Page 58 - Flathead Beacon // 8.24.16

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AUGUST 24, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW
Columbia Falls coach Jaxon Schweikert talks to his team during practice.
BEACON FILE PHOTO
AUG. 26 SEPT. 2 SEPT. 9 SEPT. 16 SEPT. 30 OCT. 7 OCT. 14 OCT. 21
CORVALLIS STEVENSVILLE @HAMILTON @BROWNING DILLON @WHITEFISH @POLSON FRENCHTOWN
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*HOMECOMING
LOADED WITH TALENT AND EXPERIENCE, COLUMBIA FALLS AIMS FOR GREATNESS
TWELVE ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS ARE BACK FOR THE WILDCATS, FUELING HIGH ASPIRATIONS
T ypically, the rst week of fall practice is a slow process of shaking o the summer rust and sharpening that competitive edge.
Not in Columbia Falls. The Wildcats are already roaring and ready to go.
“Our practices have been excellent. It’s been a tremendous start,” head coach Jaxon Schweikert said.
The Wildcats enter a new fall campaign with tremendous potential and ambition. Nearly the entire starting o ense is back, including Dakota Bridwell, an all-conference senior quar- terback entering his third year as starter. All together, Colum- bia Falls brings back 12 all-conference players from a year ago, when the Wildcats went 5-4 overall and advanced to the second round of the Class A playo s.
“If they play to their potential, they will be hard for anybody to beat,” Schweikert, in his fth season as head coach, said of the Cats. “This will be the best team I’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Columbia Falls kicks o the season at home against Corval- lis on Aug. 26.
The Wildcats have developed into a perennial playo con- tender in recent years and have consistently produced a high-powered o ense that averages over 100 plays a game, well beyond the typical high school playbook.
With Bridwell and Co. back, that exciting pace should only quicken this season. A year ago, the Wildcat quarterback accrued 1,553 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, averaging 172 yards per game. Against Browning, he set a new Class A record
HEAD COACH
Jaxon Schweikert (5th season, 25-12)
2015 SEASON
5-4 overall (second place in Northwestern A, lost to Havre 47-13 in the second round of the Class A playo s)
RETURNING STANDOUTS
Dakota Bridwell, Sr., QB; Zach Baker, Sr., OL/DL; Sean Miller, Sr., CB; Trevor Hoerner, Sr., WR/LB; Braxton Reiten, Sr., WR
for touchdown passes with seven. It tied the all-class mark for a single game, according to the Montana High School Association. “He is playing at an extremely high level. He’s throwing the ball extremely well,” Schweikert said of Bridwell’s progress entering his senior season. “I can’t say enough good things
about him.”
Bridwell’s favorite target, senior Braxton Reiten, is back as
the team’s speedy slot receiver. Reiten had over 250 yards and three touchdowns last season. Senior receiver Wyatt Green is also back as a top target; he caught three touchdowns and tal- lied over 200 yards last year. Senior Trevor Hoerner, who has committed to play for the Montana Grizzlies next year, is also poised for a big season at receiver.
There are several de ning qualities about this latest group, but Schweikert thinks the team’s speed and size will shine brightest.
“We’re very quick and we have really good size. Our o ensive line is huge,” he said.
Leading in the trenches, senior lineman Zach Baker is one of the best in the state and has garnered attention from the Uni- versity of Montana and Montana State.
“We really have 13 kids who could play college football next year,” Schweikert said.
In order to reach its end goal, Columbia Falls will have to bat- tle a familiar rival, Polson, which is also one of the top teams in the state this year. Dillon also returns a bulk of talent from last year’s state runner-up squad. ■
2016 SCHEDULE
COLUMBIA FALLS
WILDCATS
“WE’RE VERY QUICK AND WE HAVE REALLY GOOD SIZE. OUR OFFENSIVE LINE
IS HUGE.”
- JAXON SCHWEIKERT, WILDCATS HEAD COACH