Billings Central does it with no passing. Kyle leads the receivers--has his personal varsity best.

Rams stop Beavers
By Bill Foley The Montana Standard (Butte)- 11/16/2008

DILLON — In September it was a shootout.

Saturday, it was a defensive struggle.

The end result, though, was the same when the Dillon Beavers and Billings Central Rams met on the football field.

Billings Central left Vigilante Field with a 21-7 win to advance to the Class A state championship game. The win was the 23rd straight for the defending champion Rams (11-0), who will host Miles City next Saturday at Daylis Stadium.

Miles City beat Frenchtown 43-16 in Saturday's other semifinal game.

"Defense won the game for us today," Billings Central coach Jim Stanton said. "Coach (Randy) Chilton had those kids ready."

The scoreboard showed a 14-point BC win. For the most part, however, the game came down to a matter of inches.

Down 14-7 and facing a fourth-and-1 at the Billings Central 18-yard line late in the game, the Beavers (8-3) ran a quarterback sneak with senior Bryce Carver.

The officials measured for a first down, and it came up inches short.

"It was a yard or so, and we thought we could get it," Dillon coach Terry Thomas said of the move that gave the ball back to Billings Central with 4 minutes, 46 seconds left. "We were a little short."

"In the fourth quarter it came down to us and the fourth-and-one, and we didn't get it."

The Dillon defense, which allowed just one second-half first down, got the ball back for one last chance.

On fourth-and-10 from the Dillon 49, Carver appeared to hit classmate Tanner Strozzi for an 11-yard reception. As Strozzi hit the ground, though, the ball popped out and into the waiting arms of junior Cole Cattelan, who had two of Billings Central's four interceptions.

The Beavers defense tried again to get the ball back. With Billings Central facing a fourth-and-1 at the Dillon 37, the Beavers were out of time outs and out of luck.

The Rams called time out with 30 seconds left to set up the play, and the Beavers sold out to stop the run.

Senior Tyler Hawkins broke loose on a sweep left and raced for the game-clinching touchdown with 23 seconds on the clock.

The other two BC touchdowns came in the second quarter.

Senior Aleksei Grosulak, who was held to 59 yards on 19 carries, busted through the middle for a 2-yard touchdown with 6:27 left before halftime.

The score came one play after sophomore Max Tolstedt swept right for a 20-yard run.

On Dillon's next play, a defensive lineman got a hand on a Carver pass, and junior Kevin O'Brien made a diving catch for an interception at the Dillon 26.

Seven plays later, O'Brien swept right for at 2-yard TD run with 3:03 on the clock.

Extra points by junior Than Schopp made it 14-0 at the half.

Billings Central racked up 153 of its 249 yards — all rushing — in the first half. The Rams had 15 yards of offense in the third quarter.

"In the first half the only play they really got us on the sweep," Thomas said. "We took their fullback away for the most part up the middle, then we were able to rally to most of their counters."

The Beavers forced the Rams three-and-out on five of their seven second-half possessions.

Carver recovered a fumble to end another BC drive.

"They put the stop to us in that second half," Stanton said. "We had no answers, and couldn't pick up a first down."

Seniors Brandon Robinson, Matt Sawyer, Sage Knox and Tyler Dyk led the defensive charge along with junior Derrick Hucke, sophomore Monte Folsum and freshman Zeke Koslosky.

"They made us work really hard for yardage, and we made them work for yardage," Thomas said. "It was more of a defensive battle this time around."

Dillon, which had just 24 yards of offense in the first half, started moving the ball in the third quarter.

Carver capped a nine-play, 71-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run on a draw with 30 seconds left in the third.

The drive started with a 22-yard Carver pass to senior Travis Rehm, and it took advantage of a face mask (against Kyle) and pass interference penalty.

"I was proud of the way our kids kept battling offensively and found to different ways to get the ball going down the field," Thomas said. "In the second half they were able to punch that one in and then move the ball a little bit in the fourth quarter. They certainly threatened.

"It's just one of those days were we came up a hair short."

The Rams held off all the Beaver threats in the fourth quarter.

Billings Central sacked Carver five times — two by Cattelan and one by Schopp and seniors Josh McQueen and Michael Henthom — and held the Beavers to just seven yards rushing.

Sophomore Justin MacDonald also had a Billings Central interception.

"There defense is pretty salty, and it took everything we could to move the ball," Thomas said. "But boy our defense played awesome, too."

Carver passed for 111 of his 140 yards in the second half. He hit senior Kyle deGolia six times for 50 yards.

Strozzi caught six passes for 35 yards, while Rehm hauled in four for 43. Juniors Toby Shepherd and Garrett Banning also caught passes.

Banning caught a 4-yard pass on the first play of Dillon's second possession. He took a hard hit from McQueen and left the game with a neck injury.

Banning was strapped to a board and carried off the field. The public address announcer said in the fourth quarter that Banning was heading for a CAT scan and said he was going to be OK.

