Cats fall short against Broncs in playoffs

The Columbia Falls football team led the Hamilton Broncs in all categories during their playoff game on Saturday but the one that matters the most — points.

The Wildcats fell to the Broncs 27-21 in the first round of the state Class A playoffs at home Nov. 1. The Cats ended an otherwise successful season at 7-2 overall.

Hamilton struck first on a 5-yard touchdown run by Bridger Bauder. The drive was set up by an interception of a Dakota Bridwell pass. The Cats blocked the point-after kick.

The Cats answered with a drive of their own. With 2:34 left in the first quarter, Ike Schweikert rumbled into the end zone from one yard out. Trevor Hoerner’s extra point was good, and the Cats went up 7-6.

Hamilton quarterback Bret Huxtable followed that up with a 16-yard run at the 11:33 mark in the second quarter to put the Broncs up 13-7 after the point-after kick.

Columbia Falls running back Stephen Lyndsey answered with a 32-yard run just two minutes later, and the Cats were back on top 14-13 at the 9:03 mark.

The Cats blocked a Hamilton field goal attempt with 4:12 left in the second quarter, but they couldn’t convert the turnover into points.

Hamilton got the ball back, and with 23 seconds left in the half, the Broncs scored on a 19-yard pass to Ty Bert to make it 20-14 at the break.

The Cats opened the second half on a high note when Trevor Houston picked off a Huxtable pass at the 11:19 mark in the third quarter. The Cats drove to just outside the Broncs’ goal line, but with first and goal, they couldn’t convert on fourth down. Hamilton took over on downs on the Wildcat six-yard line.

Houston picked off another Huxtable pass and ran it back to the 15-yard line. The Cats again couldn’t get into the end zone, and a 22-yard field goal attempt by Hoerner was wide with 6:55 left in the third.

Hamilton then capped off a 78-yard drive, and with 58 seconds left scored on a 13-yard run by Huxtable. The point after was good, leaving the Broncs up 27-14.

The Cats still had their chances. They drove down into the Hamilton red zone one more time, and with fourth and goal, a Bridwell pass went incomplete, bouncing off the receiver’s chest. The Cats drove to the Broncs 22 with 4:45 left, but Bridwell’s pass was picked off to kill that drive.

The Cats kept battling. Bridwell found Sean Hoerner on an 8-yard strike with 1:34 left in the fourth. The point-after kick was good, and the Cats still had a chance, down 27-21 with no time-outs.

But the Cats ensuing onside kick didn’t go 10 yards. Hamilton got the ball back and ran out the clock.

Several of the Cats’ players were not allowed to play for apparently violating the school’s alcohol policy, but they weren’t key starters. Still, it seemed like the team could have used the depth.

Overall, the Cats had a great season and the program has certainly turned the corner. Columbia Falls had 392 yards of total offense against the Broncs, with 124 yards rushing and 268 yards passing. Bridwell, just a sophomore, went 20 of 31 with two interceptions.

Hamilton rushed for 169 yards and had 173 yards passing for 342 total yards of offense.

“We’re usually really good in the red zone,” coach Jackson Schweikert said after the game. “We didn’t quite execute.”

He gave kudos to the defense, particularly in the second half.

“They played lights out in the second half,” he said.

The Cats are now 16-3 over the past two seasons, and while they’ll lose a lot of seniors to graduation this year, they have a great core of returning juniors and sophomores, including Bridwell.

“We’re getting there,” Schweikert said of the program. “Every loss has been really tough … The program is going in the right direction. We have really good coaches.”

Hamilton 6 14 7 0 – 27

Columbia Falls 7 7 0 7 –;21

First quarter

H – Bridger Bauder 5 run (kick blocked), 7:04

CF – Ike Schweikert 1 run (Trevor Hoerner kick), 2:54

Second quarter

H – Bret Huxtable 16 run (Karill Apedaile), 11:33

CF – Stephen Lindsey 32 run (Hoerner kick), 9:03

H – Ty Bert 18 pass from Huxtable (Apedaile kick), :23

Third quarter

H – Huxtable 13 run (Apedaile kick), :58

Fourth quarter

CF – Sean Hoerner 8 pass from Dakota Bridwell (Hoerner kick), 1:34