Bulldogs host Sidney in football quarterfinals

Whitefish entered this football season with the lofty expectations of a team stacked with senior All-State talent. From the first practice in August, the mantra has been “play 12 games and win the last one.”

The Bulldogs’ march to a state championship begins this Saturday when the Sidney Eagles make the long 12-hour trip west to Whitefish for a State A quarterfinal meeting.

Sidney (7-3) finished third in the Eastern A and defeated No. 2 seed Belgrade 28-20 on Saturday to advance in the playoff bracket. Whitefish had a bye week as the No. 1 seed from the Northwest.

Senior quarterback Tel Hermanson had one score and sophomore Alec Lovegren finished with three touchdowns in the Eagles win at Belgrade.

Sidney is led by head coach Roger Merritt. The team is stacked with six 2014 all-conference selections, including senior running back Bridger Coffman who currenly leads the state in scoring with 108 points on the season.

Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Memorial Field.