Excitement Building Ahead of Whitefish and Columbia Falls Football Game

Whitefish and Columbia Falls high schools are separated by about 7 miles as the crow flies, but in football, the distance between the two has felt even closer in recent years.

Going back to 2020, Columbia Falls has won three of the last five meetings, but has outscored Whitefish over that period by just three points. A field goal, notably, was the only scoring in last year’s rivalry game, which resulted in a 3-0 win for the Wildcats.

Brett Bollweg, the head football coach for the Whitefish Bulldogs, said that between the closeness of the communities, and the familiarity the players and coaches have with each other, “it’s as high school football should be.”

Bollweg’s team has the privilege of home field advantage this year, and the coach said that he expects the stands to be packed this Friday night.

“Our community rallies around us, and so does Columbia Falls, in all the best ways,” Bollweg said of the way the two towns support their football teams.

Bollweg’s players are excited, and so are their peers over in Columbia Falls, where head coach Kelly Houle said the meeting of the two schools always seems to produce a good game.

“In my opinion, when rivals get together, you can throw the records out the window. It’s the way I look at it. It’s going to come down to two or three plays, who makes less mistakes, who can execute the game plan the best. Just the details,” Houle said. “We’re excited to play.”

The two teams both made the Class A playoffs last year. This year, Whitefish is off to a 4-1 start, and is 2-0 in conference play. Columbia Falls’ record stands at 2-3 and the team is 2-0 in conference play.

Bollweg said that he sees his team maturing, growing into its skin a bit, and continuing to eliminate mistakes that the team made earlier in the season.

“Our guys really love being together, which is a really fun environment to be around. They’re willing to challenge each other and push each other in a really positive way,” he said.

The Bulldogs season, generally speaking, has gone back-and-forth between close games and blowout wins. They opened the year against Havre, but weather ended the game early and it was ruled a no contest. Their next game against Hamilton resulted in a 27-23 loss. The Bulldogs followed it up with a 45-0 win over Corvallis, and then pulled out a 14-7 win over Eureka. Since then, they’ve beaten Ronan 65-0 and Polson 41-6.

Of the Hamilton game, Bollweg said that the team had a rough first half, but shut out their opponent in the second half and gave themselves a chance to win. The game against Eureka saw his team “gut out a tough win,” he said.

Between those two games, Bollweg said he’s hoping that the team can look back when the season’s over and see them as turning points where they learned how to win close games.

“The maturation process speeds up pretty quick when you’re in those situations,” Bollweg said.

The team has a balanced mix of juniors and seniors contributing, as well as some sophomores. The Bulldog offense runs through junior quarterback Luke Dalen, senior running back Cole Moses and junior receiver Vlad Shestak. Moses and Dalen have accounted for nearly 600 of the team’s 921 rushing yards on the season, and 10 of the team’s 13 rushing touchdowns. Another key piece of the Bulldog run game is senior running back Jordan Harmon, who has tallied 17 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown this year. Shestak has caught 14 passes for 280 yards and a score, accounting for more than half of the team’s 548 receiving yards on the season. Senior Cooper Akey has also contributed to the passing game, catching five balls for 93 yards and two touchdowns so far.

The Bulldogs have also been tough on opposing teams when it comes to defending the pass. Shestak, Akey, Harmon, Jayke Thew and Sam Rainford each have at least one interception, and the team has 12 total on the season.

Bollweg also credited the team’s line play on the offensive and defensive line, saying they’ve done a “phenomenal job” setting the tempo in each game and putting the team in position to succeed on offense and defense. The team’s offensive line is led by four-year starter Sam Akey at guard, along with Braylon Dunn, Anderson Barille, Creed Scott and Leo Bungener.

“It’s going to be a fun Friday night, and I’m excited to put on display the hard work the kids have been putting in,” Bollweg said.

Columbia Falls’ season started off with a string of losses, but their record has been steadily improving since the start of conference play at the end of September. The Wildcats began the season with a 17-13 loss to Lewistown, and then dropped consecutive games to Frenchtown and East Helena, losing by scores of 37-6 and 40-8.

The Sept. 26 home game against Bigfork ended in a 27-13 Wildcats win, and the team followed that up with a 54-0 win over Ronan last week.

Houle said that the team faced some tough opponents through the first three weeks of the season, but that’s how he wanted it for the team’s nonconference schedule.

“In terms of playoffs and conference standings, they meant nothing. But in terms of putting stuff on film, and seeing where we were, and helping kids get better through practice, they were hugely important,” Houle said.

Over the last few weeks, he’s seen his team start to execute better on offense and defense, and at the same time display a better understanding of the team’s systems on both sides of the ball.

The coach and his staff also continue to talk about the team as a brotherhood in which players support and love each other, and play for each other when it’s game time. The team’s first win against Bigfork was an important one, according to Houle.

The game was 13-13 coming out of halftime, and Houle said his team kept at it as the close game carried on, and they were able to score twice in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

“It’s always good to get that first win, get some confidence, get that doubt out of your mind a little bit. Doubt and regret is the biggest bully there is. And we talk about that—get rid of your bullies, get rid of them in your mind. Just go out there and play free,” Houle said.

The Wildcats have been playing a lot of juniors and sophomores this year, with some seniors contributing at key positions as well, including a trio of on the offensive line, and All-State senior receiver and defensive back Easton Brooks making an impact on both sides of the ball.

The team’s quarterback, junior Banyan Johnston, is a state champion high jumper in track, and Houle sees a growing player who can sling the ball, and run it effectively, too. Johnston has thrown for 854 yards so far on the season with seven touchdowns and one interception. He’s also tallied 69 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 28 carries.

Protecting Johnston is senior center Kaden Kaber, junior right tackle Tristan Anderson, senior guard Halen Powell, senior offensive guard Landon Quimby, and junior left tackle Ryan Mee.

The team’s leading rusher is junior running back Trip Ross, who Houle likened to “a hammer” when he has the ball. Averaging 5.1 yards per carry, Ross has toted the rock 71 times for 363 yards and two touchdowns this season. He’s also leading the team in tackles with 55 from the inside linebacker position.

 Columbia Falls football plays at Whitefish this Friday in Whitefish at 7 p.m.

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