Bulldog football drops close season opener to Libby

Right up until the end the Bulldogs were in the mix with Libby, down just 10-14 at the end of the third quarter on Friday night. But Whitefish couldn’t find the endzone in the second half which cost them the game as they lost their season opener 21-10.

Whitefish football head coach Chad Ross said there were a lot of positives in the game despite the result and he was glad to see the guys keep themselves in the game all the way until the end.

“We were in there the whole time,” Ross said. “Libby just executed a little bit better than we did in the fourth quarter and we just couldn’t get it done.”

Libby scored first with a 34-yard touchdown run to put six points on the board in the first quarter. Whitefish responded well with a field goal to cut into the lead before the end of the quarter. Shortly thereafter, Bulldog sophomore quarterback Fynn Ridgeway threw a stunning 60-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jaxsen Schlauch. The kick was good and gave Whitefish the lead 10-6 headed into halftime.

“(Fynn Ridgeway) had probably one of the best first halves I’ve seen a quarterback play in my 20 years that I’ve been here,” Ross said.

In the second half Libby scored two more touchdowns, one with a successful two-point conversion, while Whitefish struggled to respond with any scoring plays.

Ross said the Bulldogs simply made too many mistakes and turned the ball over in the red zone.

“We had two turnovers within the 20,” Ross said. “That was probably one of the deciding factors in the game because you get down that close and turn the ball over, it’s hard to win football games.”

Ridgeway ended the game with 174 passing yards and four interceptions, but Ross said the interceptions are an issue involving the whole team. He said in the coming weeks the team needs to improve on the “little things” — improved blocking and better reads.

Whitefish finished with 258 total yards to Libby’s 325 and allowed the Loggers 301 rushing yards.

Bulldogs Trey Hunt and Schlauch led their team in receiving yards, racking up 76 and 72 yards respectively. Whitefish went 4-9 on third down conversions.

The Bulldogs play in Polson on Friday evening and Ross likes the matchup as both teams have strengths in the passing game. Polson lost to Columbia Falls last week, so both teams will be 0-1 coming into the game.

“I think whoever can correct the most mistakes from week one to week two will end up winning the game (in Polson),” Ross said.

Whitefish 3 7 0 0 — 10

Libby 6 0 8 7 — 21

L — 34 run (kick no good)

W — 28 field goal

W — 60 pass (kick)

L — 16 run (2-point conversion)

L — 6 pass (kick)