Hawkins ran for 91 yards on 13 carries to lead the Rams, while O'Brien ran 13 times for 74 yards. Grosulak, who entered with 1,513 yards and 21 touchdowns on the season, was held to 15 yards in the second half.

Grosulak rushed for 267 yards and five touchdowns — including a 7-yard game-winner in overtime — in Billings Central's 41-35 win over Dillon Sept. 13 at Daylis Stadium.

The Rams won their first state title in 39 years on the same field last year. Next week they'll try to make it back-to-back against a team they beat 14-8 three weeks ago.

"We played them the last game of the regular season and, of course, my brother Dan is the head coach. So we're really familiar," Stanton said. "Who would have thought we'd have been in this position? We're going to go there next week, have some fun and play hard. It will be the last game we have to play."

Billings Central 0 14 0 7 — 21

Dillon 0 0 7 0 — 7

Second Quarter

BC — Aleksei Grosulak 2 run (Than Schopp kick), 6:27

BC — Kevin O'Brien 2 run (Schopp kick), 3:03

Third Quarter

DIL — Bryce Carver 2 run (Carver kick), :30

Fourth Quarter

BC — Tyler Hawkins 37 run (Schopp kick), :23

BC DIL

First downs 10 12

Rushes-yards 55-249 22-7

Comp.-Att.-Int. 0-2-0 18-29-4

Passing yards 0 140

Total yards 249 147

Punts-Ave. 6-35.7 5-43.6

Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 10-81 3-20

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — BC, Hawkins 13-91, O'Brien 13-74, Grosulak 19-59, Max Tolsteadt 3-21, Cole Cattelan 6-5, Team 1-(-1). Dillon, Sam Parke 3-7, Carver 19-0.

PASSING — BC, Cattelan 0-2-0-0. Dillon, Carver 18-29-4-140.

RECEIVING — BC, none. Dillon, Kyle deGolia 6-50, Travis Rehm 4-43, Tanner Strozzi 5-35, Toby Shepherd 2-8, Garrett Banning 1-4.

Central marches into Class A championship game

By The Gazette Staff
DILLON - Billings Central didn't get its usual 100-yard-plus rushing performance from Aleksei Grosulak.

But it didn't matter.

The defense put the clamps on Bryce Carver and the Dillon Beavers Saturday to register a 21-7 victory and get a shot at a second straight Class A championship.

No. 1-ranked Central (11-0) won its 23rd straight game and will play host to No. 2 Miles City (10-1) Saturday at 1 p.m. at Wendy's Field at Daylis Stadium.

Miles City made it an all-Eastern A final by whipping Frenchtown 43-16 in Saturday's other semifinal. Central edged Miles City 14-8 in their regular-season meeting Oct. 25 in Billings.

Grosulak came in averaging 151 yards a game, including a 256-yard effort in a 41-35 overtime victory over Dillon on Sept. 13. He was limited to 59 yards on 19 carries.

With the Beavers spending so much attention on Grosulak, it opened things up for Tyler Hawkins and Kevin O'Brien. Hawkins gained 91 yards and sealed the victory with a 37-yard run with 23 seconds remaining in the game. O'Brien added 74 yards on 13 carries and scored a touchdown.

Central still rolled up 249 yards rushing, but it was the play of the defense that was the big difference.

"Without a doubt, the defense won the game for us," said Central coach Jim Stanton, who will coach against his brother, Dan, in the championship game. "Coach (Randy) Chilton had those kids ready."

Central held the Beavers to just 147 yards, cutting off the running lanes, especially by quarterback Carver. Carver ran 19 times for zero yards and he didn't do much better passing, going 18 of 29 for 140 yards.

Central intercepted Carver four times. Cole Cattelan made two, and Justin McDonald and O'Brien had one each.

"Lexi (Grosulak) played well and so did Max Tolstedt," Stanton said. "We had him spy on the quarterback a lot and he did a nice job."

Central broke up a scoreless game in the second quarter when Grosulak and O'Brien scored on two-yard runs.

"They took away Lexi and we were able to get outside," Stanton said. "In the second half, they shut us down."

Dillon closed within 14-7 on a two-yard run by Carver with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.

Still trailing 14-7 and facing a fourth-and-1 at the Billings Central 18-yard line late in the game, the Beavers (8-3) ran a quarterback sneak with senior Carver.

The officials measured for a first down, and it came up inches short.

"It was a yard or so, and we thought we could get it," Dillon coach Terry Thomas said of the move that gave the ball back to Billings Central with 4 minutes, 46 seconds left. "We were a little short.

"In the fourth quarter it came down to us and the fourth-and-one, and we didn't get it."

The Dillon defense, which allowed just one second-half first down, got the ball back for one last chance.

On fourth-and-10 from the Dillon 49, Carver appeared to hit classmate Tanner Strozzi for an 11-yard reception. As Strozzi hit the ground, though, the ball popped out and into the waiting arms of junior Cattelan, who had two of Billings Central's four interceptions.

