Cats face Miles City Saturday
Kaleb Johnson fights for extra yards against Stevensville earlier this year. Johnson could play a key role in the Cats game against Miles City Saturday.
The Cats have to cool off Cooley, limit mistakes, play solid defense and hope a speed advantage on offense will tip the scales in their favor.
Cooley is Miles City quarterback Shane Cooley, who rushed for 140 yards and threw for 201 yards last week in their 54-26 first-round class A playoff win against Havre.
“We’ve got to contain their quarterback,” Cats coach Bill Coleman said.
The Cowboys (9-1) will travel to Columbia Falls (4-4) for the first time ever to face the Cats in the second round of the playoffs Saturday. As Northwest A Conference champions, the Cats had a first round bye.
Miles City will be a formidable foe. They have a big offensive and defensive line, with four lineman over 240 pounds. The fifth weighs 210.
“They’re big and physical,” Coleman said.
But Coleman also noted that the Cats have an edge in team speed.
“We have to find ways to exploit that,”? he said.
Cooley rushed for 861 yards in the regular season and threw for 661 yards. Cowboys? tailback Tyler Essex ran for 697 yards and fullback Kyle Stanton rushed for 276 yards.
The Cats have some weapons of their own. Nate Thompson finished the regular season with more than 1,600 yards rushing and quarterback Austin Barth has proven he can throw the ball. He threw six touchdowns against Whitefish earlier this season and led the Cats to a come-from-behind drive against Ronan to tie the game with two clutch fourth-and-long throws.
The Cats have speedy wide receiver Devyn Rocker, and Kaleb Johnson, at 6-feet, 5-inches has fantastic reach. When Barth gets the ball to where Johnson alone can reach it he’s almost impossible to cover.
Coleman said the Cats defense will have to stop Miles City’s running attack and put them in a throwing position. The Cats offense, meanwhile, needs sustained drives that keep Miles City off the field.
Miles City averages 255 yards a game rushing and their defense has forced 25 turnovers. They’re no stranger to the playoffs. They last won the state A championship in 2008. The Cats won the Northwest A crown for the first time since 1972.
“If we have a balanced attack and can create mismatches, we should be in pretty good shape,”? Coleman said.
The Cats have had two weeks to prepare and are healthy.
Game time is 1 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults and $6 for students and no activities passes are honored for post season events.