Bulldogs upset Chiefs on the road, Libby up next

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

The Bulldog football squad passed a big test on Friday, notching their first road win of the season against a tough Ronan squad to move to 2-0 in Northwestern A action (3-3 overall).

Whitefish quarterback Mac Roche, making only his second varsity start, lit up the Chiefs for five touchdown passes en route to a 43-18 victory for the Bulldogs.

"He played well. He's learning and getting stronger every week," head coach Patrick Dryden said. "The receivers made some big plays. I really liked the balance we had on offense."

Aaron Tkachyk had TD strikes of 18 and 75 yards, while Seth Wiley had scores for 25 and 23 yards. Matt Whitehead had a 38-yarder as well. Tkachyk finished with seven receptions for 146 yards to go along with two interceptions.

Roche connected on 14 of 20 passes for 264 yards and threw one interception. He wasn't sacked in the game, a credit to offensive lineman Dylan Dryden, Josh Backer, Sean Sagen, Geoff Streeter, Tyson Ferda, Kyle Knox and Connor Siliker.

Geoff Streeter, filling in for the injured Dustin Beck, played well at linebacker, as did Derek Crittenden.

Dryden said Ian Cane played well at defensive tackle, Josh Backer was a force at linebacker, and Seth Wiley played well on both sides of the ball. Dylan Dryden was a human wrecking ball on the defensive line, registering two sacks, a blocked extra point and several tackles for losses.

The Chiefs made a game of it, trailing by only 12-20 at the half. The 'Dogs opened up the floodgates in the second half, however, and never looked back.

Daniel Simmons scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown to pad the score. He also had an interception, giving him four on the season. He leads the conference in picks despite missing three games.

Whitefish only had three penalties in the game, after giving up 110 penalty yards the week before.

The Bulldogs face a tough test when they host Libby this Friday night (tomorrow) at 7 p.m. The freshman play at 4:30 p.m.

"Libby throws the ball," Dryden said. "They just absolutely rear back and sling it. They don't have the power running game that they've had in the past, but they have a talented quarterback in Joel Fuller, and they have a lot of speedy receivers. We'll give them some different looks."