Whitefish steams by Havre for BNSF trophy
Whitefish will hang on to the BNSF trophy for a fourth consecutive season after rolling past Havre on Friday in the traditional football season opener for both railroad towns.
The Dogs posted 21 unanswered points in the first half to take the commanding lead. They went on to win 44-12.
Chris Park exploded for a 16-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, then added another in the second quarter. Whitefish senior Brian FauntLeRoy punched in a TD run to make it 21-0 with 3:44 before the half.
The Blue Ponies responded with a scoring drive of their own, but FauntLeRoy ran back the ensuing kickoff to stymie Havre’s momentum.
Senior quarterback Luke May expanded the margin with a 17-yard TD pass to FauntLeRoy in the third — capping a scoring trifecta for FauntLeRoy with touchdowns rushing, passing and on special teams.
Standout receiver — and University of Montana Grizzlies’ recruit — Jed Nager brought down a 22-yard pass for the Dogs, and Haley Nicholson kicked a field goal to cap the scoring.
The Dogs’ stingy defense kept Havre star quarterback Dane Warp in check all game. The Ponies only picked up 10 yards rushing on 26 carries.
“The defense was great,” Whitefish coach Chad Ross said. “We wanted to keep Warp in the pocket and we did that.”
Park led the effort with seven tackles and two sacks.
Ross credited the offensive line for opening gaping running holes.
“This is the best the line has looked this early in the season,” he said. “That’s a credit to how hard they worked in the off-season.”
“I liked how much better conditioned we seemed. In the fourth quarter we got that second wind and played even better.”
Getting to Havre proved to be a marathon effort with Highway 2 shut down near Essex due to wildfires in the area. Instead of a direct route east, the team bus was forced to drive down the Swan Valley, over to Lincoln, then up to Havre on the east side of the mountains.
“It was a 22 hour trip — with 16 on a bus,” Ross said. “We broke it up a little bit and stopped to toss around the football and stretch.”
Obviously, the long road trip had little effect on the Dogs’ performance.
“There are some things we can work on in the secondary, but overall, we played really well for our first game,” Ross said.
Whitefish 7 21 6 10 — 44
Havre 0 6 6 0 — 12
First Quarter
WHI – Chris Park 16 run (Nicholson kick), 1:47
Second Quarter
WHI – Chris Park run (Nicholson kick), 6:48
WHI – Brian FauntLeRoy run (Nicholson kick), 3:44
HAV – Nate Rismon pass from Dane Warp (conversion failed), 1:13
WHI – Brian FauntLeRoy kickoff return (Nicholson kick), 1:02
Third Quarter
WHI – Brian FauntLeRoy 17 pass from Luke May (kick failed), 10:08
Fourth Quarter
WHI – Jed Nagler 22 pass from Luke May (Nicholson kick), 11:06
HAV – Nate Rismon pass from Dane Warp (conversion failed), 7:28
WHI – Haley Nicholson 33 FG, 0:30