It’s been a long, hard road to the top for Bigfork’s football team. After enduring a multi-year losing streak, adapting to a new coaching system and transitioning into a new league, the Vikings are your District 7B champions.
And if seeing Bigfork at the top of the standings makes you take a second look, Columbia Falls may give you the same reaction. The Wildcats claimed their first regular season conference championship since 1972 and earned a first-round bye at the Class A state tournament.
Bigfork capped off an undefeated conference season by defeating St. Ignatius last week 42-21. With the regular season over, the Vikings are a perfect 5-0 in league play and 6-2 overall.
As the No. 1 seed from 7B, Bigfork hosts a first-round game at the Class B state tournament. The Vikings play Missoula Loyola Sacred Heart, the No. 2 seed from 6B, on Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. Also qualifying from 7B are second-seeded Eureka and third-seeded Troy.
Bigfork lost to Missoula Loyola in its first game of the season. In that game, the two teams went into the fourth quarter tied at 34. Then Loyola scored 27 unanswered points to win 61-34.
The Vikings’ captains said later they hoped to get another crack at Loyola. They will get their wish now.
Travis Knoll, a senior running back, has turned in a phenomenal season for the Vikings. Knoll regularly gains more than 100 yards on the ground and has multiple games of three or more touchdowns, including last week’s five-touchdown performance against St. Ignatius.
Quarterback Christian Ker has proven he can take on more responsibility in the passing game when called upon, which means Loyola won’t be able to zero in on one facet of the Vikings’ offense.
Like Bigfork, Columbia Falls is led by a dynamic running back and a tall quarterback who rises to the occasion when necessary.
With so much focus placed on senior running back Nate Thompson, quarterback Austin Barth has the ability to air the ball out, as he put on display with six touchdown passes in a 51-0 victory over Whitefish on Oct. 15.
Thompson finished the regular season with 1,606 yards and 12 touchdowns on 209 carries, an average of 200.8 yards per game and 7.7 yards per carry.
Columbia Falls, 4-4 (3-1), doesn’t play until Nov. 6 as it awaits the winner of a first-round game between Eastern No. 2 Miles City and Central No. 3 Havre.
The other two Northwestern A teams to qualify for state are No. 2 Libby and No. 3 Polson. Libby is 5-4 (3-1) and Polson is 6-2 (2-2). Libby beat Polson 17-16 in the regular season finale, while Columbia Falls lost its first conference game of the year to Ronan 28-20.
Head coach Bill Coleman said he doesn’t expect his team to make any big changes going into state. But he said it’s vital for his boys to focus closely on their game plan, especially with a week off.
“We have to make sure that we’re guarding against any kind of complacency,” Coleman said. “We can’t take a quarter to get our feet back under us. We have to be ready to go from that opening kickoff.”