Havre (7-2). The Blue Ponies, the Central Division champions, had a first-round bye.
In the day’s other games, Sidney scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat Belgrade and reserve a game on the other side of the state against Whitefish.
Billings Central blanked Eastern A rivals Laurel to advance to a game at Dillon. Butte Central beat Hamilton on Friday to set up a game at Miles City.
Polson 0 0 6 0 — 6
C. Falls 0 3 6 0 — 9
CF — Brandon Karberg 29 field goal
P — Hudson Smith 8 pass from Tanner Wilson (kick failed)
CF — Dakota Bridwell 1 run (kick failed)
Saturday’s Other Games
Billings Central 28, Laurel 0
Laurel 0 0 0 0 — 0
Billings Ctl 0 14 7 7 — 28
BC — Evan Barthel 3 run (Josh Kraft kick), 11:56.
BC — Jacob Hadley 15 pass from Michael Stanton (Kraft kick), :34.6.
BC — Stanton 4 run (Kraft kick), 7:30
BC — Chrishon Dixon 7 pass from Stanton (Kraft kick), 4:21
Sidney 28, Belgrade 20
Sidney 7 0 8 13 — 28
Belgrade 0 2 12 6 — 20
First quarter
SID — Alec Lovegren 63 run (Jace Johnson kick), :00
Second quarter
BEL — Safety, Chris Gartner tackled in end zone by Derek Marks, 1:33
Third quarter
BEL — Trey Mounts 86 kickoff return (run failed), 11:47
BEL — Evan Luhrsen 7 run (kick failed), 4:52
SID — Tel Hermanson 1 run (Lovegren run), 2:01
Fourth quarter
SID — Lovegren 4 run (run failed), 2:22
SID — Lovegren 29 run (Johnson kick), :38
BEL — Mounts 32 pass from Luhrsen (no attempt), :00
Friday’s Game
Butte Central 49, Hamilton 14
Hamilton 7 7 0 0 — 14
Butte Ctl 14 14 0 21 — 49
BC — Cole Harper 65 pass from Tanner Kump (Tyler Kump kick)
HAM — Bret Huxtable 60 run (Bridger Bauder kick)
BC — Blake Burton 7 pass from Ta. Kump (Ty. Kump kick)
BC — Nate McGree 40 pass from Ta. Kump (Ty. Kump kick)
BC — Harper 45 pass from Ta. Kump (Ty. Kump kick)
HAM — Alex Draper 1 run (Bauder kick)
BC — Ryan Moodry 25 run (Ty. Kump kick)
BC — McGree 58 interception return (Ty. Kump kick)
BC — Ta. Kump 24 run (Ty. Kump kick)
VOLLLEYBALL
Whitefish wins
Posted: Saturday, October 31, 2015 11:31 pm
WHITEFISH — Whitefish survived a scare from Columbia Falls, defeating the Wildkats in five sets on senior night 25-16, 27-25, 17-25, 15-25, 18-16 in the last Northwestern A match for each before the divisional tournament.
Whitefish won the first two sets, edging out the second in extra points. Columbia Falls answered with two emphatic sets, but Whitefish had more in the end, beating the ’Kats in extra points in the final set.
Columbia Falls’ Morgan Stenger had a match-high 27 kills and four blocks and Cydny Finberg had 35 assists. Kaitlyn Cassaza led the Wildkats with 19 digs and KJ Schweikert had 3 aces.
Cailyn Ross had 13 kills to lead Whitefish and Allie Schulz had three blocks. Serena Hemmingson had 14 digs, Ellie Dewan four aces and Libby Nagler 23 assists for the Bulldogs.
The Western A divisional tournament begins Thursday in Hamilton.
Whitefish def. Columbia Falls 25-16, 27-25, 17-25, 15-25, 18-16
Kills—CF 84 (Morgan Stenger 27), Whitefish 45 (Cailyn Ross 13). Blocks—CF 8 (Stenger 4), Whitefish 3 (Allie Schulz 3). Assists—CF 37 (Cydney Finberg 35), Whitefish 46 (Libby Nagler 23). Digs—CF 86 (Kaitlyn Cassaza 19), Whitefish 55 (Serena Hemmingson 14). Aces—CF 10 (KJ Schweikert 3), Whitefish 9 (Ellie Dewan 4).
