Bulldog offense blazing on Senior Night in win over Libby

A game between Whitefish and Libby on Friday night quickly turned into an offensive shootout — and whoever could come up with defensive stops when needed would end up victorious.

That team was the Bulldogs when they had a huge stop late in the fourth quarter that led to the home team taking a two-score lead over the Loggers with two minutes left in the game. The Bulldogs went on to win 48-39 at Memorial Field in Whitefish.

“Libby always comes with their best foot forward; they always love to play that aggressive downhill style of football… We’re just super proud of our kids for really battling out a tough win against a good team,” Whitefish head coach Brett Bollweg said.

In more ways than one, Bulldog senior quarterback Fynn Ridgeway led his team to victory. Not only his stats — 156 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns and connecting on 21 of 27 passes for 320 yards in the air — but the way he encouraged his teammates and showed on-field leadership.

“It’s hard to say too much about the kid, he’s a special player and a special human being,” Whitefish head coach Brett Bollweg said. “He does things the right way, he’s our emotional leader. He knows how to get guys going and hats off to him for just a phenomenal night and to all of our seniors.”

Libby was the first to score when Cy Williams caught a 30-yard pass from Logger quarterback Trevor Collins midway through the first quarter. Whitefish responded on the next drive when Ridgeway hit receiver Clayton Godsey for a 25-yard touchdown pass with three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

On the next Libby drive, the Whitefish defense allowed Cy Stevenson to break away on a 60-yard run for a touchdown. Stevenson was hard to stop all night, racking up 337 yards on 18 carries. Stevenson is a senior and recently committed to play at the University of Montana next year.

“He’s (Stevenson) a stud, it's going to be fun to watch him play on Saturdays going forward. He’s a really talented kid and I couldn’t see him leaving the field soon enough on Friday night,” Bollweg said with a laugh.

Libby went up by two scores late in the second quarter on Jace Deshazer's rush. Just before the end of the first half, the Bulldogs’ Godsey had a clutch fumble recovery and Ridgeway turned the opportunity into a touchdown a few plays later.

Libby took a narrow 20-14 lead into halftime.

The Teams went back and forth scoring in the quick-paced game. Nearing the end of the third quarter, Whitefish finally got a big defensive stop and then took the lead for the first time in the game with another Ridgeway quarterback keeper for a touchdown.

It didn’t last long as Stevenson broke through the Whitefish defense again for a 49-yard run and touchdown.

Whitefish and Libby continued to alternate scoring drives until Ridgeway scored again on a 63-yard gain and the Bulldog defense came up with a necessary stop on the Loggers' next drive.

The defensive effort lead to a momentum shift for Whitefish which strung together a long scoring drive that gave the ball back to the Loggers with just two minutes left on the clock.

Whitefish would stop Libby again to end the game with the conference win 48-39.

“We made some small tweaks and got some guys in a little bit different positions and it paid off for us in the second half,” Bollweg said. “A big bruising running back (Stevenson) that does things really well, and tough to tackle… Fortunately, we were able to make some plays when we really needed to and get the ball back in our offense’s hands where we have a lot of confidence.”

Seven Whitefish receivers caught passes in the game with Mason Kelch collecting 90 yards on six catches to lead the Dogs. Dane Hunt had 79 receiving yards while Clayton Godsey had 55 yards and two touchdowns.

Bulldog Ty Schwaiger earned 64 yards on 12 carries.

“Some incredible individual performances on both sides of the ball and at the end of the day I think our team showed they have a lot of heart and they care a lot about doing things well,” Bollweg expressed. “It’s fun to see them fight for what they want and go get it.”

The competition doesn’t get any easier this week as Whitefish heads to Columbia Falls and battles a Northwest A conference rival. The Wildcats have a 5-1 record with their only loss coming from the undefeated Polson Pirates.

The Bulldogs are 6-1 this season with their loss at the start of the season to Dillon.

“Columbia Falls has a really good team… we’re expecting a definite battle. They are in the position they are for a reason,” Bollweg said. “We’re grateful to be in the opportunity to play a game that matters at this point in the year.”

The Bulldogs will face the Wildcats on Friday at 7 p.m. at Columbia Falls High School.

Libby 14 6 6 13 - 39

Whitefish 7 7 13 21 - 48

L — Cy Williams 30 pass from Trevor Collins (PAT good) 6:48-1Q

W — Clayton Godsey 25 pass from Fynn Ridgeway (Ryder Barinowski PAT good) 3:07-1Q

L — Cy Stevenson 60 run (PAT good) 2:08-1Q

L — Jace Deshazer 14 run (PAT no good) 3:25-2Q

W — Ridgeway 9 run (Barinowski PAT good) 1:46-2Q

L — Deshazer 15 run (PAT no good) 8:37-3Q

W — Godsey 30 pass from Ridgeway (Two point no good) 7:22-3Q

W — Ridgeway 1 run (Barinowski PAT good) 1:50-3Q

L — Stevenson 49 run (Two point no good)

W — Ridgeway 10 run (Barinowski PAT good) 9:02-4Q

L — Stevenson 81 run (PAT Good) 8:42-4Q

W — Ridgeway 63 run (Two point good - Ridgeway run) 7:45-4Q

W — Ridgeway 1 run (Barinowski PAT good) 2:08-4Q

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Libby Stevenson 18-337, Deshazer 17-82. Whitefish — Ridgeway 17-156, Ty Schwaiger 12-64.

PASSING: Libby — stats unavailable. Whitefish — Ridgeway 21-27-0 for 320 yards.

RECEIVING — Libby — stats unavailable. Whitefish — Mason Kelch 6-90, Dane Hunt 6-79, Godsey 2-55, Morgan Kyle 1-40, Barinowski 4-36, Schwaiger 1-14, Jesse Burrough 1-6.