The Beavers defense tried again to get the ball back. With Billings Central facing a fourth-and-1 at the Dillon 37, the Beavers were out of time outs and out of luck.

The Rams called time out with 30 seconds left to set up the play, and the Beavers sold out to stop the run. Senior Hawkins broke loose on a sweep left and raced for a 37-yard touchdown with 23 seconds left that provided the final 14-point margin.

"I was proud of the way our kids kept battling offensively and found to different ways to get the ball going down the field," Thomas said. "In the second half they were able to punch that one in and then move the ball a little bit in the fourth quarter. They certainly threatened.

"It's just one of those days were we came up a hair short."

Central sacked Carver five times - two by Cattelan and one by Schopp and seniors Josh McQueen and Michael Henthom - and held the Beavers to just seven yards rushing.

Sophomore Justin MacDonald also had a Billings Central interception.

"There defense is pretty salty, and it took everything we could to move the ball," Thomas said. "But boy our defense played awesome, too."

Hawkins ran for 91 yards on 13 carries to lead the Rams, while O'Brien ran 13 times for 74 yards. Grosulak, who entered with 1,513 yards and 21 touchdowns on the season, was held to 15 yards in the second half.

Grosulak rushed for 267 yards and five touchdowns - including a 7-yard game-winner in overtime - in Billings Central's 41-35 win over Dillon Sept. 13 at Daylis Stadium.

The Rams won their first state title in 39 years on the same field last year. Next week they'll try to make it back-to-back against a team they beat 14-8 three weeks ago.

"We played them the last game of the regular season and, of course, my brother Dan is the head coach. So we're really familiar," Stanton said. "Who would have thought we'd have been in this position? We're going to go there next week, have some fun and play hard. It will be the last game we have to play."

Central beat Dillon 28-13 last year in the championship game to finish 12-0.

Billings Central 0 14 0 7 - 21

Dillon 0 0 7 0 - 7

Second Quarter

BC - Aleksei Grosulak 2 run (Than Schopp kick), 6:27

BC - Kevin O'Brien 2 run (Schopp kick), 3:03

Third Quarter

DIL - Bryce Carver 2 run (Carver kick), :30

Fourth Quarter

BC - Tyler Hawkins 37 run (Schopp kick), :23

BC DIL

First downs 10 12

Rushes-yards 55-249 22-7

Comp-Att-Int 0-2-0 18-29-4

Passing yards 0 140

Total yards 249 147

Punts-Avg 6-35.7 5-43.6

Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 10-81 3-20

Rushing - BC, Hawkins 13-91, O'Brien 13-74, Grosulak 19-59, Max Tolsteadt 3-21, Cole Cattelan 6-5, Team 1-(-1). Dillon, Sam Parke 3-7, Carver 19-0.

Passing - BC, Cattelan 0-2-0-0. Dillon, Carver 18-29-4-140.

Receiving - BC, none. Dillon, Kyle deGolia 6-50, Travis Rehm 4-43, Tanner Strozzi 5-35, Toby Shepherd 2-8, Garrett Banning 1-4.

Class A playoffs: Dillon Beavers rein in Havre Blue Ponies
By Bill Foley - 11/09/2008

HAVRE — The Dillon Beavers had to travel more than 650 miles round trip to play a Class A playoff football game on Montana's Hi-Line.

It was the Havre Blue Ponies, however, who were the victim of a long drive Saturday.

Dillon senior quarterback Bryce Carver capped a 91-yard third-quarter drive with a 9-yard TD run — his third of the game — to break the backs of the Blue Ponies in a 21-7 Dillon win at Blue Pony Stadium.

The win puts Dillon (8-2) into the semifinals, where they'll play host to defending champion Billings Central next Saturday at Vigilante Field. The Rams beat Columbia Falls 27-13 Saturday in Billings to move on.

"It was huge," Carver said of Dillon's nine-play, 91-yard march to make it a 21-0 game with 2 minutes, 37 seconds left in the third quarter. "It just shows the heart of this team. Nothing gets them down."

Carver's TD run came two plays after he found junior Garrett Banning for a 40-yard pass play to the Havre 14-yard line.

More importantly, the long drive gave the Beavers offense life it hadn't had since scoring two first-quarter touchdowns.

"That really was the key to the second half when we were able to take that ball inside the 10-yard line and drive it all the way down and score," Dillon coach Terry Thomas said. "That was just a tremendous drive of mixing in some runs, some pass, some big plays, and just getting the first down to get us some more plays."

The Beavers opened the game making things look easy.

Carver broke loose for a 39-yard touchdown run the first time the Beavers touched the ball.

On Dillon's next drive, junior running back Sam Parke took a screen pass 44 yards to the

Havre 1 to set up a 1-yard TD plunge by Carver.

Sophomore linebacker Monte Folsom picked off a Beau Briese pass to end Havre's ensuing drive, and it looked like the rout was on.

The Ponies, though, stopped the bleeding and showed off the defense that helped Havre win five straight games and the Central A title.

