Cats crush Broncs, face Polson in playoffs
Columbia Falls will find itself facing a familiar foe in the first-round of the Class A football playoffs in Polson. The Cats walloped conference rival Frenchtown 46-6 last Friday to secure home field for the first-round game.
It took awhile for the Cats to get going against the Broncs, but with 2:44 left in the first half, Dakota Bridwell hit Trevor Hoerner on a 25-yard pass to give the Cats their first touchdown. The Cats got the ball back and a little more than a minute later, Bridwell rumbled in from 11 yards out. Both of kicker Brandon Karberg’s point-after attempts were good and the Cats were up 14-0 at the half.
In the second half it was all Columbia Falls as they scored 20 points in the third and another 10 in the fourth in the blowout.
Bridwell had a great game, going 24-for-31 passing for 337 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for two touchdowns. He threw two interceptions, but both of those were on tipped balls. Austin Green caught five passes for 113 yards, Tyler Murphy caught four passes for 56 yards and Trevor Hoerner caught eight passes for 113 yards. It was the second game in a row Bridwell completed 77 percent of his passes.
“Austin and Trevor stepped up big time,” said coach Jackson Schweikert. “They were outstanding.”
Overall Schweikert said the team has been getting better each week.
“Defensively we were lights out,” he said. “Best we’ve been all year.”
Wyatt Green led the ground attack with 16 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown. Stephen Lyndsey had 9 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown. All told, the Cats had 164 yards rushing and 501 yards total offense.
The Polson game Saturday at home should be a good one. Polson gets into the playoffs by virtue of a new “wildcard” system for Class A, which uses a point formula to determine the final four seeds in the playoffs.
The last time the two teams squared up, the Cats came back from a 20-6 deficit in the third quarter to win.
Schweikert said they’re going to stick to the same game plan as the previous game. This young Cat squad keeps improving.
“Our kids have done a great job of hanging in there,” he said. “It’s been a fun experience watching them improve.”
The Cats end the regular season at 4-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. If they beat Polson, they’d face Havre away in the next round of the playoffs.
Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for students. Game time is 1 p.m.
Columbia Falls 0 14 20 10 — 44
Frenchtown 0 0 0 6 — 6
CF — Trevor Hoerner 25 run, (kick good)
CF — Dakota Bridwell 11 run, (kick good)
CF — Bridwell 1 run, (kick good)
CF — Stephen Lindsey 9 run, (PAT fail)
CF — Tyler Murphy 6 pass from Bridwell, (kick good)
CF — Green 3 run, (kick good)
F — Dawson Jones 52 pass from Zack Palmer, (PAT fail)
CF — Brandon Karberg 25 field goal