Columbia Falls sweeps Polson, 3-0
At Polson, Morgan Stenger had 10 kills and six blocks to lead the Wildkats to the Northwest A win over the Pirates, 26-24, 25-23, 25-21.
Kaitlyn Casazza added 10 digs and three aces for the winners.
Haley Fyant paced Polson with eight kills and three aces.
Columbia Falls def. Polson, 26-24, 25-23, 25-21.
Kills – C. Falls 28 (Morgan Stenger 10), Polson 27 (Haley Fyant 8). Blocks – C. Falls 10 (Stenger 6), Polson 4 (Lauren Lefthand 2). Digs – C. Falls 29 (Kaitlyn Casazza 10), Polson 34 (Marlee Congdon 12). Assists – C. Falls 26 (Cydney Finberg 26), Polson 26 (Erin Sampson 26). Aces – C. Falls 5 (Casazza 3), Polson 9 (Hannah Fryberger 3, Fyant 3).
SPEECH/DEBATE
C/KATS FINISH 3RD AT KALISPELL INVITE
Posted: Saturday, October 31, 2015 9:34 pm | Updated: 9:52 pm, Sat Oct 31, 2015.
Saturday’s Kalispell Kickoff Speech and Debate Tournament was a nail-biter as the two host teams battled to the last ballot with Flathead High School winning on a tiebreaker.
It was the fourth straight victory at the Kalispell Classic for Flathead.
Both the defending state champions of Flathead and the Glacier Wolfpack finished with 175.5 points.
The tournament title was decided by the number of first-place winners, with the Braves topping the Wolfpack in that category 6-5.
Sixteen teams from 11 schools competed in the tournament, which kicks off the speech and debate season.
In Class A-B-C competition, Loyola Sacred Heart was first, Whitefish second and Columbia Falls third.
Flathead’s first-place winners were senior Maija Hadwin in both Serious Interpretation and Original Oratory; her brother, freshman Tanis Hadwin, in Expository; senior Sarah Ward in Impromptu; sophomore Noah Love in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate; and freshman Annabelle Pukas in Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate.
Glacier first-place winners were Spencer Johnson & Josie Jolly in Public Forum Debate, Kyersten Siebenaler in Legislative Debate and Abby Van Allen and Brock Adkins in Duo Interpretation.
“It truly could have gone either way,” Flathead Head Coach Shannon O’Donnell said. “We are proud of our team’s remarkable finish in finals, but we are well aware that we won by just a hair. It is going to be an exciting season.”
Both Flathead and Glacier varsity teams are in action next weekend at the Ralph Y. McGinnis Kickoff Tournament at the University of Montana, while junior varsity teams will travel to the Ronan Invitational.
Following are individual results from Saturday’s tournament:
Varsity Policy Debate
1. Annabel Conger & Colin Norick, Columbia Falls
2. Ian Caltabiano & Zachary Kasselder, Whitefish
3. Maggie Miltko & Casey Cummins, Loyola
4. Jeremy Heng & Su Su Oo, Hellgate
5. Mason Devries & Tyler Hong, Flathead
6. Brendan Wathen & Ellen Myrhe, Hamilton
7. Sting-Ray Engel & Shelby Harness, Hamilton
8. Jenna McCrorie & Emma Trunkle, Glacier
Novice Policy Debate
1. Hellie Badarrudin & Stephanie Radcliff, Loyola
2. Elizabeth Klemann & Malea Bauer, Glacier
3. Ian McKenzie & Ruth Nelson, Columbia Falls
4. Jennifer Breese & Cora Tollerson, Glacier
5. Seth Lang & Tegan Schaper , Sentinel