"They changed up a lot how

their backers were playing," Carver explained. "They tried to keep us inside and not run outside so much. They did a good job of bringing blitzes and keeping pressure on us."

The Dillon defense was pretty impressive, too.

Of course, it helps when you have a two-score lead that early.

"It gets the momentum going," Thomas said. "When you get a couple of scores on the board you don't really relax, but at least you don't have that pressure that have to."

With Folsum, Carver, Matt Sawyer, Tanner Strozzi, Josh McRae and Tyler Dyk leading the way, the Beavers put together probably their best defensive game of the season.

"That was just tremendous," Thomas said. "We did a nice job taking away the inside power run, we rallied to the pass, we took away the screen game. The kids just really did their job. God, we couldn't play much better on defense, that's for sure."

Havre's lone touchdown came with 34 seconds left in the game when elusive senior quarterback Beau Briese, the younger brother of former Montana Tech fullback Levi Briese, hit Mike Hickman over the middle for a 10-yard TD strike.

The Blue Ponies (7-3) also appeared to find the end zone on the final play of the first half when Briese rolled out and hit for a 31-yard pass.

Briese, however, was a yard past the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball, and the penalty wiped out the score.

Briese passed for 120 yards. He ran for 36. His twin brother, Adam, ran for 37 yards, while Hickman hauled in five passes for 75 yards.

Carver, who accounted for all 21 Dillon points after kicking the PATs, used six receivers while passing for 178 yards. He found Banning five times for 58 yards.

Junior running back Evan Helle, who ran for 52 yards, and junior receiver Toby Shephered each caught four passes. Strozzi, Parke and Travis Rehm also caught passes for Dillon.

Carver, who also picked off a pass, ran for 106 yards on 26 carries.

"Everything starts with Bryce," Thomas said. "He's really a threat to run and pass the ball. He had another great game."

A win next week will put the Beavers in the championship game for the fourth straight year.

Billings Central beat the Beavers in last year's title game in Dillon. The Rams edged Dillon in overtime early this season in Billings.

"It will be a good revenge game," Carver said. "I've made a lot of good friends with half the kids on their team, so it will be fun playing against them."

Thomas said his team has improved a lot since the September meeting with the Rams.

"We've come a long way since the first of the year. We've learned a lot, and our kids are more experienced," the coach said. "I think we'll have a lot of fun getting after it.

"Right now we really feel like we're playing with confidence and we've got some things going."

Dillon 14 0 7 0 n 21

Havre 0 0 0 7 n 7

First Quarter

DIL n Bryce Carver 39 run (Carver kick), 8:47

DIL n Carver 1 run (Carver kick), 6:12

Third Quarter

DIL n Carver 9 run (Carver kick), 2:37

Fourth Quarter

HAV n Mike Hickman 10 pass from Beau Briese (John Perrodin kick), :32

DIL HAV

First downs 16 12

Rushes-yards 40-171 32-116

Comp.-Att.-Int 15-23-1 13-29-2

Passing yards 178 136

Total yards 349 252

Punts-Ave. 7-34.3 7-42.1

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0

Penalties-yards 10-117 7-98

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING n Dillon, Carver26-106, Evan Helle 11-52, Sam Parke 3-13. Havre, B. Briese 10-36, Adam Briese 7-37, Kent Pattison 6-13, Jarret McLain 6-9, Ethan Hinebauch 2-13, Nate Christianson 1-8.

PASSING n Dillon, Carver 15-23-1-178. Havre, B. Briese 12-27-2-120, Jordan VanVoast 1-2-0-16.

RECEIVING n Dillon, Helle 4-32, Toby Shepherd 4-16, Garrett Banning 3-58, Tanner Strozzi 2-15, Parke 1-44, Travis Rehm 1-13. Havre, Hickman 5-75, Christianson 3-24, Tyson Gruber 2-30, VanVoast 2-3, McLain 1-4.

Billings Central 27, Columbia Falls 13

BILLINGS — Aleksei Grosulak and Tyler Hawkins have been playmakers all year for Billings Central. The Rams needed all they could provide to subdue Columbia Falls 27-13 in the Class A quarterfinals Saturday afternoon.

Central ran up leads of 14-0 and 21-7 in winning its 22nd consecutive game and 10th in row this season. Things, however, did get dicey late in the game when the Wildcats scored a touchdown with three minutes left and then recovered an onside kick.

The Wildcats went nowhere and the Rams tacked on an insurance touchdown in the final seconds to secure a semifinal berth against Dillon. Columbia Falls finishes at 6-4.

"We didn't play our best, but we got a W and we're moving on,'' Grosulak said. "That's all that matters.''

Grosulak ran for 218 yards and scored three touchdowns. On defense, the 190-pound linebacker made an interception, a sack and dished out several other big hits.

Hawkins gained 100 yards and caught a 55-yard pass that set up the Rams' third touchdown. The senior safety also knocked down a pass to end the Wildcats threat after the onside kick recovery.

