Copperheads shutout Whitefish; more Dog injuries

The injury bug is sweeping through the Bulldog locker room like pink eye though a kindergarten class — and it took its toll Friday night in Anaconda with a 33-0 nonconference loss.

In a freak accident, lineman Jacob Forrest went down on the last offensive play of the Thursday practice before traveling to Anaconda. The 235-pound junior tore the MCL in his knee and is expected to be out 3-5 weeks.

Then, in the opening quarter at Anaconda, starting running back Jeremy Nielsen suffered a mild concussion. He is the team's leading rusher and scorer and will be out for a week. Those key injuries came on top of a pile that already included senior quarterback Mac Roche and receiver Jon Sammen.

With too many holes and not enough corks to plug them, Whitefish fell hard to the Copperheads in a shutout. The loss was the first for the 'Dogs against Anaconda in a series that dates back to 1986.

"The injuries are just killing us," Whitefish coach Chad Ross said. "All of those guys play on both sides of the ball. That's like losing eight starters. We have to go a week without someone getting worked."

Three fumbles and two interceptions doomed Whitefish, with those turnovers leading to 21 Copperhead points.

"You're not going to win the game if you're not winning the turnover battle," Ross said. "Especially on the road. Anaconda played a really good game, but we didn't take very good care of the ball either."

The Bulldogs had a hard time containing the quarterback, too, which Ross called a key to winning.

"Fundamentally, we have to get better," Ross said. "That's the bottom line."

If there's a silver lining to the shutout loss, it's found in the development of the underclassmen. The nonconference schedule has no effect on playoff births and is an ideal time to work through kinks before league play. With four key players on the injured list, freshman and sophomores are now filling spots on the depth chart.

"The young kids are only going to get better," Ross said. "Hopefully they improve even more by the time conference play comes around. We're doing some things right. Now we have to learn to finish, and that's all on our younger guys."

Connor Donahue, who was thrust into the starting quarterback role when Roche went down in the season-opener, had a sub-par game, possible due to being on the road and having a different center delivering the snaps. Sophomore Jake May took over snapping duty at Anaconda.

"Jake May has a little different snap, and the timing is a little different," Ross said. "It threw Connor off, and he needs time to adjust to that. We've still got a lot of confidence in him. If he overplayed against Browning, he underplayed at Anaconda."

Ross again credited the offensive line for protecting Donahue and giving him time to make plays. The line gave up only one sack, their first of the season.

There's still ample spirit on the sidelines, even after the loss and all of the injuries piling up, Ross said.

"Kids are coming up to me and saying, 'We're getting better, we'll be ready for conference,'" Ross said. "We're still adjusting to the speed of varsity. If we can adjust, I think we can transform into a competitive football team. We're not dead by any means. Everyone knows were young and getting better."