Bulldogs overpower East Helena at Dawg Pound
Whitefish quarterback Fynn Ridgeway hurdles over an East Helena player during the homecoming game on Friday in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish's Fynn Ridgeway and Ty Schwaiger celebrate a touchdown in the first half of a game against East Helena on Friday in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Bulldog Ryder Barinowski looks for more yards after catching a pass in a game against East Helena on Friday in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
In front of a large crowd decked in school spirit for homecoming, Whitefish shut out East Helena 35-0 in Western A football on Friday.
The win moves Whitefish to 4-1 overall this season.
“Thanks to all the great community support all week. Friday night was a blast at the Dawg Pound,” Whitefish coach Brett Bollweg said. “Our guys love playing at home, what a great atmosphere.”
The Bulldogs scored near the end of the first quarter when Ty Schwaiger broke through the defense for a 44-yard rushing touchdown.
Whitefish’s offense really got rolling in the second quarter, outscoring the Vigilantes 21-0. First, the dogs scored on a long pass from quarterback Fynn Ridgeway to receiver Mason Kelch. On the Dogs' next sequence, Ridgeway again connected with a receiver far downfield — this time Clayton Godsey for a 45-yard touchdown catch. Just before the half Schwaiger punched through the pack into the endzone on a 1-yard run.
“We continue to improve as a team which is really exciting, we are learning to eliminate mistakes and capitalize on our opportunities,” Bollweg said.
In the second half, the Bulldogs got one more score as Ridgeway connected with Mason Kelch in the end zone. The Whitefish defense allowed East Helena to gain few yards and in the final quarter, the Bulldogs played a lineup of young players to close out the game.
“We are working towards playing our best football at the end of the season which is what we want,” Bollweg said. “Our young guys are maturing and our older guys continue to lead in great ways. I'm excited to see what we can do down the stretch of our last four regular season games.”
Ridgeway threw three touchdown passes and was 10-14 passing for 194 yards. Godsey led the receivers with 98 yards and Kelch had 66 yards. Ridgeway also collected 74 yards on the ground and Schwaiger tallied 56 yards on seven rushes.
Carson Krack also picked off a pass for the Bulldog defense.
The Bulldogs will travel to Ronan on Friday to face the Chiefs on the road.
E. Helena 0 0 0 0 - 0
Whitefish 7 21 7 0 - 35
W — Ty Schwaiger 44 run (Ryder Barinowski kick)
W — Mason Kelch 33 pass from Fynn Ridgeway (Barinowski kick)
W — Clayton Godsey 45 pass from Ridgeway (Barinowski kick)
W — Schwaiger 1 run (Barinowski kick)
W — Kelch 7 pass from Ridgeway (Barinowski kick)