"We got tested a little bit,'' Hawkins said. "They were a good test for us and it's on to Dillon now.''

Central finished with 374 yards and the Wildcats had 263.

Both No. 2 seeds will host next week as Central (10-0) goes to Dillon (8-2) and Frenchtown (8-1) travels to Miles City (10-1). Central defeated Dillon in last year's state championship game and also edged Dillon 41-35 in the third game of the regular season this year.

Columbia Falls 0 7 0 6 — 13

Billings Central 14 7 0 6 — 27

First quarter

Central — Aleksei Grosulak 7 run (run failed) 7:41

BC — Grosulak 91 run (Kevin O'Brien run) 45.5

Second quarter

CF — John Woody 5 run (Mackey Nolan kick) 10:10

Central — Grosulak 5 run (Cody Linde kick) 40.9

Fourth quarter

CF — Kaleb Johnson 15 pass from Mitchell Wassam (pass failed) 3:05

Central — O'Brien 6 run (kick failed) 39.8.

CF BC

First downs 16 15

Rushes-yards 27-11 49-319

Comp-Att-Int 19-38-1 2-5-0

Passing yards 252 55

Total yards 263 374

Punts 4-36 5-24

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0

Penalties-Yards 3-25 9-64

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — CF: Stephen Baumgartner 11-14, Woody 3-9, Nolan 6-minus 1, Wassam 7-minus 11. Central: Grosulak 24-218, Tyler Hawkins 13-100, O'Brien 4-29, Max Tolstedt 3-minus 1, Cole Moller 1-minus 10, Cole Cattelan 4-minus 17.

Passing — CF: Wassam 19-38-1-252. Central: Cattelan 2-5-0-55.

Receiving — CF: Johnson 3-48, Wayde Martinson 3-33, Tanner Perry 2-81, Nathan Thompson 2-31, Baumgartner 2-31, Dustin VonFeldt 2-16, Quenton Hegel 2-8, Nolan 2-minus 2, Woody 1-6. Central: Hawkins 2-55.

Frenchtown 14, Hardin 7

FRENCHTOWN — Frenchtown middle linebacker Biller Miner intercepted a pass in the end zone with 43 seconds left in the game to secure a 14-7 quarterfinal victory over Hardin in the Class A football playoffs Saturday at Henrie Lavoie Field.

Hardin twice converted on fourth-and-long on its final drive before quarterback Ryan Gratwohl threw a pass over the middle that was picked off by Miner.

No. 4 Frenchtown, now 8-1, will travel to Miles City for a semifinal matchup next Saturday. No. 2 Miles City upended Polson 26-20.

Hardin finished the season 7-4.

Frenchtown junior running back Jonny Dilworth rumbled in from 5 yards on the Broncs' first possession of the third quarter for the go-ahead score. Cody Kirk converted the two-point conversion to give Frenchtown the 14-7 lead.

Neither team could mount much of a charge the rest of the second half, however.

Hardin fumbled twice in the second half, both times in Frenchtown territory. The Bulldogs finished with four turnovers in the game.

Kirk led the Broncs with 113 yards rushing. Dilworth added 100.

Drew Zelka rushed for 62 yards for Hardin.

Hardin 0 7 0 0 n 7

Frenchtown 0 6 8 0 n 14

Second quarter

F n J.D. Undem 2 run (kick blocked), 5:52

Third quarter

H n Nathan Murphy 1 run (Tristan Costa kick), 1:12

Third quarter

F n Jonny Dilworth 5 run (Cody Kirk run), 6:05

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing n Hardin (30-144): Drew Zelka 13-62, Chris Muhlbeier 10-46, Martin Old Horn 5-30, Nathan Murphy 2-6. Frenchtown (70-308): Cody Kirk 21-113, Jonny Dilworth 15-100, J.D. Undem 14-39, Daniel Aichlmayr 13-28, Brad Nordahl 7-28.

Passing n Hardin: Ryan Gratwohl 4-17-1n63, Zelka 1-1-0n29. Frenchtown: Aichlmayr 1-5-0n7.

Receiving n Hardin: Darin Oleyte 1-39, Old Horn 1-29, Zelka 1-20, Cody Clark 1-13, Gratwohl 1-(minus-9). Frenchtown: Nordahl 1-7.

Miles City 26, Polson 20

POLSON — The Cowboys opened up with a big 79-yard scoring strike from Jordan Bryant to Hayden Kalfell and it was off to the races for Miles City.

Bryant threw for three touchdowns and 207 yards with no interceptions, while Brennan Haughian carried the ball 19 times for 127 yards, including a 5-yard scoring sprint.

Down 12-0, Polson rallied with a touchdown pass and run from Craig Bagnell, but the Cowboys held tight thanks to a 45-yard toss from Bryant to J.T. Keith.

