Cats edged by Maroons, 26-19

By JOE SOVA / Hungry Horse News

Columbia Falls had another strong game on the ground but the Wildcat defense gave up three big scoring plays in the air and fell to Butte Central 26-19 on Saturday night in Butte.

Andy Ritter, who passed for 269 yards for the Maroons, connected with Casey Norbeck on a 57-yard scoring pass in the first quarter. The Cats had Butte Central (2-1) inside its own 20-yard-line later in the period, but Ritter found Norbeck on an 87-yard touchdown pass as the Maroons took a 14-0 lead.

"You have to play with a lot of emotion. There were some emotional swings in the game and you have to minimize them," Cats head coach John Thompson said. "We will improve on that."

CFHS drove for a touchdown in the second period as quarterback Mackey Nolan scored on a 3-yard keeper. The conversion pass failed. Before halftime, the Cats got within two points when quarterback Mitchell Wassam ran two yards for a score. But the conversion run failed and the Maroons led 14-12 at halftime.

The third period belonged to Butte Central as the Maroons scored twice to built a 26-12 lead. Norbeck got behind the Cats defense again, hauling in a pass to complete a 78-yard scoring play. Later in the quarter, Jonathan Richards ran 18 yards for a Maroons touchdown. The conversions after both touchdowns failed.

"They ran some vertical routes that created a little confusion in the secondary," Thompson said of the Maroons' long pass plays. "That receiver (Norbeck) had a heckuva game and their quarterback (Ritter) threw the ball well."

Norbeck caught six passes for 245 yards. Norbeck went 11-for-24 for 260 yards with one pickoff.

The coach indicated that the Cats' defense covered the routes much better after the third long touchdown play.

CFHS climbed to within seven points in the final period when Stephen Baumgartner rambled 45 yards for a Cat touchdown and Nolan kicked the extra point. The Cats could not get on the board again before the end of the contest.

"I'm proud of the kids' effort. They never gave up," said Thompson, who lauded the Butte Central offensive and defensive lines.

The Cats accounted for 209 yards rushing — 109 by Baumgartner. But Nolan and Wassam combined for only two completions for 52 yards, and each threw an interception. Wassam was 1-for-7 for 55 yards, and Nolan was 1-for-6 for minus-3.

"We had a pretty good showing, running-wise," Thompson said. "We didn't pass the ball very well."

The Cats will need a more balanced offense Friday night at home against Stevensville (1-2), which routed Bigfork 45-6 last week. Ethan Pateman scored four touchdowns, two on runs and two on receptions from Logan Connors. Jalen Pfau caught two TD passes from Connors. Stevi held Bigfork to 124 total yards of offense.

"They run an offense similar to ours," Thompson said. "They have some speedy athletes. They could easily be 3-0."

Stevi suffered close losses to Polson and Livingston.

Also last weekend, Joel Fuller passed for four touchdowns and ran for two more, leading Libby to a 40-7 win over Browning. T.J. Benson rushed for 167 yards for the Loggers. Tim Rausch ran for four touchdowns and Craig Bagnell passed for 193 yards as Polson rolled past Corvallis 36-6. Frenchtown blanked Whitefish.

Columbia Falls 0 12 0 7 — 19

Butte Central 14 0 12 0 — 26

BC - Casey Norbeck 57 pass from Andy Ritter (Nathaniel Loomis kick)

BC - Norbeck 87 pass from Ritter (Loomis kick)

CF - Mackey Nolan 3 run (pass failed)

CF - Mitchell Wassam 2 run (run failed)

BC - Norbeck 78 pass from Ritter (kick failed)

BC - Jonathan Richards 18 run (run failed)

CF - Stephen Baumgartner 45 run (Nolan kick)

CF BC

First downs 9 18

Rushes-yards 37-209 40-138

Passes 2-13-2 11-24-1

Passing yards 52 269

Punts-avg. 4-43.8 4-39.0

Spikers win four of 12 at Ronan tourney

By JOE SOVA

Hungry Horse News

Getting lots of court time was the name of the game for volleyball teams in the Ronan Tipoff Tournament last weekend.

Columbia Falls won only one of eight games in pool play Friday, but bounced back to take three of four sets on Saturday.

The Wildkats opened by splitting with Hamilton, losing 25-18 before a 25-23 win. But they were swept by Dillon, Anaconda and Frenchtown. Scores were 25-11, 25-19 against Dillon, 25-15, 25-17 vs. Anaconda and 25-15, 25-18 against Frenchtown.

Lack of communication was a problem for the Kats on Friday, according to coach Addy Hines.

"We have a lot of smart gals. They started thinking about the game too much instead of just playing," she said. "We didn't pass so well or serve receive. If you don't serve receive it's pretty hard to do anything."

On Saturday, the Kats split with Corvallis, losing 25-21 before a 25-23 victory. They closed out the tourney by sweeping Stevensville, 25-18, 25-23.

"We played a lot better Saturday than we did on Friday," Hines said.

The coach saw improved blocking during the tournament, and the Kats are using their front line — which is considerably taller than last season — more effectively.

"I'm pretty pleased with what I'm seeing so far," Hines said of the CFHS blocking.

The Kats continue to use three setters in matches.

"I like the options that I have with that. I can have a front row setter or a back row setter," Hines said.

The Kats host Ronan in Northwest A Conference action today (Thursday).