Wildcats come up short against Bulldogs, 17-14
Wildcat runner Finn Coleman is brought down by the facemask is the third quarter Friday. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Wildcat quarterback Mason Peters breaks to the outside in the fourth quarter Friday. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Wildcat Isaac Balla looks for running room against Whitefish linebacker Zach Veneman. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Wildcat Garhet Salminen intercepts a pass intented for Whitefish's Bodi Smith in the first quarter Friday. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Wildcat receiver Cade Morgan looks to evade the Whitefish defense. (Jeremy Weber photo)
The Wildcats came up short at home Friday as they fell to the Whitefish Bulldogs 17-14.
The Bulldogs converted a number of key fourth-down plays in the second half on their way to building a 17-7 lead, but the Wildcats fought back and had a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter. Columbia Falls trailed 17-14 with 20 seconds to play with the ball on the Wildcats’ 20-yard line when a Mason Peters pass intended for Brayeden Stone was picked off by Whitefish’s Jaxson Schulach to end any chace of a comeback.
Whitefish had gotten on the scoreboard first in the second quarter on a two-yard run by quarterback Flynn Ridgeway with 10:43 to play and the Bulldogs took a 7-0 lead into halftime. Columbia Falls tied the game on their second play of the second half with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Peters to Cade Morgan and a PAT kick by Niels Getts.
Whitefish returned the ensuing kickoff to the Wildcat 34 yard line to set up another scoring opportunity. A last-second play on a ball in the end zone by Stone saved a touchdown and Finn Coleman sacked Ridgeway to push the Bulldogs back later in the possession, but Ridgeway found Devin Beale from 13 yards out to put the Bulldogs up 14-7 with 5:20 to play in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs later pushed their lead to 17-7 with a 24-yard field goal by Brian Sweeney with 1:41 remaining in the third.
The Wildcats answered with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Peters to Isaac Balla with 9:55 to play, but Columbia Falls could not complete the comeback.
With the loss, the Wildcats falls to 1-2 this season. They will take on the Loggers in Libby next week.