Wildcats clash with Billings Central in state playoffs

By JOE SOVA - Hungry Horse News

Columbia Falls goes into the Class A boys soccer state playoffs with momentum, coming off a 5-0 blanking of Polson on Saturday to earn a postseason berth. The Wildcats take on Billings Central at 4 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 12) at Wendy's Field on the Rocky Mountain College campus in Billings.

CFHS is the No. 3 seed from the Northern A Conference, going in with a 3-4-1 mark. Central is the top seed from the Eastern A, finishing with a 5-1 record — the same as Livingston, the second seed. Central is 8-4 overall and CFHS is 6-5-1.

The Cats needed the win over Polson, since they lost to Northern A champion Whitefish 5-2 on Thursday.

"We played much better Saturday," said CFHS coach Peter Browne, whose team took a 3-0 lead over Polson into halftime. "We made a few minor adjustments. The kids communicated better."

Josh McNeil gave the Cats the lead just three minutes into Saturday's match, assisted by DJ Stoneman. Stoneman and Travis Pete found the net two minutes apart late in the first half. Pete had the assist on Stoneman's goal. Stoneman and Chase Jackson added second-half goals for the Cats.

"We were real solid up the middle," Browne said.

Browne had praise for Casey Hebert, who played the keep back in the game, as well as Pete, Grant Getts, Cody Bowman and Stoneman.

"It was a good team effort," Browne said.

George Kimerly had eight saves for the Cats.

The Cats matched Whitefish goal-for-goal in the first 20 minutes of the match. Matt Grindrod — who had a hat trick — scored from just 10 yards out just three minutes into the contest. Just three minutes later, the Cats tied it on a Jackson goal after a nice crossing pass from Edgar Salcido.

Kimerly was called for a foul just inside the penalty area minutes later. He made amends, stopping Shane Widdifield's ensuing penalty kick.

In the 12th minute, Whitefish reclaimed the lead on a Preston Taylor goal. The match was tied again when Jackson scored, thanks to a pass from Cody Bowman after a feed from DJ Stoneman.

Grindrod scored again with four minutes left in the half. It was 3-2 at intermission.

Browne wanted a much better first half from his team than in the teams' first meeting, when Whitefish led 2-0 at halftime.

"We hung in there for the first half," Browne said.

But the Dogs dominated the early going in the second half. Browne indicated it was a poor effort as Whitefish added to its lead. Grindrod scored from close range at the 43-minute mark, then Taylor nailed a short shot only a few minutes later.

"We just watched them play," said a disappointed Browne. "There was no communication."

Kimerly was busy with 12 saves for the Cats.

CFHS and Billings Central squared off two years ago — in the 2005 state championship game.

"They like to pack it in the back and try to get their goals on counter attacks," Browne said. "We have to be patient."

In first-round state playoff games Saturday (Oct. 13), unbeaten and defending state champion Whitefish hosts Hamilton (1 p.m.), Libby plays at Corvallis and Livingston is at Stevensville.

CFHS girls open state playoffs against Belgrade

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

The Columbia Falls girls soccer team will head into the playoffs this weekend, but not the way they would have liked.

Last week they played rival Whitefish to a 0-0 draw at home on Thursday, but then lost the final game against Polson 1-0 on the road on Saturday to end their regular season at 3-3-2 in the Northern A and 6-4-2 overall.

The Kats had 17 shots on goal against Polson, but none found the back of the net. Polson also had 17 shots, with Tasha Conrad putting one in at the 55-minute mark.

Kat keeper Colyne Hislop had 15 saves in the loss.

Against Whitefish, it was a defensive struggle for both teams, and neither could find the back of the net.

Hislop had 11 saves as the Kats tightened up the defense. They had some real good looks on the offensive end, but they just didn't pan out.

Whitefish had 12 shots on goal, to the Kats' five. There were a total of 21 fouls, 13 on the Kats and nine of Whitefish, with both teams exchanging yellow cards for rough play.

Whitefish won the conference at 6-1-1 heading into the playoffs.

The Kats now face Belgrade at 2 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 13). The last time the two teams met, the Panthers won 4-0 in Columbia Falls. This year, Belgrade is undefeated with a 11-0-1 mark. Belgrade was 5-0-1 in the Eastern A Conference.

It will be an uphill battle for the Kats.

"We need to win balls in the middle," coach Greg Trenerry said.

The defense has played pretty well this season, but the offense, at times, has been flat, particularly in the last two games.

"The main thing we need to do is play 80 minutes against a tough team," Trenerry said.

On the plus side, the team will go into the game relatively healthy. Many players have been dogged by injuries here and there all year long. If the Kats can pull out the win, they'd face the winner of Saturday's Libby-Stevensville matchup in Stevensville. In the other first-round games, Whitefish hosts Corvallis and Billings Central plays at Hamilton.