Cats corral Blue Ponies

One down, two to go.

The Columbia Falls football team hammered the Havre Blue Ponies 46-7 at home Nov. 9 in the quarterfinal round of the state Class A playoffs, extending their winning streak to 9-0.

In nearly perfect weather, the Wildcats tamed Havre with a balanced running and passing attack, as quarterback Jared Trinastich went 21 for 33 passing for 404 yards and the Cats racked up 204 yards on the ground.

Zach Darling led the charge with 188 yards on 24 carries and four touchdowns. Ty Morgan led the receiving corps with six catches for 111 yards.

While Morgan didn’t get in the end zone, he had some great plays to set up two touchdowns — one was a leaping catch across the middle, another was a stiff arm to a Havre defender that turned a short pass into a long gain in the second half.

The Cats opened up the scoring at 7:48 in the first quarter when Trevor Houston caught a 31-yard pass from Trinastich to make it 6-0. Less than three minutes later, Darling rumbled into the end zone on a seven-yard run.

At the six-minute mark in the second quarter, Mark Hader took a short pass from Trinastich across the middle and turned it into a 38-yard scamper to put the Cats up 20-0 at the half. The Cats missed one point-after attempt.

The Cats drove down the field again and were knocking on the door with a little more than two minutes left in the half when Havre picked off a Trinastich pass in the end zone. It was the only mistake he had in the contest.

Havre played a bit better than the score would suggest. Quarterback Dane Warp proved he can play, but he didn’t have too many options to throw to. The Blue Ponies posted 139 yards rushing and 205 yards passing, but they found little success inside the red zone, and the Cats defense sacked Warp seven times.

The Blue Ponies’ one touchdown came after the Cats were called for a penalty, giving Havre an extra set of downs inside the one-yard line.

“The game went just like we felt it would go,” coach Jackson Schweikert said. “Havre played well. Our offensive and defensive lines were awesome.”

Schweikert credited his assistant coaches, Jamie Heinz, Bill Coleman and Tyler Hobbs, for drawing up a great game plan.

“The kids ran it to perfection,” he said.

The competition will prove to be tougher in the semifinals. Columbia Falls now faces Billings Central away on Saturday.

The Rams are 7-1 — their only loss this season was to top-ranked Dillon. Which team has the most success running the ball could prove the difference. The Rams’ Holden Ryan has rushed for nearly 1,500 yards this season, averaging 9.91 yards per carry.

Schweikert likes the Cats’ chances.

“If our run game is working well, we’re a tough out,” he said.

And the Cats running game is working well, very well. Darling is a battering ram out there.

On defense, the Cats seem content with giving up some yards outside the 20s, but they tighten up considerably in the red zone.

“We’ve got to slow down (Central’s) running game,” Schweikert said.

Havre 0 7 0 0 – 7

C. Falls 7 13 13 13 – 46

CF – Trevor Houston 8 pass from Jared Trinastich (Alex Presnell kick)

CF – Zach Darling 7 run (kick failed)

CF – Mark Hader 38 pass from Trinastich (Presnell kick)

H – Parker Filius 1 run (kick good)

CF – Darling 11 run (Presnell kick)

CF – Darling 5 run (kick failed)

CF – Presnell 16 pass from Trinastich (Presnell kick)

CF – Darling 13 run (kick failed)