Bulldogs football stacked with veteran leaders

These Bulldogs know what it’s like to play under the Friday night lights. They’re not intimidated to line up nose-to-nose with the unknown on the other side of the ball. They’ve taken big hits and delivered a few themselves. They’ve heard the Dawg Pound roar at homecoming and, maybe most importantly, they know what it’s like to win.

The 2012 Whitefish Bulldog football roster is stacked with veteran experience — 10 seniors in all — which should go a long way as the team looks to make another run for a Class A playoff berth.

“Across the board, we’re smarter and more experienced,” Whitefish football coach Chad Ross said. “We line up and we know what to do. They’ve all been there.”

Whitefish has upperclassmen and leaders on both sides of the ball. The only question going into this season is at the quarterback position.

Chris Forrest and Connor Donahue took nearly all of the snaps last season as starting quarterbacks. Both graduated this spring, leaving a massive hole in the Dogs’ starting lineup.

After a few weeks of practice, two underclassmen have emerged as likely quarterbacks for Whitefish this season — Luke May and James Bailey.

Ross says both quarterbacks are physically capable of playing the position. May, in particular, is 175 pounds and nearly 6 feet tall.

But it’s the speed of the game, and decision-making that will present the most difficult challenges for both QBs.

“Both have the mechanics and the strength,” Ross said. “But the varsity game is a lot faster, mentally and physically.”

Still, Ross is confident in both quarterbacks, especially with an offensive line that returns four starters.

Wolf Zinke, Dakota Beatty, Jake May and Auston Bergeson will lead the line, protecting the QB and creating running room for the backfield.

Shane Marcial, Sean Foley and Calub Thilmony team up for the Bulldogs lethal running game that makes up for its lack of size with speed.

“Those are three solid guys back there,” Ross said.

While the team was pass heavy last season, this year they’ll look more to the ground game.

“We would love to get more of a solid running game,” Ross said. “It will also keep pressure off the quarterback, but we’re not afraid to throw.”

Speedster Logan Harwood returns to the receiving corps that led the league in 2011. Gone are Gage Vasquez and Connor Ellis, but Ross is confident that others will step up to fill those holes.

“We lost some great receivers, but we’re fortunate to have great kids coming in right behind them,” Ross said.

A number of players will go both ways, playing both defense and offense. Ross says there will be some rotations in place to keep guys fresh.

After making the playoffs last season and beating rival Columbia Falls, the team is ready to build on that momentum this season.

“We want to continue to get better and build a tradition here,” Ross said, noting that making the playoffs is one of their goals.

Whitefish finished the 2011 season at 5-4 overall and 2-2 in the league. They were bounced in the first round of the playoffs with a 52-19 loss at Stevensville.