Miles City 12 8 0 6 — 26

Polson 0 6 7 7 — 20

First quarter

MC — Hayden Kalfell 79 pass from Jordan Bryant (Jimmy Harding kick missed) 7:13

MC — Brennan Haughian 5 run (pass failed) 00:47

Second quarter

P — Craig Bagnell 1 run (run failed) 10:15

MC — Kyle Stanton 18 pass from Bryant (Haughian run) 3:57

Third quarter

P — Tim Rausch 3 run (C. Bagnell kick) 00:37

Fourth quarter

MC — JT Keith 45 pass from Bryant (kick failed) 5:11

P— Kyle Bagnell 4 pass from C. Bagnell (C. Bagnell kick) 2:57

MC P

Rushing 34-178 41-160

Passing 9-14-207 14-23-183

First downs 13 17

Penalties-yds 4-50 4-25

Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0

Individual statistics

Rushing — Miles City, Brennan Haughian 19-127, Cord Berg 7-25; Polson, Tim Rausch 16-94, Joe Andrews 10-39, C. Bagnell 12-16

Passing (com/att/yds/tds/int)— Miles City, Bryant 9-14-207-3-0; Polson, C. Bagnell 14-23-183-2-1

Receiving — Miles City, Kalfell 3-107, Keith 1-45, Stanton 2-44; Polson, K. Bagnell 7-71, Ryan Kelley 4-41, Andrews 3-54, Brock Picard 1-13

Beavs leash Bulldogs, 48-28

By Crash Craddock
Dillon Tribune Sports, Nov. 5
The Dillon Beavers beat the Whitefish Bulldogs 48-28 in a first round playoff game last Saturday at Vigilante Stadium in Dillon.
Bryce Carver had another great game, passing for nearly 300 yards, rushing for 167, and kicking 2 field goals. He also threw three touchdowns and ran for three more.
"Offensively we just executed tremendously," said Dillon head coach Terry Thomas. "Every phase of the offense was sharp. The offensive line did a great job of run and pass blocking; the running backs had a good day; and the receivers ran good routes and caught passes. When Bryce didn't have a lot of time to pass, he found the space to run and made something happen."
What happened was Dillon played at peak performance and smacked Whitefish in the mouth. But they had to wait for a couple of series to do that.
"Defensively we were really solid after the first two drives," said Thomas. "Solid running and quick passing by Whitefish kind of got us off balance, but Rick (Nordahl) did a great job of making subtle changes in the scheme and the kids adjusted really well. We were able to fill some holes in the line and tackle a little better. Eventually, we were able to get them in long yardage situations and play the pass." Matt Sawyer and Monte Folsom were the leading tacklers, and Josh McRae and Travis Rehm each had one takeaway in the game.
The score made the win look easy, but the Bulldogs did some things effectively, allowing them to rack up about 347 total yards on offense, including 201 rushing yards.
"Whitefish ran pretty well and it was definitely a challenge stopping them," said Thomas. "They executed well, getting about six to seven yards a carry and utilizing timely passing to move down the field."
The win will pit Dillon against the Havre Blue Ponies this Saturday in Havre. Havre is the Central "A" champion at 5-0 and has an overall record of 7-2. The winner of this next game will host the game after, and should have homefield for the rest of the playoffs.
Dillon will have to bring everything to the table against one of the state's more traditionally tougher running teams.
"Havre is a run first, throw second team," said Thomas. "They average 245 pounds on the offensive line and to have a chance we need to stop them inside the tackles. That is where it will be won or lost defensively for us.
"When Havre throws, they show a lot of play-action with lots of bootlegs and waggle patterns.
Defensively, they are a 4-3 defense and they play a lot of zone and they don't blitz very often. When they do, they will usually bring one or two people, but usually not everyone."
The winner of this game will host the winner of Columbia Falls/Billings Central the weekend after.

Dillon ‘Carves' out win over Whitefish

By Bruce Sayler - 11/02/2008
DILLON — Bryce Carver ran for 127 yards, passed for 187 and directed the Dillon offense to 18 first downs and four touchdowns.

That was the first half.

The senior quarterback was at the controls of a good Dillon club that beat Whitefish 48-28 Saturday at Vigilante Field during a first-round game in the Montana Class A high school

football playoffs.

Third-ranked Dillon (7-2) moves on to play

at fifth-ranked Havre (7-2) in next Saturday's quarterfinals. Havre had a bye in the first round as the top seed in the Central A Conference.

By the time the win over unranked Whitefish was finished, Carver, working behind a

crisp-blocking line, had passed for 297 yards while completing 23 of his 32 throws, including TD aerials of 55 yards to Travis Rehm, 4 yards to Garrett Banning and 20 to Toby Shepherd.

Carver also ran for 167 yards on 24 keepers, including TD carries of 2, 2 and 3 yards. He added field goals of 24 and 28 yards.

Also the punter, Carver once kept for a fake punt in his own territory in the first half for a 20-yard gain and first down to help ignite a

24-0 Dillon second quarter after Whitefish led 14-7 at the end of the first period.

"That's happened twice," Carver said about a Bulldogs alignment that left a soft spot behind the middle on the punt return set. "They have kind of a funny (different) rush and I saw a

running lane and went for it."

