Bulldog gridders continue their unbeaten streak

The Whitefish High School football team continued its unbeaten streak Friday, as Bulldog running back Luke Fennelly rushed for 225 yards and four touchdowns to lead his team to a 34-20 win over the Ronan Chiefs.

"He (Fennelly) just had an outstanding game," said Bulldog head coach Patrick Dryden.

Offensive lineman Chris McCloy, Clay Christiansen and Lucas Gregory helped open up lanes for the Bulldogs' backs, who have had continued success this season.

Whitefish's other point-scorer in the game, Zach Fennelly, scored a touchdown on a two-yard run.

The Bulldogs stuck to the run throughout the game. The 'Dogs only had 86 yards of passing.

"I felt like we could have had more passing yards," Dryden said. "It seemed like every time, something fell apart— we didn't pick up a blitz, ran the wrong route or didn't see the open receiver."

But the Bulldogs had other tools in their offensive game.

"We were having so much success running the ball that we really didn't need to throw that much," Dryden said.

Whitefish kicker Brad Nielson also added to the Bulldog effort, putting four-of-five point-after attempts through the uprights. So far this season, Nielson is 14-of-18 on PATs and 1-for-1 on field goals with a 27-yarder.

Although the defense gave up 20 points in the game, Dryden said he was pleased with the result, except for when Chiefs' player Joe McArthy fielded a kickoff and returned it for an 84-yard touchdown.

McArthy also scored a 34-yard touchdown on a reverse play, which Dryden said was well executed.

On Friday, Whitefish hosts the undefeated Libby Loggers for the Bulldogs' homecoming game.

According to the Montana Newspaper Association's power poll, Libby is the top team in the Northwestern conference.

The Bulldogs don't need polls to tell them that Libby is one of the best teams in the state.

As history goes, Whitefish has had a lot of trouble with the Libby team in the past three years.

The last time Whitefish played Libby, the Loggers scored 28 points in the first half en route to a 49-6 win. In 2004, the Loggers beat the Bulldogs 27-0, and in 2003, the Loggers beat the Bulldogs 54-28.

"They've given everyone a lot of trouble the past few years, not just us," Dryden said.

Libby has one of the top offenses in the state, boasting a 155-27 point differential. Whitefish's stat is similar, at 135-32, and the 'Dogs will look to equalize Libby's passing threat with its strong secondary.

Much of the Loggers' offense this season has come from quarterback Joel Fuller, who has passed for a conference-high 12 touchdowns this season.

He has two of the top receiving players in the conference in 6-foot 5-inch receiver Kyle Baker and tight end Richard Brumbaugh. In the recent outing against Eureka, Brumbaugh caught three passes for touchdowns and rushed for 128 yards.

Dryden said the Bulldogs' best chance is to play a defensive game and keep the Loggers from running up the score.

"I don't think we have the firepower to stay with them in a shoot out," Dryden said.

He said he hopes the Bulldogs defensive line can keep pressure on Fuller in the pocket, and says his secondary needs to be able to stop the big plays.

In past games, Dryden said the Bulldogs have gotten into foul trouble, something they need to rectify for the Libby game.

On the other hand, the Bulldogs have been the recipients of other teams' errors and have a plus 15 turnover differential.

"We're taking the ball away three times more than we're giving it away," Dryden said. "That trend will have to continue if we're going to be successful."

Both the Bulldogs and the Loggers are 5-0 overall, 3-0 in conference.

The game kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial Field in Whitefish.

Homecoming royalty will be announced at half time.