Columbia Falls defense stands tall as Wildcats win 1st State A championship

By Slim Kimmel

COLUMBIA FALLS – Jaxon Schweikert believed his Columbia Falls football team had the best defense in Class A this season. The Wildcats backed up his claim with another dominant performance in the state championship on Saturday, shutting down Hamilton’s high-powered offense in a 26-14 win.

The Broncs entered the game averaging more than 40 points per game, but Columbia Falls brought in a defense that had allowed a total of just seven points in two previous playoff games.

The Wildcats used a powerful rushing attack to move the ball deep into Hamilton territory and eventually build a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Auguste Emond got Columbia Falls on the board first with a short field goal before Austin Green found Ben Windauer for the game’s first touchdown. That duo hooked up for two scores on the day, helping Columbia Falls win the first State A football championship in school history.

Emond added his second and third field goals of the day in the second quarter, sandwiching Hamilton’s first touchdown. Tyler Chouinard caught a five-yard scoring pass from Carson Rostad to help the Broncs keep the game at a one-score deficit, 16-7, at halftime.

The second half brought more of the same, as Columbia Falls moved the ball seemingly at will to drive deep into Hamilton territory. The Broncs’ defense rose to the occasion, forcing field goal attempts. Emond added his fourth and final field golf of the day in the third quarter to put the Wildcats up 19-7.

Hamilton struggled to find room against the Columbia Falls defense all game, but the Broncs put together a sustained drive to the end the third quarter. On the first play of the fourth, Rostad found Bridger Bauder for a five-yard touchdown, and it was suddenly just a five-point game.

The teams traded possessions, and Columbia Falls – following another fourth-down stop by its defense – surged ahead with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Green to Windauer, who snuck behind the Hamilton defense and scampered in for the score.

From there, the Wildcats’ defense again shut down the Hamilton offense, giving the ball back to Green and Co. Columbia Falls ran out the clock to ice the win and put the finishing touches on a 9-1 season. The Wildcats, who lost in last year’s state championship, allowed only 21 points in three playoff games.

Hamilton, under first-year coach Bryce Carver, finishes the season with a 10-2 record. Both losses came against Columbia Falls. 

CLASS A: Columbia Falls 26, Hamilton 14

COLUMBIA FALLS -- For the second straight year, the Columbia Falls Wildcats hosted the Class A State Championship football game.

This time, it didn't get away from them.

Austin Green hit Ben Windauer with a pair of touchdowns, including a 42-yard bomb in the middle of the fourth quarter, and Auguste Emond hit four field goals as the Wildcats earned their first-even state football crown with a 26-14 win over the Hamilton Broncs Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats, completing a 9-1 season, also had the home-field advantage for the 2016 game, but Dillon doubled up on them 34-17.

Green, who completed 12 of his 20 attempts for 153 yards and the two scores, had a short toss to Windauer in the first, after Emond connected on a 22-yard boot for the first tally of the game, and the Wildcats led 10-0 after one. It was a lead they would never relinquish.

Emond would also connect on successful kicks from 29, 32 and 26 yards before Green's long pass to Windauer took the wind right out of the Broncs (10-2).

Green would finish with 157 yards on 27 carries, while Colton McPhee led the way with 182 rushing yards on 28 totes. The Wildcats would amass 522 yards of total offense -- 369 yards on the ground -- while Hamilton was held to 269 total yards.

Carson Rostad threw for 232 yards and two scores in the loss.

