Football squad reloads for another season

The Columbia Falls football team has some big shoes to fill this season, but it also has some young talent ready for the task.

The Wildcats lost running back Zach Darling and all-state quarterback Jared Trinastich to graduation, but it has four excellent running backs looking to fill Darling’s shoes.

Coach Jackson Schweikert said the team is four-deep at running back with Stephen Lindsey, Wyatt Green, Trevor Hoerner and Connor Bowman. Green and Lindsey are “flat out amazing,” Schweikert said, and Bowman and Hoerner are solid power backs.

For the quarterback position, Ike Schweikert and Dakota Bridwell have been taking snaps at practice. Schweikert would like to keep his son on defense this season, where he was the Wildcats’ lead tackler at the middle linebacker position. Bridwell is just a sophomore but is showing great promise as he learns the offensive system, which includes 300 passing plays alone.

“Dakota’s coming along,” Schweikert said. “He’s a smart kid with a really good arm. We’re working on his footwork, and that’s a process and it’s hard work. It’s like jumping rope for two straight hours.”

Schweikert said that by the end of his high school career, Bridwell could be a good college quarterback.

Bridwell has plenty of excellent receivers to throw to, including senior Ty Morgan who had more than 1,000 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns last year as he averaged 16 yards a catch. Schweikert also has been impressed with Trevor Houston, Will Johnson and Braxton Reiten.

“We’ve got four slot receivers that can really play,” he said.

On defense, the Wildcats have a host of returning talent in Ike Schweikert, Justice McManus, Bowman and Colton Gove. They also have returning lineman Spencer Ross, who can stuff the middle.

Schweikert said the ultimate goal is to win a state Class A title, but the focus week in and week out is simply a desire to win, “strength and honor — tempo, toughness and finish.”

Last year, the squad fell just short in the playoffs, losing to Billings Central. Even so, it was the first time since 1976 that the program went undefeated in the regular season.

The culture of the program is definitely changing. Used to be a bad play or a turnover would get the team down for a full quarter, even a half, Schweikert noted. Now a mistake is a mistake and the team moves on.

He noted that last year, the squad opened with a Lewistown pick six against the Cats — they turned it around and won in a blowout.

“We’ve got a lot of good kids out,” he said. “We’re working really hard.”

The Wildcats open play Friday night on the road against Lewistown.

Schweikert is assisted this season by Bill Coleman, Chris Finberg, Brandon Rice, Chad Green, Kelly Houle, Jamie Heinz, Tien Windauer, Bill Sapa and Daniel Lowney.