Dogs crush Ronan on homecoming night

Senior Devin Beale didn’t hold back on homecoming night, scoring four touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 55-20 beatdown of Ronan.

Beale started the game off Friday with a 64-yard rushing touchdown on the first play of scrimmage. That put the Dogs up 6-0 after a blocked extra point.

Just a few minutes later he found the endzone again, this time from five yards out. He followed that up with a two-point conversion to put Whitefish ahead 14-0.

Ronan came back on their next drive, aided by a Whitefish unsportsmanlike penalty after a tackle for loss. That drive ended with a Eric Dolence fade to Matthew Victor from 11 yards out. Ronan’s two point conversion failed.

Beale found the endzone for the third time from six yards out early in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs tacked on two more scores before heading to the locker room for halftime. Ridgeway connected on passes of 36 and 28 yards before finishing the drive with a 14-yard touchdown strike to Ian Calaway.

On the ensuing kickoff, Jackson Cripe picked up a Ronan fumble from near midfield and returned it for a touchdown. Whitefish led 35-6 at the half.

Despite kicking off, Whitefish started their next drive on the Ronan 4-yard-line after the Chiefs went three-and-out and punted the ball backwards from the 15-yard-line. Josh Nelson got the carry for the 4-yard touchdown.

Beale got his final touchdown from seven yards out later in the quarter, set up by a 60-yard pass from Ridgeway to Jaxsen Schlauch.

After the game, Beale credited the rest of his offensive line as the reason for his success.

“I just give all the credit to my lineman and the whole team. I wouldn’t be able to do it without them,” he said. “We’re just a great team. We all work together, we all do our job, we all do our 1/11th. I’m really happy to be a part of this team.”

Whitefish found the endzone for the final time after Dillon Muth picked off a third-down screen pass attempt by Ronan. Dozer McDaniel scored on a 4-yard rush to put Whitefish up 55-6.

Ronan wasn’t done yet. Dolence found Victor again for two more scores in the fourth, but the deficit was too large.

Head coach Chad Ross said he’s seeing a lot of improvement in his team, especially in the trenches.

“The line continues just to get better. Our pass blocking has been a little suspect the last couple games,” he said. “Our line is just getting a little better every game and that’s what we need. Coming into the end of the season that’s really going to make a difference,” he said.

Whitefish travels to Corvallis Friday.

Ross said despite their record, he’s not taking Corvallis lightly.

“They’re 1-4, but they’re the best 1-4 team I’ve seen. They’ve had a lot of close games and they’re aggressive. We’ve had a hard time playing there in the past, and it’s their homecoming,” he said. “They’ll have a big crowd.”

The key to that matchup, Ross says, is going to be discipline on defense, as the Blue Devils run a triple option that requires defenders to stay true to their individual jobs to beat.

“Everyone has a different job and responsibility. Finding the flow of the game and doing our defensive responsibilities is key,” Ross said.

With last week’s win, the Bulldogs are now 4-1 and have shown massive improvement since week one against Libby.

Ross said he’s encouraged by how far his team has come, and with teams like Hamilton and Dillon still on the schedule, he’s excited to see what they can do.

“I think we’re so much better. Against Libby we couldn’t line up right. We’re a lot more confident in the schemes we’re running, so we have a lot more confidence in what we’re doing as a team,” he said.