Vikes defeat Eureka, take district title

For the third-straight year the Vikings football team has won the District 7B title, and this year marks the second year in a row that Bigfork has won the title outright and advanced into the playoffs with the No. 1 seed.

Bigfork took the title by rounding out their undefeated status in district play with a 49-7 victory over Eureka (Lincoln County) on Friday night on the road.

“I think that’s pretty awesome,” said Bigfork head football coach Todd Emslie. “I know that they were pretty jacked after the game, but I don’t know if it had really hit them yet. I think that’s one of those things that when you sit down later and reflect on it, it’s pretty cool. And to do it the way they did it, especially for the seniors, they haven’t lost a district game since Eureka beat us in Eureka two years ago.”

The scene on Friday night started as it did a few weeks ago in Thompson Falls — with Bigfork’s opponent scoring a touchdown on the opening possession.

“It was scary, but it was a trick play, and that was the only time they were really close to scoring,” Emslie said. “It was a little concerning, but I guess that’s how we’re rolling lately. I’d like to get out of that mode though Saturday and not do that.”

Luckily, for the Vikings the scenario continued as it had in the previous instance, and their opponent was unable to score again after that.

The Vikings, on the other hand, were all over the board —  especially senior Cody Dopps, who made his way to the end zone five times that game.

“He really brought his A game Friday night. He looked really fast,” Emslie said.

With that touchdown streak, Dopps tied the team's record for most touchdowns in a game. Michael Edwards set that record in 2003 and last year, Dopps' teammate Travis Knoll, who graduated in June, also tied the record.

“It’s pretty cool that I get to share the record with my buddy Travis,” said Dopps, who notified Knoll of the tie after the game via text message.

As for his team’s status as three-time district champs, Dopps is happy to be a part of it.

“It’s cool. I never really thought from my freshman year that we’d be here and be the three-time district champs,” he said.

Dopps’ touchdowns included a 24-yard run, a 50-yard pass play from senior quarterback Colter Mahlum, a 75-yard run, a 5-yard run and a 38-yard run.

“It all started up front with our line,” Emslie said. “I thought that our line played a really, really good game. There were guys that were being moved on both sides of the ball. It makes it easy to play a good football game when your line is playing as well as they did.”

Junior Chris Landon scored one of Bigfork’s other two touchdowns. He caught a 41-yard pass from junior Austin Jordt, who has been serving as a part-time quarterback for the Vikes. Senior Connor Coleman scored Bigfork’s final touchdown of the game with a 35-yard fumble return. Bigfork semior kicker Dillon Charlebois made all seven of his extra-point attempts.

In all, Dopps totalled 271 rushing yards on 21 carries and 63 receiving yards on two catches.  Mahlum was five-for-10 in completions and threw for 87 yards.

“It was a great football game in all facets,” Emslie said. “Defense was great, offense was great, special teams were great. Everyone is playing really good football. That’s really nice going into playoffs.”

The sizeable lead again allowed some of Bigfork’s less-experienced players to get some time on the field. Many of them were also part of the junior varsity Vikings team that wrapped up its season last week.

“Our JV season came to a close, and I thought that our JV players had a great season,” Emslie said. “That had a lot to do with the work by coaches Jimmy Quirk, Rhett Rieke, Chad Anderson and Jimmy Epperly.”

The one area Emslie said he wasn’t too impressed with in his team’s game against Eureaka was turnovers. The Vikings had three in Eureka.

“That really hasn’t been a problem for us this year,” Emslie said. “That’s something we’ve really worked to eliminate. That’s something you can control in the game. They’re going to happen. But, if there’s something that needs cleaned up from that game, it would be that. We just need to take care of the football.”

Playoffs

At 1 p.m. Saturday Bigfork will host Florence for a first-round playoff game.

Florence earned the wildcard spot after finishing third in District 6B.

“Florence (6-2) throws the ball really well,” Emslie said. “They have some really good athletes at the quarterback and receiver positions. We need to be able to control the football and control the clock. They love to throw the ball and they can score quickly.”

Missoula Loyola took first in District 6B, followed by Ronan. Eureka, District 7B’s No. 2 seeded team will play at Loyola on Saturday and Ronan plays at Big Timber.

Eureka is a good football team, and I wish them the best down at Loyola this weekend. I hope our district has a good showing this weekend across the board.

“It really is like two different seasons now,” Emslie said of the postseason. “Everything has changed. It’s a different scenario now. There are only 16 teams left. You have to be on your game. There’s no more lose and go back and talk about it. It’s all or nothing.”

Ticket costs for Saturday’s game, as mandated by the Montana High School Association, will be $7 for adults and $6 for students.