Hamilton 0 7 0 7 — 14
Columbia Falls 10 6 3 7 — 26
First Quarter
CF — Auguste Emond 22 field goal, 7:59
CF — Ben Windauer 3 pass from Austin Green (Emond kick), 2:51
Second Quarter
CF — Emond 29 field goal, 4:31
H — Tyler Chouinard 5 pass from Carson Rostad (Bridger Bauder kick), 2:14
CF — Emond 32 field goal, 0:29
Third Quarter
CF — Emond 26 field goal, 2:11
Fourth Quarter
H — Bauder 5 pass from Rostad (Bauder kick), 11:55

CF — Windauer 42 pass from Green (Emond kick), 6:41 

Ham CF
First Downs 14 23
Total Yards 269 522
Rushes-Yards 25-37 61-369
Passing Yards 232 153
Comp-Att-Int 22-34-1 12-20-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 4-30 5-33

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 
RUSHING — Hamilton, Bridger Bauder 14-36, Declan O’Brien 1-2, Carson Rostad 10-(-1). Columbia Falls, Colton McPhee 28-182, Austin Green 27-157, Logan Kolodejchuk 6-30.
PASSING — Hamilton, Carson Rostad 22-34-1-232. Columbia Falls, Austin Green 12-20-0-153.
RECEIVING — Hamilton, Camron Rothie 8-103, Tyler Chouinard 7-71, Tucker Jones 2-26, Tyler Barnes 2-16, Bridger Bauder 2-9, Mark Joyner 1-7. Columbia Falls, Ben Windauer 5-86, Logan Kolodejchuk 3-18, Colton McPhee 1-22, Logan Bechtel 1-12, Drew Morgan 1-8, Parker Greene 1-7.

Wildcats will way to title: Columbia Falls captures program's first championship

• KYLE HOUGHTALING 406mtsports.com

COLUMBIA FALLS — Last year, Columbia Falls' Logan Kolodejchuck watched Dillon celebrate a state title on his home field while leaning on crutches.

This Saturday, however, the senior was helping lead his Wildcats in a victory song after beating Hamilton 26-14 in the Class A football championship game. A sizable contingent of the Columbia Falls community surrounded the home team, eager to catch a glimpse of the boys who brought their town its first-ever football crown.

"This time last year I was sitting on the sidelines ... and it was probably the worst feeling I've ever felt," said Kolodejchuck, who had broken his leg late in the year last season. "Coming back (this year), it was just a full revenge tour."

The Wildcats' win started up front — particularly on the defensive line. Not surprisingly, Kolodejchuck, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound dump truck, helped set the tone.

Columbia Falls held Class A's No. 1 offense to just 269 total yards and 14 points. Both numbers represent the Broncs' lowest output this season, as well as Hamilton's 37 yards rushing on 25 carries.

Broncs first-year head coach Bryce Carver said the C. Falls front three, "should be college football players." Columbia Falls coach Jaxon Schweikert had equally high praise.

"Our D-Line we thought was the best in the state from Day 1 with Kyler Koski, Hayden Falkner and Kolodejchuk," the C. Falls skipper said. "Then our inside backers are almost unblockable.

"... We ran the same offense, but we knew our defense was so good if we didn't put them in bad positions people were going to have a really hard time scoring on them."

The Broncs did break through twice on Carson Rostad touchdown passes, though. His second scoring throw went to senior running back Bridger Bauder from 5 yards out. It was the first play of the fourth quarter and pulled Hamilton within five, 19-14.

But Columbia Falls' ground-and-pound was relentless. Even when a drive didn't result in points for the Wildcats, they'd still chew up field position and the clock — both of which happened on Columbia Falls' ensuing possession. 

Senior running back Colten McPhee ripped off runs of 5, 12, 9 and 2 yards to move the ball into enemy territory. He finished with a game-best 182 yards on the ground.

Hamilton eventually held, forcing a turnover on downs, but Columbia Falls — which ran for 369 total yards — had chewed up another three minutes of clock. 

The Broncs took over on their own 24 and after three plays faced a fourth-and-1. Columbia Falls called on its defensive line to make a stop.

And for the fourth time Hamilton came up about a foot short. 

"... Violent hands, violent feet; we were able to just dig deep and stop them," Kolodejchuck said of the eventual five fourth-down stops his defense forced. "... We're the tip of the spear."

The Wildcats reached for the dagger on their next play from scrimmage.

