Cats suffer 24-0 loss to Hamilton

By JOE SOVA / Hungry Horse News

Numbers told a big part of the story of Columbia Falls' first football home playoff game in 32 years on Saturday (Oct. 27).

Senior tailback Ryan Turley and junior fullback Brady Anderson combined for 250 of Hamilton's 344 yards rushing as the Broncs advanced to the state quarterfinals by shutting out the Wildcats 24-0 at Satterthwaite Field. On the flip side, the Cats — who led the Northwest A Conference in rushing at nearly 250 yards a game — managed just 22 yards on the ground and suffered five turnovers.

While the Broncs had 67 rushing plays, CFHS had just 20. Hamilton had 407 yards of offense and the Cats only 167.

"They just dominated in time of possession and we didn't get anything going offensively. It was a struggle for us," Cats head coach John Thompson said. "They had the size advantage… Their tailback/fullback combination is very solid. Our kids played hard."

Against the Cats' passing game, "Hamilton did a nice job of staying at home and taking care of responsibility," Thompson added.

The Cats finished a solid season with a 6-3 record. Hamilton, the third seed from the tough Southwest A Conference, advances to play Saturday (Nov. 3) at Butte Central, the top seed from the Central A Conference.

Whitefish had a rough time with Frenchtown, the No. 2 seed from the Southwest A, as the Bulldogs were eliminated with a 35-7 loss on Saturday (Oct. 27) in Frenchtown. In the other two first-round games, Sidney outscored Belgrade 55-25 and Hardin beat Lewistown 30-14.

Saturday's quarterfinal match-ups: Hardin at Dillon, Hamilton at Butte Central, Frenchtown at Billings Central and Sidney at Libby. Dillon is the two-time defending state champion.

TD drive stopped

Trailing 8-0 late in the first half, the Cats got the ball on downs when junior defensive back Tanner Perry nicely broke up a fourth-down pass. CFHS mounted a quick drive with sophomore backup quarterback Mitchell Wassam under center in place of junior Mackey Nolan, who was shaken up on the previous play. Wassam found a wide-open Jordan Thompson on a 38-yard catch-and-run, moving the ball to the Hamilton 24-yard line. Wassam was then on target to Michael Hader over the middle for a 14-yard gain to the 10.

On second-and-goal at the 12, Chase Fairbank took a handoff on an apparent buck sweep. But it was an option pass and the aerial intended for Michael Hader was intercepted in the end zone by Chase Mildenberger and returned to the 6-yard line.

With only a minute-and-a-half before halftime, Hamilton threatened to score — moving to the Cats 10-yard line on a long pass from Justin Bourne to Mildenberger with :09 remaining. Turley recovered a low lateral pass on the last play of the first half, and the Broncs took an 8-0 lead into the break.

After recovering a Hamilton fumble at the Cats 41, CFHS was unable to move the ball. It appeared Nolan was roughed on the punt, but there was no flag. The kick by Nolan, the conference's leading punter, rolled to the Hamilton 11-yard line.

Hamilton overcame a holding call, marching 89 yards for the game's first touchdown, mixing runs by Turley — a 1,000-yard rusher during the regular season — and Anderson. Turley went off tackle for a seven-yard touchdown and his conversion run gave the Broncs an 8-0 lead.

While Hamilton controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, the Cats ran only 14 offensive plays in the first half.

On Hamilton's first possession of the second half, the Cats got their second turnover as Perry picked off a Jason Schallenberger pass at the Cats 33-yard line. On his only carry of the day, Scott Palmer turned the corner for 23 yards to the Broncs 46. But the Cats got no closer and had to punt.

A blitzing Wassam knocked down a Schallenberger pass on a third-down play and Hamilton punted. But Fairbank could not get a handle on the short kick and the Broncs recovered at the CFHS 27.

Five plays later, Hamilton doubled its lead when Anderson dived over from a yard out and he added the conversion run. It was 16-0 with 2:37 left in the third period.

The Cats defense held after Justin Gillespie intercepted a Nolan pass.

Broncs add to lead

Early in the fourth quarter, Turley returned a Nolan punt to the Cats 34-yard line. The Broncs took advantage of the short field, putting the ball in the end zone on a three-yard run by Anderson. The conversion pass pushed the Hamilton lead to 24-0 with 9:37 left in the game.

Another break went against the Cats on their next possession. Junior Josh Wilson, who had just five yards rushing on four carries, caught a screen pass from Nolan and turned it into a 40-yard gain. But the play was nullified by a holding penalty.

The Cats drove to the Hamilton 33, sparked by a pass from Nolan to Thompson. But a Nolan pass was intercepted, although it appeared the intended receiver was hit before the ball arrived.

CFHS had a last chance to get on the scoreboard. Senior Chase Grilley made a great catch on a Nolan pass for a 40-yard gain to the Hamilton 17. But Schallenberger intercepted a third-and-long pass with 2:35 to go in the game.

"Taking care of the ball is part of the game," Thompson said of CFHS' turnovers.

Turley, who now has 21 touchdowns this season, rushed for 208 yards on 40 carries. Anderson carried 26 times for 142 yards. Bourne and Schallenberger were a combined 4-6-1 passing for 63 yards.

Nolan was 4-13-3 passing for 93 yards. Wassam was 2-for-2 for 52. Thompson had two catches for 83 yards and Grilley caught one for 40.

"Overall I'm proud of the kids and their effort," Thompson said. "They've brought our program a long way. It requires hard work and we did have some kids who worked hard and hopefully that will change the mindset when it comes to football [at CFHS]."

Thompson indicated that the Cat seniors showed good leadership this season.

"It's tough to say good-bye to the seniors. They've been a good group," the coach said. "They've helped our program tremendously. It's been a fun group, a fun year, coaching-wise.

"We have a lot of work to do in the off-season and hopefully the kids are up to that challenge and will challenge each other," Thompson added.

Thompson wished to thank the town for its support of the Cats grid program.

Hamilton 8 0 8 8 — 24

Columbia Falls 0 0 0 0 — 0

Ham — Turley 7 run (Turley run)

Ham — Anderson 1 run (Anderson run)

Ham — Anderson 2 run (Turley pass from Schallenberger)