Alton shines as Bulldogs race past Stevi

The Bulldogs took care of business even without their top two rushers, defeating Stevensville 27-6 Friday to secure a spot in the football playoffs.

Junior Jack Alton got the call in the absence of running back Devin Beale, who sat out with a high ankle sprain, and Alton didn’t disappoint.

He got the first points on the board for Whitefish with a 26-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter to put Whitefish up seven.

Whitefish found the endzone again later in the second quarter, when quarterback Fynn Ridgeway connected to Jaxsen Schlauch for an 18-yard fade. After a failed kick the Bulldogs lead 13-0 after one half.

It didn’t take long for Whitefish to score again in the second half. Just 14 seconds into the third quarter, Ian Calaway picked off Stevi and returned the ball for a touchdown to go up 20-0.

Stevensville found the endzone early in the fourth quarter after gaining great field position from a bad snap during a Whitefish punt. Sahkaia Wehr scored on a quarterback keeper from six yards out.

Alton scored again in the fourth quarter from 30 yards out to put the game away for good. He finished with 208 yards and two touchdowns.

Head coach Chad Ross said he saw both good and bad in the win.

“We had brief moments of excellence. We just need to be more consistent across the board,” he said. “We played much better [defensively] in the second half, just confused in the first half. We’ve got to do a better job getting the boys ready for Dillon and the playoff run.”

Both Devin Beale and Zach Veneman could return from injuries this week against Dillon, Ross said, but that call had yet to be made.

However, he was impressed with Alton’s play on Friday, as well as his demeanor.

Ross noted that after the game, Alton told his coaches “anybody could have done that with the line we have.”

“He did a great job of running downhill and hard. In the past he danced around the hole a bit, but in this game he trusted his line and made his one cut,” Ross said. “We couldn’t ask for anything more. We were elated by his performance as a coaching staff.”

The night was also a nice send-off to this year’s seniors, Ross noted.

The upperclassman have had big impacts on the team and the younger players, he said.

“I’m really proud of all the seniors and the leadership they’ve given the team this year. Both on the field and off. It’s been a really neat dynamic they’ve formed within the locker room,” he said.

With a playoff berth secure, the Dogs have one final regular season test on the road against Dillon on Friday.

Dillon is 7-1 and sitting near the top of divisional rankings.

Ross said their quarterback, Justus Peterson, is one of the top priorities — among other things.

“They’re just so well coached. [Peterson] is really good. He beat us last year, we were down 7-13 and they just ran away with it. We just need to contain the quarterback,” Ross said. “They’ve got a solid defense. They beat Hamilton by a point earlier in the season.”

“The bottom line is we need to score points,” Ross added. “The two games we’ve lost we’ve been outscored 0-72.

Stevensville 0 0 0 6 — 6

Whitefish 7 6 7 7 — 27

W — Jack Alton 26 run (Jaxsen Schlauch kick)

W — Schlauch 18 pass from Fynn Ridgeway (Schlauch kick failed)

W — Ian Calaway 32 run (interception return) (Schlauch kick)

S — Sahkaia Wehr 6 run (PAT attempt failed)

W — Alton 30 run (Schlauch kick)