Dogs nip rival Cats in overtime thriller
Whitefish receiver Jesse Burrough (5) celebrates as the Bulldogs swarm Mason Kelch after he scored the winning touchdown against Columbia Falls on Friday, Sept. 15 in Whitefish. The Bulldogs won in overtime, 20-14. (Avery Howe/Hungry Horse News)
Whitefish's Dane Hunt (4) runs the ball at the Dog Pound on Friday, Sept. 15 in a game against Columbia Falls. The Bulldogs won in overtime, 20-14. (Avery Howe/Hungry Horse News)
Whitefish quarterback Carson Gulick makes a pass against Columbia Falls at the Dog Pound on Friday, Sept. 15. (Avery Howe/Hungry Horse News)
Bulldog receiver C.J. Thew lands in the end zone in a game versus the Columbia Falls at the Dog Pound on Friday, Sept. 15. The Bulldogs won in overtime, 20-14. (Avery Howe/Hungry Horse News)
Bulldog receiver C.J. Thew celebrates a touchdown in a game versus the Columbia Falls Wildcats at the Dog Pound on Friday, Sept. 15. The Bulldogs won in overtime, 20-14. (Avery Howe/Hungry Horse News)
A bulldog interrupts the Bulldogs vs. Wildcats game on Friday, Sept. 15. The Bulldogs won in overtime, 20-14. (Avery Howe/Hungry Horse News)
The Whitefish Bulldogs celebrate the touchdown that ultimately tied them up with the Columbia Falls Wildcats at the Dog Pound on Friday, Sept. 15. The Bulldogs won in overtime, 20-14. (Avery Howe/Hungry Horse News)
Jesse Burrough (5) and Ryder Barinowski (6) are cheered on by Bulldogs fans flooding the field after Whitefish’s overtime victory over Columbia Falls, 20-14.
The Whitefish Bulldogs cheerleaders hype up the student section at the Dog Pound on Friday, Sept. 15 in a game against the Columbia Falls Wildcats. The Bulldogs won in overtime, 20-14.
Whitefish football picked up its first win of the season, which was certainly a big one.
Matching up against rival Columbia Falls, who had defeated them a year earlier 24-20, the Bulldogs (1-3) dug deep for a 20-14 overtime win in Western A action on Friday, Sept. 14.
“It was great to get a big win,” Whitefish Head Coach Brett Bollweg said. “I'm so happy for these guys, they have put in a ton of work and for them to be rewarded in this way is awesome.”
Whitefish quarterback Carson Gulick threw three touchdown passes in the annual “Cat-Dog” game, including the game-winner.
“Carson Gulick really had a great game all over the field,” Bollweg said. “He did a really nice job of taking care of the ball and making plays when we needed them.”
Columbia Falls took the early 7-0 lead on a two-yard touchdown run by Cody Schweiker, but Whitefish tied things up in the second quarter as Gulick threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to CJ Threw.
After a scoreless third, Columbia Falls’ Lane Hoerner caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Schweikert to make it 14-7. Not daunted, Whitefish got a big 67-yard touchdown pass from Gulick to Threw to force the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, Mason Kelch caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Gulick to seal up the victory.
“Mason had a huge game also,” Bollweg said. “Obviously, he had an amazing catch to finish it, but he made tons of plays on offense and defense to get us in that position.”
Gulick finished the game 15-of-32 with 170 yards, and 14 rushes for 62 yards. Kelch caught seven balls for 50 yards.
Columbia Falls passed for 167 yards in the matchup and fell to 2-2 on the year.
“Our guys need to know that we can win, and this proved it,” Bollweg said. “They showed they have guts and that they can play. Moving forward, we have to capitalize on that. It's something that we've known about our guys. We believe in them. Now everybody else will hopefully know it too.”
At Whitefish
C-Falls - 7 - 0 - 0 - 7 - 0 - 14
Whitefish - 0 - 7 - 0 - 7 - 6 - 20
SCORING SUMMARY
CF — Cody Schweiker 2 run (Kai Golan kick)
W — CJ Thew 25 pass from Carson Gulick (Ryder Barinowski kick)
CF — Lane Hoerner 25 pass from Schweikert (Golan kick)
W — Thew 67 pass from Gulick (Barinowski kick)
W — Mason Kelch 10 pass from Gulick (no PAT)
