Columbia Falls and Whitefish boys soccer teams battle it out

By JOE SOVA

Hungry Horse News

Columbia Falls outscored Whitefish on the field in boys soccer conference action Tuesday, but two of the Wildcats' four goals were waved off due to offsides penalties and the Bulldogs came away with a 3-2 victory in Whitefish.

On Saturday in Libby, CFHS played Libby to a 1-1 tie in a nonconference match in Libby.

The Cats fall to 0-2-1 in the Northern A Conference and 3-2-1 overall. They host Bigfork in league play on Saturday, then entertain Polson next Thursday.

It was Whitefish's 20th straight win, pushing the Dogs to 2-0 in league and 5-0 overall.

Defending state champion Whitefish built a 3-0 lead, scoring twice in the first half — the first goal just two minutes into the match. Jonas Magstadt blasted a shot into the net from just 10 yards out. In the 15th minute, Matt Grindrod scored on a rebound after CFHS keeper George Kimerly stopped the initial shot.

In the first 40 minutes, the Bulldogs repeatedly beat the Cats to the ball and controlled the game with their passing.

After a tripping call in the penalty box on a late whistle, Whitefish went ahead 3-0 in the 50th minute on a penalty kick by Magstadt.

The Cats finally got untracked, though, as Cody Bowman scored in the 53rd minute. CFHS appeared to get within a goal six minutes later on a Stoneman point-blank shot, but offsides was called. In nearly a carbon-copy play, another Cats goal was nullified by offsides near the mouth of the goal in the 75th minute.

CFHS got within a goal with 40 seconds left in the match on a 30-yard blast by Stoneman, but time ran out before the Cats could threaten again.

"Whitefish has a good team," credited Cats coach Peter Browne. "We kind of got on our heels. We kicked it in in the second half.

"If we play 80 minutes we're a good team and we only played 40," the coach added. "It's a good lesson."

Browne said Kimerly had a big game. He had 12 saves. Joe Galbraith had three for Whitefish.

Chase Jackson scored to give the Cats a 1-0 lead midway through the first half against Libby, but the Loggers tied it in the 37th minute. There was no scoring in the second half.

"Libby is a hard place to play. They had a pretty tenacious style of play," Browne said. "We lost our composure a little bit. We should have been able to beat them with our skill but couldn't get it done."

Browne was pleased with the Cats' defense and he singled out Kimerly for keeping CFHS in the game. The Cats keeper had 12 saves.

Kat spikers finish strong in Hamilton Tournament

By JOE SOVA

Hungry Horse News

Columbia Falls' varsity volleyball team finished the Hamilton Tournament on a high note Saturday, sweeping Hamilton 21-12, 21-19 in a consolation bracket match.

The Wildkats won six of 12 games in "silver pool" play, highlighted by an 18-6, 18-16 sweep of Frenchtown on Friday. They finished the day with three wins and five losses. The Kats split with Hamilton 12-18, 18-12. Dillon posted an 18-11, 18-12 win over CFHS and Anaconda swept the Kats, 18-14, 18-15.

On Saturday, the Kats went 3-1 in pool play games. They swept Corvallis 18-4, 18-11 and split with Stevensville, 17-18, 18-13. That placed CFHS in the consolation bracket, where they posted the win over Hamilton.

"We finished very strong," Kats coach Addy Hines said. "I'm really pleased with our performance against Hamilton.

We had kind of an ugly morning."

Hines talked about how her team's play improved over the first meeting with Hamilton to open the tournament.

"We got out there and played as a team," the coach said. "We talked about playing as a team rather than as individuals."

Sam Ladenburg led the Kats at the service line.

"We really served," Hines said.

Libby won the tournament championship — rallying for a 20-22, 21-16, 18-16 victory over Whitefish in an all-Northwest A final. The Loggers went 12-0 in pool play while Whitefish was 10-2. Bigfork was 7-5.

CFHS is back on the court Thursday, Sept. 13 at Ronan. The Kats are idle this weekend.

CFHS golfers fifth at Libby Invitational

Top-10 finishes by Micah Jam and Tanner Lineberry along with a personal best by sophomore Kelsey DeWit highlighted the Columbia Falls High School golf team's performance at the Libby Invitational last Saturday.

Jam's 86 tied for sixth place in the eight-team field while Lineberry's 87 tied for seventh. Jim Mee of Libby carded a 76 to take medalist honors on the par-72 course, which recently opened a new nine holes.

In the team competition, the Wildcats' score of 367 landed them in fifth place in front of Ronan, Bigfork and Flathead. Whitefish claimed first place with a 333. Also competing for the Wildcats were Jordan Mueller (95), Brad Narducci (99) and Nick Ross (113).

Though DeWit's personal best of 113 was just off the top 10, coach Gene Marcille praised her effort and result. "Kelsey's becoming a better golfer faster than any young player I've ever coached. Her work ethic, her interest in learning and her competitive nature are the perfect qualities for the game of golf," he said. "Start watching for her name on the leader board soon."

Freshmen Courtney Tamburelli and Olivia Williams also competed for the Wildkats on Saturday, shooting 123 and 131, respectively. Chelsea Ray of Whitefish shot 82 to take the top spot for the girls.

Columbia Falls High School hosts the West Glacier Junior Varsity Tournament on Thursday, Sept. 13 in the only JV meet in the conference. The next varsity competition for CFHS is next Thursday, Sept. 20 at Bigfork and Friday, Sept. 21 at Polson.