Bigfork to host first playoff game Saturday

The Bigfork football team had high hopes for the season, but knocking off all five District 7B opponents was a bit of a stretch.

However, that was just what the boys accomplished. The Vikings checked their fifth and final 7B competitor off of their to-do list Thursday night, Oct. 21, with a 42-21 victory over Mission (St. Ignatius) on the road.

“That was big. It wouldn’t have mattered if we lost, but we didn’t and that was really cool,” said Todd Emslie, Bigfork’s head football coach. “To sweep the conference — that was pretty impressive.”

Emslie was also glad to see his boys stay in the game, despite them knowing that the outcome had no bearing on the remainder of their season.

“It’s difficult to go into a game when you know in your head that it doesn’t really count for much,” Emslie said. “I think some of the boys had a little bit of trouble getting up and into the game until Mission hit them a couple of times and then they turned around and they were right there all over them.”

The Bulldogs were first on the board as they hauled in a touchdown during their opening sequence.

“I was a little nervous right there in the beginning,” Emslie said.

Mission’s extra-point attempt failed, but the Bulldogs were still up 6-0 right off the bat.

The Vikes quickly eased some of that tension with a touchdown during their first possession — Senior Travis Knoll took the ball to the end zone on an 8-yard run. With a successful extra-point kick by Dillon Charlebois, Bigfork took a 7-6 lead.

However, the Bulldogs answered with another touchdown when they got the ball back. So when the Vikes regained possession, they used two short yardage plays and a 52-yard pass play from Christian Ker to Knoll to take the lead back.

Bigfork never surrendered the lead again, though there was a close call.

“Bigfork came out and got the kick at the half. We had good field possession and everything, but we fumbled,” Emslie said. “Mission got a little momentum with that. Our defense bent a little bit, but didn’t break.”

It didn’t take much for the Vikes to bounce back from the error.

Knoll racked up three more touchdowns to his game-total five during the second half. They included a 25-yard rushing touchdown in the second and two more trips to the end zone in the third with yardage of 22 and 52, respectively.

Mission was able to squeeze in one last touchdown between Knoll’s third-quarter trips to the end zone. But the Bulldogs couldn’t catch Bigfork, especially after Cody Dopps scored the Vikes a sixth touchdown in the fourth quarter off a 52-yard carry.

“When he took his touchdown to the house he showed some unbelievable speed,” Emslie said of Dopps.

Bigfork had a total of 286 rushing yards, which was more than Mission’s total offense accumulation of 293 yards. Bigfork had 410 yards of total offense.

“Mission is a good football team. Their coach has done an outstanding job,” Emslie said. “They didn’t win a game last year and coming into this game they were 2-5. They’re a young team and they’re going to be good again next year. They had some good linemen.”

What Mission did have more of than Bigfork was first downs, 19-16, total plays, 71-41, and time of possession 26:29-21:31.

“Mission’s drives took lots of time off of the clock,” Emslie said.

In addition to having the most trips end zone for Bigfork, Knoll also led in rushing with 171 yards on 14 carries. He also had 73 yards receiving on two catches. Dopps put up 91 yards on seven carries. Connor Coleman had 30 yards receiving in two attempts. At quarterback, Ker completed five of his eight passes for 114 yards.

“Christian played really well again. There’s a couple throws I know he wishes he could have back, but, all in all, he had a solid game,” Emslie said. “What a boost he has given us on defense lately too. We’ve put him in the past few games on defense and he’s done some great things for us, including knock some key passes down. He’s tall, athletic and a great leader and it’s just great to have him back there for us.”

Bigfork’s defense had one of its most impressive night’s of the year. Austin Cantrell set a season-high record for Bigfork for most tackles in a game. He was credited with 11.5 tackles, which included three assists. Coleman, who assisted in five tackles and took the lead on five others, set a season high for most tackles for a loss — 4.5. Also leading the defensive effort was Dillon Fraley, who was credited with 7.5 tackles including five assists. Knoll had six tackles, and two assists.

