Wildcats kick off season Friday night at Stevensville

Wildcat pride on the football field came through in a big way during the 2008 season at Columbia Falls High School, and don't expect that to change this year.

Bill Coleman takes over a program that posted a solid 6-4 mark last season. The Wildcats finished 4-1 in the Northwest A Conference and edged Corvallis 27-26 in the first round of the state playoffs. C-Falls was eliminated by Billings Central, 27-13.

C-Falls kicks off the season Friday at Stevensville, a team that beat the Cats 36-22 last season.

Coleman and his assistants have six starters returning on both sides of the football, and the other starting spots will be filled with experienced Cats. They are backed up by quality depth.

"We have tremendous attitude," Coleman said of the carryover value from last year's performance. "They have a lot of enthusiasm and pride in what they're doing. You definitely have confidence when you have success like that."

However, under Coleman the Cats are learning new offensive and defensive systems. The coach said how the Cats line up on offense "depends on how our personnel shapes up" and how the quarterbacks adapt.

Those signal callers are senior Mitchell Wassam, last season's starter, and sophomore Austin Barth. Both have good size; Wassam is 6-foot-3 and Barth is about 6-5. Barth is pushing Wassam as the starter.

C-Falls ran out of the shotgun formation nearly all the time last season, with a man in motion on every snap.

"Part of everything you do under the system you can do out of the shotgun," Coleman explained. "We'll change it up."

Mackey Nolan and Stephen Baumgartner had a large majority of the carries last year, but both have graduated. That will leave the ball carrying chores to seniors John Woody and Dustin VonFeldt and junior Nate Thompson, among others.

C-Falls will again run out of the wing-T. "We'll use those guys to get to the edge," Coleman said. "We have a lot of athletic kids in those positions. It raises the level (of competition).

The Cats also have depth at wide receiver with seniors Kyle Howell and Wayde Martinson, and juniors Kyle Johnson and Devyn Rocker.

"We want to be able to run some tight end, too," Coleman said, as the Cats hope to be unpredictable on offense.

Three seniors — center Nathan Trueblood and guards Kelly Houle and Mike Macijunas — anchor the offensive line. Houle was all-state last year. Bryce Arneson, a junior, is one of the tackles. With the loss of linemen Kodie Kenfield and Nathan Woods, the Cats have big shoes to fill.

With Nolan the punter and place kicker, specials teams was a Cat strength last season. "You're losing a Division I player," Coleman said of Nolan, who will be punting for Montana State University. With him gone, punter is "a position we have to develop."

Houle, Macijunas and Trueblood are also on the defensive line. Other key returnees are Howell, VonFeldt and Thompson at linebacker, and Johnson at safety.

Strengths of this season's Cats? "We have exceptional talent at the skill positions and we're very solid up front (on the line)," Coleman said. "Overall, we're pretty quick."

With Bigfork in Class B, three of the five teams in the conference qualify for the state playoffs. "The conference is wide open," Coleman said.

C-Falls' home opener is Friday, Sept. 4 against Hamilton. Kickoff for all regular season games is 7 p.m.