Bigfork knocks out Loyola in first round

The proverb “Revenge is a dish best served cold” wasn’t coined in regard to football or even weather, but on Saturday’s chilly, foggy afternoon the Vikings gave new meaning to the phrase as they beat Missoula Loyola 41-31 in the first round of playoffs.

“I felt our team came together and played all four quarters,” Bigfork quarterback Christian Ker said. “We finally sent Loyola and the rest of the state a message that we are contenders for the state title.”

The two teams met during the season opener in September, and Loyola came away with a 61-34 victory after the teams had been tied at 34 apiece going in to the fourth quarter.

This time, though, Bigfork wasn’t going to let something like that happen.

“The linemen made the biggest difference for us this game,” Bigfork running back Travis Knoll said. “The first time we played Loyola they kind of ran all over us. This time, though the line really stepped up and gave Cody (Dopps) and me big holes to run through and gave Christian plenty of time to throw.”

The Vikes, who were ranked 10th going into playoffs, were first on the board when Ker scored on a quarterback sneak with a little more than four minutes left to play in the first, and they never allowed the ninth-ranked Rams to take the lead from them.

“Christian played a great game,” said Todd Emslie, Bigfork’s head football coach. “He made some really good reads.”

Knoll earned his first of four touchdowns in the opening minute of the second quarter, finishing a drive Bigfork had started at the end of the previous quarter with a 2-yard run into the end zone.

“What do you say about Travis,” Emslie said. “He rushes for 224 yards on 27 carries, he has 25 yards receiving on two catches and he scores four touchdowns. Business as usual.”

Although Emslie was pleased to see his quarterback and running back have the top-notch games they have become known for, he said that the key to winning was the depth behind them.

“All week we talked to the boys about how during playoffs everybody is good,” Emslie said. “The difference between winning and losing is individuals who step up. Travis did that, but he always does, and Christian was solid as usual. But what really made the difference for us in this ball game was all the other players that stepped up. Ian Lorang had two of the biggest catches of his life and Kenji Sagami had a couple huge defensive plays. It was things like Cody Dopps pushing the ball for 8 yards when he should’ve been stopped for a loss. It was the rest of the kids, not just the seniors, stepping up. That’s a milestone that we’ve reached and that’s huge. If we can duplicate that this week and have people step up again, we’re going to be tough to stop.”

One of the most notable examples of this was Chris Landon, who managed to yank in a 30-yard pass from Ker with the finger tips of just one hand that looked to be just out of reach, while being guarded by two Loyola defenders.

“Christian made a great read on that throw to Chris and Chris came up with an even better catch,” Emslie said.

Landon’s touchdown brought the score to 21-7 with 4:30 left in the first half, a sight that more than impressed the Vikings’ home crowd.

“The crowd was awesome and the boys definitely fed off of it,” Emslie said.

The Vikes went out in the second half determined to show the Rams, and any remaining non-believers, that they were going to win this game – which was the first playoff victory for Bigfork football since 2003 when the Vikes beat Butte Central in the first round.

Knoll scored on a breakaway 36-yard run and hiked the Vikes’ lead to 28-7.

“We had a lot of key defensive stops,” Ker said of Bigfork’s key to success Saturday. “We went out early and scored and we went out after the half and scored to show that we weren’t giving up. Our running game had a big day as well. We had a lot of people step up and make big plays for us.”

The Rams were able to find the end zone for just the second time of the game in the second half of the third quarter. Their extra-point kick was unsuccessful, which proved to be a sign of their de-railing. Loyola’s Morgan Griffin was able to breakout a big run – 50 yards – in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and land the Ram’s third touchdown. Griffin’s speed left Bigfork’s defense scrambling, including Knoll who was knocked to the ground while attempting to tackle Griffin and remained laying on the field following the play.

The previously boisterous crowd became very still as coaches and trainers checked on Knoll, who moments later walked off the field.

Loyola went for a two-point conversion using a run play, which failed and left the score at 28-19.

Knoll entered back into the game as the Rams kicked off to Bigfork, prepared to get a little something back for his team following the missed tackle.

“I probably overreacted a little bit because I had just hit my head,” Knoll said. “It didn’t help that the kid had just run in for a touchdown. That hurt my morale a little.”

His response came in the form of a 91-yard kickoff return in which he was led by a slew of blockers who helped him be nearly untouched as he sped down the field to the end zone in front of a once again roaring crowd.

“It was pretty awesome to play at home in front of our crowd,” Knoll said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game where the crowd was louder. There was a play that I remember where Loyola was trying to go for it on the fourth down and the crowd was just so loud I was amazed.”

Bigfork was playing to win, but Loyola wasn’t going down easily. Loyola continued to show its strength as a fourth-quarter team with Griffin taking in a 61-yard run for a touchdown at the midway point in the final period.

“I’m proud of the team for the way that we fought even when Loyola fought back,” Knoll said. “We just kept fighting and I think it proved that we are a championship-caliber team.”

Knoll scored his fourth and final touchdown of the game on a 52-yard run. Vikings kicker Dillon Charlebois, who until that point was a perfect five-for-five in his extra-point attempts, missed this one leaving the score at 41-25.

The Rams scored one last touchdown with just over a minute left to play in the game off of 60-yard pass play from Bo Hughes, who ran in Loyola’s first two touchdowns of the game, to Josh Janssen.

For the third time in a row, Loyola’s two-point conversion attempt failed, adding one more factor to the Ram’s season-ending loss.

“They were definitely gaining momentum,” Emslie said of Loyola. “That’s the sign of a good football team. They never let up.”

On paper, the Rams and the Vikings appear to have stacked up evenly in most areas. Bigfork had 311 yards rushing to Loyola’s 269. The Rams bested Bigfork in passing yards with 102 to the home team’s 97.

However, Bigfork had nearly half as many penalties and twice as many first downs.

A game-telling difference was also seen at quarterback. Ker kept to his season average and was successful in six of his 12 passes for a total of 97 yards. For Loyola, Hughes completed nine of his 23 passes for a gain of 143 yards. Ker was intercepted twice and Hughes once.

“My line gave me a lot of time to find someone that was open,” Ker said. “They did a great job. We just stuck together really well as a team. No one was blaming each other. We were just moving on to the next play and having fun.”

Now the Vikes are moving on in the playoff bracket. They will host Townsend (Broadwater County) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Townsend (8-1) is the No. 2 seed from District 5B. They beat 4B’s No. 1 two-time defending state champions Huntley Project, which reportedly lost a big chunk of seniors to graduation, 20-12 on Saturday.

“Townsend has two great running backs,” Emslie said. “They key is going to be tackling.”