Bulldog football kicks off Saturday

Healthy and excited Whitefish team looks ahead to a brand new season; Havre is up first

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

If enthusiasm alone could win a football game, the Whitefish Bulldogs might go undefeated this year. As it is, they will just have to use it as a positive starting point. The squad will get its first test this Saturday when they host the Havre Blue Ponies. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Whitefish High School.

Patrick Dryden is entering his third year as head coach and his 12th with the team. He is actually banking on a sizzling August afternoon for the opening game.

"Hopefully it will be hot," he said with a grin. "We have more depth than Havre, so we'll just keep rotating more guys in."

The 2008 version of the Bulldogs promises to be exciting to watch. They may not be the most talented team in the conference. That distinction goes to the Libby Loggers, the defending conference champions. The Bulldogs may not have the most numbers. That advantage would go to the Columbia Falls Wildcats. However, what the Bulldogs do have is unbounded energy.

At practice last Friday afternoon on a beautiful sunny day, the practice field echoed with shouts from the coaches and players and the crack of helmets hitting pads.

"We're having a lot of fun," Dryden said. "Everyone's excited for the season."

Last year, Whitefish finished a mediocre 3-6 but still made the state playoffs, losing to Frenchtown in the first round. They were in a lot of close games, however, including losing a late lead to Columbia Falls in the final eight minutes. Dryden and his coaching staff are hopeful that they can turn those close losses into victories this season.

"We haven't had any major injuries yet. We're healthy," Dryden said. "We're returning some guys that were injured last year, like Sean Sagen and Derek Crittenden, so that will be a big boost."

Crittenden will be moved from offensive lineman to tight end to take advantage of his unique physical skills. Dryden said he hopes to use the big senior to expose opposing defenses in the short passing attack. Kyle Knox will also be used in two tight-end sets.

By far the biggest strength of the Whitefish squad this year will be at linebacker. Starters Quintyn Menegazzi, Tanner Benedect, Dustin Beck, Crittenden and Jesse Strunk should be a force to be reckoned with.

"We're going to be big, quick and physical at the linebacker position," Dryden said. "We're also returning both of our starters at corner, so our defense should be solid."

Another key to the Bulldog's success this year will be in the development of senior quarterback Alex Elespuru. Dryden praised his young gunslinger's commitment to the weight room in the off-season.

"He's put on a lot of muscle," Dryden said. "Alex looks a lot stronger, and an extra year of experience is going to help him. He has also improved his accuracy a little bit over last year."

Along with chucking the football, Elespuru will also play safety on defense and do a little bit of the kicking duties.

The Bulldogs will also employ the services of junior quarterback Mac Roche.

"He's a tall strong kid with a cannon for an arm," Dryden said of Roche. "Having him will give us a nice 1-2 punch. Last year we didn't really have a second-string quarterback."

Dryden said he is excited about his wide-reciever corps this year, as he raided the basketball team for tall, fast, athletic kids with good hands. Aaron Tkachyk is returning for his senior year, and David FauntLeRoy, Matt Whitehead and Seth Wiley can all be counted on to pose match-up problems against opposing cornerbacks.

Big men Dylan Dryden and Tyson Ferda will play both offensive and defensive line for the Bulldogs. Dryden, the head coach's son, is the only returning starter on the line.

"We're a little un-tested there but we've got some good kids," Patrick Dryden said. "We have Ian Kane back from injury, and he's 6-foot abd about 240 pounds, so he will play defensive tackle. He's excited to get back on the field."

Dryden said there is a three-way battle going on in practice between Dan Simmons, Tanner Benedict, and Jesse Strunk for the starting running back position.

Jeff Streeter, David FauntLeRoy, and Josh Backer will all rotate in at defensive end.

"We want to keep getting fresh legs in there to get after the quarterback," Dryden said.

Whitehead, Elespuru, and Willie Roche will play safety, bolstering the line-backing unit.

"Defensively, we're really basic right now," Dryden explained. "It's good because there has been very little confusion on defense."

The Bulldogs have the same tough schedule that they did last year, so they know they will have to come out of the gates fast to make any ground in a tough Northwestern A conference. Libby has a star quarterback in Joel Fuller, and they are always a physical team. Dryden said the Polson Pirates are returning almost their entire team, so they will certainly be no push-over. Columbia Falls, the bitter rival of Whitefish, have a lot of depth and they are coming off a good season last year. It will be a dog fight between those four teams to get to the top of the conference, and nobody knows what to expect from Bigfork or Ronan this year.

"It's going to be a tough road," Dryden said. "But our attitude is so much different from last year. We're are doing everything different from last year. Everybody is having a ton of fun."