Bulldogs upset Butte Central

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

The Whitefish Bulldogs pulled off a big upset on Friday night, beating Butte Central 16-6 to the wild delight of the home fans.

The win was sweet for the Bulldog squad because Butte handily defeated Whitefish last year. The Bulldogs moved to 1-1 overall.

Aaron Tkachyk is quickly making a name for himself as a dynamic playmaker on both offense and defense. He had two acrobatic, leaping touchdown receptions of 34 and 29 yards to go along with a momentum-changing interception in the third quarter.

"He's quite a weapon," head coach Patrick Dryden said. "What people don't know, and I didn't realize myself until I looked at the film, is how outstanding a job he does with downfield blocking as well."

Kyle Knox also hit a 21-yard field goal to pad the Bulldog lead. Dryden said his special teams were outstanding as well, as they didn't give up any big plays like they did against Havre in Whitefish's opening game.

The Bulldogs employed both Mac Roche and Alex Elespuru at quarterback. Elespuru has found the touch on his deep balls that he sometimes lacked last season. On the first touchdown to Tkachyk, he avoided the formidable Butte rush and placed the football right where his senior receiver needed it. Roche came in the second quarter and played extremely well for Whitefish.

The lone offensive highlight for Butte Central came when Casey Norbeck took a seven-yard pass from quarterback Andy Ritter. Other than that, the Bulldog defense was completely dominant.

Matt Whitehead also had two interceptions for Whitefish. That now gives the Bulldogs five interceptions on the year.

"Turnovers are a big part of the game," Dryden said. "Our linebackers are doing great in coverage, forcing people to throw deeper, and that's dangerous."

The Bulldogs' run defense was stout, forcing Butte into several third-and-long situations.

The defensive line of the Bulldogs tormented the Butte Central's running backs and quarterback all night. They rarely had any room to move after the snap, and the running backs could never find any holes to get penetrate.

David FauntLeRoy, Dustin Beck, Willie Roche, Whitehead, Tyson Ferda, Dylan Dryden and Josh Backer were basically unblockable the entire game.

"I was pleased with our intensity," Dryden said. "I would say the biggest improvement was our pursuit on defense. Our defensive ends, FauntLeRoy and Backer, both improved the most from week one to week two."

The Bulldogs will try to avenge a playoff loss from last year when they travel to Frenchtown this Friday.

"Frenchtown is riding high off a big victory in Libby," Dryden said. "They are just a well-coached football team that is massive up front, so that's going to pose some problems for us."

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night. The game can be heard locally on 1240 AM.

Butte Central 0 0 0 6 - 6

Whitefish 0 7 0 9 - 16

Whitefish - Aaron Tkachyk 34 pass from Mac Roche (Kyle Knox kick).

Whitefish - Knox 21 field goal

Butte Central - Casey Norbeck 7 pass from Andy Ritter

Whitefish - Aaron Tkachyk 29 pass from Alex Elespuru (kick failed)

Whitefish stats:

First downs NA

Rushes-yard 39-189

Passing yards 192

Passing 14-19-1-2