Whitefish travels to undefeated Miles City for semifinals
Only the best of the best are left standing after two rounds of State A playoff football action.
Whitefish, the No. 1 seed from the Northwest, travels to Miles City on Saturday to face the No. 1 seed in the East. At stake is a chance to play for a state title against either No. 1 seed Dillon or No. 1 seed Havre. There are no push-overs left in the mix.
“When you get to the top four, there are only good football teams left to play,” said Whitefish head coach Chad Ross. “They all have size and speed.”
The Bulldogs knocked Miles City out of the playoffs last year in a wild 34-29 quarterfinal win at Whitefish. This year, the Cowboys are stacked with senior talent.
Miles City is undefeated at 10-0 with an impressive list of victories over eastern powers, including a 22-21 win over Sidney — the same team Whitefish beat Saturday 24-0.
The Cowboys cruised in a 42-20 rout over No. 2 Butte Central on Saturday to move on in the playoff bracket. Quarterback Matthew Blunt had three TDs in the game and threw for 173 yards.
“They have a great quarterback in Blunt,” said Ross. “He runs more than Luke [May] does, about 125 yards a game.”
“We have to control their quarterback.”
Another offensive treat is Cowboy running back Jared Bartlett, who ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns against Butte.
“They’re a very fundamentally sound team,” Ross said of Miles City. “They have about 27 different formations they use. They always have guys in motion and are lining up in different places.”
Miles City has dedicated their season in honor of their former coach Dan Stanton, who died in September of cancer. Head coach Kevin McAuliffe has led the team all year.
The Dogs will lean on their stout defense to slow the Cowboys. Whitefish has allowed opponents this season only 111 yards passing and 46 yards rushing a game.
On offense, look for Whitefish to spread the ball around to its playmakers.
Running back Chris Park is averaging 105 yards a game on the ground with 10 rushing scores.
May has scored 15 running touchdowns and is averaging 156 passing yards a game. Jed Nagler is the Dogs’ top receiver this season with seven TD catches. Brian FauntLeRoy has six receiving TDs and two on the ground.
Even with all those weapons, it’s going to take a clean game — no silly penalties or turnovers — to come away with a victory on Saturday, Ross said.
“Those can be deciding factors,” he said. “We can’t beat ourselves.”
Whitefish will leave Thursday to make the 539-mile trip east to Miles City. Ross says playing on the road can actually be an advantage.
“It’s almost better in some ways,” Ross said. “There are no distractions from school and it creates this close-knit environment.”
“The kids are excited and they know it’s an honor to be there.”
Kickoff is at 1 p.m.