Carver was inside his own 20 when he made the decision. But making the first down kept him out of trouble with head coach Terry Thomas, the quarterback said.

It was the first of four fourth-down situations Carver converted for first downs.

Whitefish got two touchdown throws from sophomore quarterback Mac Roche — 6 yards to Alex Elespuru, 47 to Aaron Tkachyk. The Bulldogs, finishing a 4-6 season, scored their other TDs on a 2-yard carry by Daniel Simmons and on a 3-yard plunge by Tanner Benedict, the latter coming with only 43 seconds left in the game and after the Beavers had built the lead to 48-21.

Shepherd finished with nine catches for 127 yards. Simmons led Whitefish's ground game with 117 yards on 18 carries. Tkachyk was the Bulldogs' top receiver with two grabs for 76 yards.

It took a couple of series before defenses got stops. That Dillon did propelled the Beavers on to the win.

Whitefish took the opening kickoff and marched 79 yards in 12 plays, mostly on the running of Simmons and Derek Crittendon. The 6-yard flip to Elespuru from Roche and Elespuru's ensuing extra point put the Bulldogs ahead 7-0.

Dillon responded with a nine-play, 61-yard drive. Carver passed twice and kept five times for gains, including the last play, a 2-yard sneak. He kicked the extra point and the score was level at 7.

Again, Whitefish rolled down the field with an 11-play, 69-yard drive. Dillon looked to have stopped it on a fourth-down Roche pass that fell incomplete. But defensive holding was called and the Bulldogs had a fresh set of downs at the Beavers' 2-yard line. A pass interference ruling on Dillon inched the ball up to the 2 a couple plays later and Simmons busted into the end zone for Whitefish's go-ahead touchdown.

The Bulldogs took a 14-7 lead into the second period. But it disappeared fast.

Carver clicked off 52 yards on a keeper on the quarter's first play before being caught at the Whitefish 2-yard line. The Dillon QB scored on the next play, a sneak, kicked the extra point and it was a 14-all game.

Dillon then accomplished the game's first three-and-out on Whitefish and took over on its own 6-yard line after a 51-yard punt. Carver's fake-punt carry pumped life into the possession and his 24-yard field goal put the Beavers ahead for good, 17-14, with 5 minutes, 8 seconds left in the half.

The Beavers scored 24 unanswered points in the period for a 31-14 halftime command. The performance include a 94-yard drive just before halftime that started with 2 minutes left before intermission. Dillon had one timeout to use, but didn't. Carver passed to Tanner Strozzi, Shepherd, Banning and Shepherd for gains and stopped the clock with the sideline routes and three spikes. Three seconds were left in the half when Carver found Banning for their 3-yard TD pass.

"We work on that drill a lot in practice and because we use the no-huddle anyway, it's something we're used to," Carver said.

"(The Bulldogs) were able to put drives together, get in the end zone and we were fortunate to score," Thomas said of the game early-going. "Once we got a stop, the momentum went our way and our offense made some plays.

"The two-minute drill is all execution. Bryce did a great job of knowing what to do and where to do it."

Thomas said stopping the Bulldogs' running game, which was strong in the first quarter, keyed the momentum shift. He credited defensive coordinator Rick Nordahl with moving some personnel around to develop better gaps for the linebackers to make tackles.

"He changed some shading," Thomas said.

The only turnovers fell in Dillon's favor. Rehm, who came up with an acrobatic fourth-and-16 catch at the Whitefish 1-yard line in the second half to set up a touchdown, intercepted a Roche pass in the end zone while playing cornerback. It was a diving grab. Josh McRae recovered a fourth-quarter Whitefish fumble to halt a Bulldogs drive and launch one for the Beavers.

"Rehm is a heck of an athlete and you like to see that when you're a quarterback," Carver said, referring to Rehm's catch against two defenders near the goal line. "My first read was covered on that and Rehm had told me he thought that he would be open. I saw him and threw it up there."

Whitefish 14 0 7 7 — 28

Dillon 7 24 8 9 — 48

First Quarter

Whi — Alex Elespuru 6 pass from Mac Roche (Elespuru kick), 7:21. Drive — 79 yards in 12 plays. Key play — Daniel Simons 3-yard run to Dillon 6-yard line on 4th-and-inch.

DIL — Bryce Carver 2 run (Carver kick), 4:04. Drive — 61 yards in 9 plays. Key play — Carver 16-yard scramble to Whitefish 45-yard line.

WHI — Daniel Simmons 2 run (Elespuru kick), :16. Drive 69 yards in 11 plays. Key play — Holding penalty on Dillon on 4th-and-goal put ball on Dillon 4-yard line for Whitefish with a first down.

Second Quarter

DIL — Carver 2 run (Carver kick), 11:27. Drive 73 yards in 4 plays. Key play – Carver 52-yard run to Whitefish 2-yard line.