Senior quarterback Austin Green, who had 157 yards rushing, added 42 more yards passing and a touchdown to his go-to wide receiver, Ben Windauer. The C. Falls senior ran a seam down the middle of the field, and the 6-foot-1 senior high-pointed the pass and ran like he had a host of Broncs on his heels.

But Windauer was all alone as he sprinted into the end zone, giving Columbia Falls a 26-14 lead after an Auguste Emond PAT with 6:41 remaining.

"I knew the play, it wasn't designed to go to me, but I motioned to my quarterback; I told him I knew I was going to be open," said Windauer, who also added both a first-quarter touchdown and a diving interception on the second-half's first play from scrimmage. "We've been dreaming about this forever. We knew this was the year, we knew we had the guys."

Those guys included Emond, who connected on four field goals for the Cats. His foot gave Columbia Falls a 3-0 lead, one the Wildcats would never relinquish. 

Green's game under center for C. Falls can't be forgotten, either. He accounted for 310 yards of his team's 522 total from scrimmage. A fan grabbed the senior signal-caller by the jersey after the game and thanked him.

He told Green he had waited his entire life to see this.

"This means everything. This town has always been big on their sports, and we couldn't have done this without their support," Green said.

Columbia Falls, which had a game canceled this season due to online threats made against the school district, finished the season 9-1 overall. Its only loss came in a 2016 state title rematch against Dillon in week two, 16-14.

Hamilton wound up 10-2 overall. Both of the Broncs' losses came at the hands of Columbia Falls — the Cats won a Sept. 1 matchup 23-20. 

The Broncs had big performances in the loss. Camron Rothie finished with eight catches for 103 yards, while Tyler Chouinard added to his Class A-leading receiving total with 71 yards. Chouinard finished his senior season with 1,333 yards through the air. According to the Montana High School Association record book, that's the second-best total in Montana 11-man football history. 

But the Wildcats hoisted the ultimate prize — their first-ever state title trophy.

COLUMBIA FALLS TOPS HAMILTON FOR FIRST STATE FOOTBALL TITLE

By JOSEPH TERRY The Daily Inter Lake

COLUMBIA FALLS — Columbia Falls came up big when it had to, pulling away from Hamilton in the fourth quarter to win the Class A football state championship game 26-14 on Saturday in front of a raucous home crowd at Satterthwaite Field.

A year after getting run off its own field in the title game, the Wildcats took the game to Hamilton the entire contest. Columbia Falls ran for 369 yards and nearly doubled the Broncs’ output in the game. The Wildcats’ defense forced Hamilton into an interception and made four fourth-down stops in the second half to hold on for its first state title in school history.

“You can’t describe it. It’s the best feeling in the world, I’m so excited,” senior Logan Kolodejchuk said.

“Everybody just dug deep. It came from the bottom of their hearts. We got it done ... It’s the best feeling in the world to come back and show that we’re No. 1.”

Playing with a big cushion for most of the game, Columbia Falls put the game away in the fourth quarter with two big plays.

Defending the Broncs on fourth-and-1 from the Hamilton 43-yard line, Columbia Falls stuffed running back Bridger Bauder in the backfield to get the ball back to its offense. On the next play, senior quarterback Austin Green found senior receiver Ben Windauer behind the defense for a 42-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats a 26-14 lead and put the game out of reach.

“That was a hitch-and-go, actually,” Green said. “Ben read the route a little, his guy was too far outside so he just offed it and ran a post and it was wide open. Props to him on that.”

“Right when the play snapped, I knew I was open going down field,” Windauer said. “I turned my head, saw the ball and knew I had to go up for it. I caught the ball and made it happen.”

“It was unbelieveable, I knew from that moment that it was over,” Green said.

Columbia Falls stopped Hamilton on five plays following the touchdown and ran out the final 5:41 to win the game.

