`Dogs hit the court running

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

The 2007 Whitefish High School boys basketball season kicked off with a bang on Friday afternoon at Columbia Falls High School.

Colt Idol, stealing the ball just seconds into the game, dribbled the length of the court at full speed and went flying for a slam dunk.

As he hung on the rim, suspended in air, the Whitefish fans screamed in unison.

The Bulldogs started fast and never slowed down. The Anaconda Copperheads never recovered from that first play, and the Whitefish boys went on to win 64-34.

Idol had 22 points in the game, and he looked to be in mid-season form from the get-go.

Aaron Tkachyk added 12 points for the Bulldogs, and Shawn Watterud added nine. All three boys had a pair of 3-pointers apiece.

David FauntLeRoy had a good game, playing solid defense and adding eight points.

"For the most part, we got the opening jitters out," said head coach Eric Stang. "We played well, we had a respectable showing. It was good because the young kids are stepping up, and we're getting the ball to a lot of different guys."

Nine different Whitefish boys scored baskets in the game.

The Bulldogs scored 30 points in the first half and 34 in the second half. The Copperheads weren't able to penetrate to the paint much, as the Whitefish boys played sticky defense on both sides of the court.

Whitefish 15 15 21 13 - 64

Anaconda 7 16 8 6 - 37

Whitefish - Matt Whitehead, 4, Aaron Tkachyk 12, Shawn Watterud 9, Josh Backer 1, Marc Hotzfield 2, Brian Flickinger 4, Colt Idol 22, Jake Smith 2, David FauntLeRoy 8.

Stevi 62, Whitefish 59

On Saturday, the Bulldogs played a barn-burner with Stevensville on the home court in Whitefish. With an early lead in the first quarter, Whitefish let Stevi creep back into the game.

The teams were tied for most of the game, and by the third quarter the score was locked at 45 all. Stevi kept getting ahead by two or three points. The tenacious Bulldogs kept evening the numbers, but never led in the final minutes.

At the end, the Yellowjackets took a three-point lead with a basket and a free-throw. With four seconds left on the clock, Shawn Watterud attempted a desperation three-pointer, and the ball hit the rim just as the buzzer went off.

It was close, but close wasn't enough for the Bulldogs to get the win. The Bulldogs lost 59-62.

The Whitefish team looked like they were going to dominate the game for the first five minutes, but poor shooting at the line and questionable rebounding cost them the win.

"We shot 52 percent at the free throw line during the game," said Stang. "We have to get better, because we were shooting 78 percent in practice today. We have to be able to do that during a game."

Stang said he was pleased with his team's defense, but there are still things to work on.

"We did a poor job of boxing out," he said. "We need to fix those things. It's disappointing because we had our opportunities."

On Friday, the Bulldogs host Glacier High School at 4:15 p.m.

"We're just going to build on good work and stay focused," Stang said.

Stevensville 16 20 9 17 - 62

Whitefish 18 16 11 14 - 59

Whitefish (1-1) - Matt Whitehead 4, Aaron Tkachyk 7, Shawn Watterud 12, Brian Flickinger 4, Colt Idol 21, Jake Smith 3, David FauntLeRoy 8.