6. Tristan Jennings & Jelisa Holmquist, Flathead
7. David Ramsey & Wyatt Hudson, Loyola
8. Makayla Robinson & Conrad Hedinger, Flathead
Varsity Lincoln Douglas
1. Noah Love, Flathead
2. Kennedy Bahm, Big Sky
3. Teigan Avery, Glacier
4. Emma Harrison, Hellgate
5. Tyler Hazeltine, Sentinel
6. Dexter Crago, Big Sky
7. Samantha Bruce, Flathead
8. Emma Norton, Hellgate
Novice Lincoln Douglas
1. Annabelle Pukas, Flathead
2. Ryan Sandau, Sentinel
3. Dakota Henson, Whitefish
4. Julie Quackebush, Sentinel
5. Keeley Holder, Libby
6. Oliver Chinn, Sentinel
7. Nathan MacGregor, Glacier
8. Chrissy Hartman, Sentinel
Public Forum
1. Spencer Johnson & Josie Jolly, Glacier
2. Millie Espeseth & Keegan Siebenaler, Glacier
3. Kelli Rosenquist & Jackson Petty, Sentinel
4. Matt Knuffke & Dillon Knuffke, Glacier
5. Anna Cecil & Graham Friedman, Glacier
6. Nick Zetterberg & Madelaine Millar, Hellgate
7. Stephanie Woodland & Sierra Dilworth, Flathead
8. Josh Crumpton & Aaron Palen, Hellgate
Legislative Debate
1. Kyersten Siebenaler, Glacier High
2. Taylor Gregory, Sentinel
3. Tristen Lang, Glacier
4. Nate Sager, Sentinel
5. Carolyn Brosten, Flathead
6. Peter Holman, Sentinel
7. Will Thompson, Hellgate
8. Fisher Johnson, Hellgate
Extemporaneous Speaking
1. Abbie Belcher, Whitefish
2. Nick Sundberg, Stevensville
3. Rosie McCormack, Loyola
4. Grace Cady, Flathead
5. Sarah Ward, Flathead
6. Kenzie Wells, Loyola
7. Dylan Crandell, Glacier
8. Zoe Nelson, Hellgate
Impromptu
1. Sarah Ward, Flathead
2. Dylan Crandell, Glacier
3. Grace Cady, Flathead
4. Abbie Belcher, Whitefish
5. Carolina Sierra, Flathead
6. Kaylee Peters, Hellgate
7. Rosie McCormack, Loyola
8. Nick Sundberg, Stevensville
Duo Interpretation
1. Abby Van Allen/Brock Adkins, Glacier
2. Wyatt Dykhuizen/Parker Kouns, Flathead
3. Easton Powell/Josh Smith, Corvallis
4. Sebastian Reed/Kim Bounds, Corvallis
5. Brenden Anderson/Trey Shields, Glacier
6. Sophia Therriault/Jalynn Nelson, Hellgate
7. Adam Habel/Josh Pitt, Glacier
8. Nate Lorenc/Drew Lorenc, Glacier
Humorous Interpretation
1. Haley Wilson, Hellgate
2. Wyatt Dykhuizen, Flathead
3. Annie Jones, Flathead
4. Ethan Hall, Flathead
5. Kayli Burback, Flathead
6. Jon Sorenson, Glacier
7. Kedryn McElderry, Glacier
8. Caleb Anderson, Loyola
Serious Interpretation
1. Maija Hadwin, Flathead
2. Charlotte Mack, Flathead
3. Anika Fritz, Glacier
4. Christine Giesen, Flathead
5. Kaylee Peters, Hellgate
6. Alyssa Seeber, Stevensville
7. Bria Anderson, Glacier
8. Jenna Cardenas, Stevensville
Memorized Public Address
1. Zach Ade, Whitefish
2. Payton Keltner, Flathead
3. Adam Habel, Glacier
4. Abby Van Allen, Glacier
5. Aaron Robinson, Glacier
6. Joey Chester, Columbia Falls
7. Savannah Cheff, Flathead
8. Nilla Swenson, Glacier
Original Oratory
1. Maija Hadwin, Flathead
2. Aaron Robinson, Glacier
3. Brock Adkins, Glacier
4. Kate Giffin, Glacier
5. Hunter Cripe, Whitefish
6. Sam Benkelman, Whitefish
7. Daniel Sierra, Flathead
8. Aidan Fritz, Glacier
Expository Speaking
1. Tanis Hadwin, Flathead
2. Anika Fritz, Glacier
3. Kodee Wagner, Flathead
4. Alec Willis, Glacier
5. Alex Healy, Corvallis
6. Natalie Krueger, Glacier
7. Emily Getts, Columbia Falls
8. Bailey Strader, Loyola