Emslie also said he credits the defense’s ability to get a couple big stops at crucial points for the Vikes being able to pull away from the Bulldogs after the first quarter.

POSTSEASON

The Vikes’ hard work is paying off this week as they stand as the No. 1 team in District 7B and host the No. 2 from 6B, Missoula Loyola, at 1 p.m. Saturday for the first round of playoffs.

“I’m glad we have them here,” Emslie said. “We hope we get lots of fans out. We need it to be loud.”

While some may see the scenario as a miracle or a fluke for the Vikings, which prior to a win Sept. 18, 2009, over Plains had lost 28 straight games, those that have been paying attention the past two seasons know that this has been in the works for some time. And for Emslie, Saturday’s game has been something he’s been looking forward to since week one.

“It’s a little premonition coming to light,” Emslie said. “In the past few weeks I don’t think many people thought that we were going to be playing Loyola in the playoffs. I’m not saying I did, but I have just had this feeling all year that we were going to get another crack at them.”

Loyola hosted Bigfork on Sept. 3 for what was both teams’ season opener. The game ended with the Rams holding a dominating 61-34 victory over Bigfork. However, the Vikes and Rams were tied at 34 points apiece going into the final quarter during which Bigfork gave up 27 unanswered points while Knoll was benched with a leg injury.

Three of those four fourth-quarter Loyola touchdowns were made by Shiloh Kerr, who did not play during the Ram’s final game of the season Friday as he was rumored to be nursing a leg injury. Loyola dropped that game to Superior 34-27, which cost them the District 6B title.

Superior had to win the game by more than six points to come out on top in the tiebreaker and earn one of 6B’s two playoff spots. Florence, Loyola and Superior are all 3-1 in league play. Therefore, as was the case for Bigfork last year in 7B, the teams that earned their victories over the others by the most points advanced. So, while Bigfork was bracing to face Florence, who beat Superior 34-33 in week three, Superior went out and surprised everyone and clinched not only an unexpected victory but a playoff spot too. The Rams were nearly able to close that gap to just five points with a two-point conversion attempt following their final touchdown, but Superior broke it up and kept the margin at seven.

Superior will host Troy (2-3), the No. 3 seed from 7B, in the first round of playoffs. The two teams faced each other earlier this season and Superior won 14-8. Troy earned its playoff spot by defeating Thompson Falls 20-14 in overtime Friday night.

Thompson Falls was looking like a shoe-in for 7B’s third spot, but early last week the team had its only two wins of the season taken away due to a rule violation regarding the use of an ineligible player. However, the loss to the Trojans knocked Thompson Falls out of playoff contention regardless of the violations.

Also representing 7B is Eureka (Lincoln County) (2-3), who will host Columbus, the No. 2 seed from District 4B.

Loyola, who made it to the playoffs last year and won its first game before losing out in the quarterfinals, and Bigfork are alone on the other side of the bracket without teams the Vikings have met this season.

If the Vikes can hold on past the Rams this week, they will meet the winner of the Huntley Project-Townsend (Broadwater County) game. Huntley Project is 4B’s No. 1 seed and Townsend is the No. 2 seed out of 5B. Playoffs are single-elimination, so a loss will end a team’s season.

There is no doubt that this week is crunch time on the Bigfork High School football field.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge of coaching this week and the kids are  looking forward to playing them,” Emslie said. “We know what we have to do. We’ve played them before. The kids know they can play well against them and they know they can beat them. We’re working on a lot of things. Obviously our defensive game plan. We’ve got to stop their quarterback and their running back. We have to fine tune our special teams. I wasn’t real impressed with out special teams Thursday night in Mission.”

GAME DAY

Player introductions will follow the National Anthem at 12:50 p.m. and kick off will be at 1 p.m Saturday. Due to Montana High School Association rules, season passes will not be accepted at the gate. Tickets will cost adults $6 and students $5.