“We knew we were grinding them and they were going to have to commit to (the run) and we were going to take a couple of shots late, try to break the game open late. And it worked,” Columbia Falls coach Jackson Schweikert said.

“That was the whole idea of the game. We have a great offensive line and great running backs and our quarterback is a great runner. Our defense is the best that we’ve had since we’ve been here and every team we’ve played they’ve had a hard time scoring on us. If we didn’t put those guys in bad positions, we felt like Hamilton was going to have a hard time scoring on us. We just kinda controlled the clock and controlled the field position and never put our defense in a bad position. It worked out well for us.”

It is the first championship in three tries for the Wildcats. Columbia Falls lost hosting title games in 1970 and 2016.

Green finished 12 of 20 passing for 153 yards and two touchdowns and had 157 rushing yards. Junior back Colten McPhee had a game-high 182 rushing yards on 28 carries and Windauer finished with five catches for 86 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“It’s awesome,” Windauer said. “We’ve dreamed of this ever since we were little. It’s finally here. We did it. I’m so proud of my teammates.”

Columbia Falls controlled the game on the ground from the start, rushing nine times for 65 yards on its opening drive, capping it with a 22-yard field goal from Auguste Emond.

Emond, the leading goal scorer on the Wildcats soccer team, carried the team for most of the night, making four of six field goal attempts to help Columbia Falls build a healthy lead despite frequently stalling in the red zone.

“Thank God we have a really good kicker, who just kept drilling them for us,” Schweikert said.

“Usually we’re really good in the red zone. But, you’re in the state championship and those guys (Hamilton) are really good. Hamilton is a really good team. They’re really good defensively and they’re really good offensively. They’re well-coached and they were able to stone us down there. They just put more people in the box and it was hard to punch it in.

“At one point we almost went for a 50-yarder. We were going to go for it, because he can drill them.”

After forcing Hamilton to a three-and-out on its first possession, Columbia Falls turned to the run game again, rushing the ball nine straight plays to the Hamilton 3-yard line. The Wildcats caught the Broncs off guard, springing their first pass of the game from the goal line, Green connecting with Windauer on a sprint out to the flat for an easy touchdown and a 10-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.

Columbia Falls stalled at the Hamilton 15 on its next drive and missed a field goal, then settled for field goals on its next two drives before half.

Hamilton found space in the middle of the Wildcats defense late in the second quarter, Carson Rostad finding Camron Rothie for a 41-yard pass to advance inside the Columbia Falls 10. The Broncs scored two plays later to cut their halftime deficit to 16-7.

The Wildcats intercepted Rostad on the first play of the second half but couldn’t capitalize, stalling again at the Hamilton 6 and missing a short field goal. Columbia Falls forced a fumble on Hamilton’s next drive but couldn’t recover, instead stopping the Broncs on fourth down. Columbia Falls had another fourth down stop on defense before Emond’s fourth field goal of the afternoon gave the Wildcats a 19-7 lead.

Hamilton scored on its next drive, as Bauder got free on a wheel route inside the Wildcats 5 and hauled in a wide-open score to cut the lead to 19-14.

Columbia Falls stalled in Hamilton territory again on its next drive but came up with the big stop on Hamilton four plays later to set up Windauer’s sealing touchdown.

“In every big game it always comes down to four or five plays,” Schweikert said. “You never knew when those plays are going to come.

“We stopped them enough on fourth-and-short, that was some big plays. Thank goodness for having a great D-line and great linebackers.”

The Wildcats have slowly been building towards this since Schweikert took over in 2012. Since then, the Wildcats have won the Northwest conference twice times and made it to state title games in back-to-back seasons, setting a slew of state records in the process.

“It’s big. Moreso for me, it’s huge for our some of our coaches that have been here for 20 years. It’s huge for this community,” Schweikert said.

“They had really great coaches here and really great kids. They do a great job. I’m just kind of an organizer. I get everybody pointed in the right direction and all these coaches just work so hard for it. It’s pretty amazing to see what they’ve accomplished.”