Cats conference champs

For the first time since 1972, Columbia Falls is a conference champion. The Wildcats trounced Whitefish last Thursday as quarterback Austin Barth threw six touchdowns and the Cats cruised to a 51-0 victory.

The Cats scored 33 points in the first quarter alone. Runningback Nate Thompson scored the first touchdown on a 7-yard run. Whitefish made some adjustments to defend the run, so the Cats went to the air — over and over again.

Barth connected with 6-foot-4-inch wide receiver Kaleb Johnson four times in the end zone — three of the receptions were for more than 40 yards apiece as the Cats went up 33-0 in the first quarter.

The Cats scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter — a 24-yard strike from Barth to Dan Busick and Thompson added a 5-yard touchdown run with 4:30 left in the second.

On the defensive end, Johnson had an interception in the first half and Chris King recovered a fumble. The Bulldogs didn’t get a first down until the second half, when Columbia falls played its second and third string players.

Barth’s six touchdown passes eclipse a recent school mark of four touchdown passes thrown by quarterback Mitchell Wassam in a game last year.

Coach Bill Coleman was pleased with the total team play against the Dogs. It was clear Whitefish was expecting the run, he noted.

“If you’re not focused on all 11, we’re going to make you pay for it,” Coleman said of his offense.

Thompson still had an excellent game by any standard. He rushed for 100 yards on 17 carries and has 1,457 yards rushing on the season to date.

While the Cats have the Northwest A conference crown wrapped up, Coleman said they have no plans to let up against Ronan this week. The Cats host the Chiefs at 7 p.m. Friday at home.

“We’ll approach it like any other game we play,” he said. “We need to come out and take care of business. You don’t want to back into the playoffs.”

He said Ronan runs the ball effectively and for the Cats to be successful, the boys have to play their assignments. The Cats will go into the game with no serious injuries.

The team is now 3-0 in conference and 4-3 overall after a 1-3 start. The conference crown means they’ll get a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Coleman said the bye will be welcome.

“We still have some fundamental things to work on,” he said.