DIL — FG Carver 24, 5:06. Drive 83 yards in 14 plays. Key play — Carver 20-yard run to own 37-yard line on 4th-and-7 fake punt play.

DIL — Travis Rehm 55 pass from Carver (Carver kick), 3:01. Drive 66 yards in 3 plays. Key play — Scoring play.

DIL — Garrett Banning 4 pass from Carver (Carver kick), :03. Drive 94 yards in 13 plays. Key play — Toby Shepherd 20-yard pass from Carver to Whitefish 4-yard line.

Third Quarter

WHI — Aaron Tkachyk 47 pass from Roche (Elespuru kick), 10:18. Drive 47 yards in 2 plays. Key play — Scoring play.

DIL — Toby Shepherd 20 pass from Carver (Carver run), 6:56. Drive — 65 yards in 9 plays. Key play — Scoring play, on 4th-and-9.

Fourth Quarter

DIL — Carver 3 run (run failed), 10:55. Drive 80 yards in 15 plays. Key play — Travis Rehm 32-yard pass from Carver to Whitefish 1-yard line on 4th-and-13.

DIL — FG Carver 28, 4:20. Drive — 52 yards in 8 plays. Key play — Dillon's Josh McRae recovered Whitefish fumble at Dillon 48-yard line.

WHI — Tanner Benedict 3 run (Elespuru kick), :43. Drive — 71 yards in 12 plays. Key play — Sam Wiley 13-yard pass from Roche to Dillon 9-yard line.

Whi Dil

First downs 18 30

Rushes-yards 37-201 39-265

Passes 10-21-1 23-35-0

Passing yards 146 297

Return yards 0 23

Punts-avg. 3-48.0 1-30.0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 0-0 3-11

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — Whitefish, Daniel Simmons 18-117, Derek Crittendon 10-39, Tanner Benedict 7-37, Mac Roche 2-8. Dillon, Bryce Carver 24-167, Evan Helle 5-54, Sam Parke 11-45, Team 1-(-1).

PASSING — Whitefish, Roche 10-20-1-146, Team 0-1-0-0. Dillon, Carver 23-32-0-297, Team 0-3-0-0.

RECEIVING — Whitefish, Aaron Tkachyk 2-76, David FauntLeRoy 2-21, Alex Elespuru 2-17, Matt Whitehead 2-16, Sam Wiley 1-13, Dalton Rice 1-3. Dillon, Toby Shepherd 9-127, Travis Rehm 3-96, Tanner Strozzi 4-35, Garrett Banning 4-26, Kyle deGolia 1-10, Parke 2-3.

Dillon hosts Whitefish in first round
By Bill Foley of The Montana Standard - 11/01/2008The second season begins Saturday for the Dillon Beavers.
After placing second in the Southwestern A Conference during the regular season, the Beavers open the Class A state football playoffs at home against Whitefish.
Kickoff at Vigilante Field is at 1 p.m.
TheBulldogs (4-5) are one of two teams with a losing record heading intothe playoffs — Butte Central is the other. Whitefish also backed intothe postseason, getting blown out 35-7 last week to rival ColumbiaFalls.
Still, Dillon coach Terry Thomas said his team is taking the Bulldogs very seriously.
'It'shigh school football,' Thomas said. 'A couple of things happen and younever know. They can certainly beat us if we don't play well.'
Thomas said the Bulldogs come to town with a solid power running game.
They also have a formidable passing attack. Mac Roche completed nearly 60 percent of his passes on the season. Aaron Tkachyk averages nearly 20 yards per catch.
Thomas said some key mistakes explain the Whitefish 4-5 record.
'Mostof their games they were playing good football,' Thomas said. 'In theirlosses, they made some mistakes that their opponents took advantage of.They lost 14-0 to Frenchtown. They played Hamilton strong, and thatgame went back and forth. They played Polson back and forth.'
The Beavers (6-2) won three straight games to close the season.
Thomassaid his team is playing its best at the right time, which was evidentin Dillon's 42-14 road win over Corvallis last Friday.
'In allphases we felt like we played pretty strong,' Thomas said.'Defensively, we did a good job stuffing the run and making tackles.'
Stoppingthe run was a weakness for the Beavers early. Their tough schedule offacing strong running teams like Billings Central and Frenchtown,though, has helped them improve greatly.
Offensively, the Beavers have been working to improve their running game to give the offense more balance.
Junior backs Evan Helle and Sam Parke have been steadily improving during the season.
'They've gotten better,' Thomas said. 'Their chemistry with the line has helped them see the holes better.'
Sage Knox, Trevor Rehm, Tyler Dyk, Tucker Brackenbury and Justin Anselmi lead the way for that ground game.
Senior quarterback Bryce Carver is a double threat behind center. He can score on the ground or through the air from anywhere.
Carver has a ton of targets at his disposal, led by Travis Rehm, GarrettBanning, Tanner Strozzin, Toby Shepherd and Kyle deGolia.
Defensively, nose guard Josh McRae and ends Dyk and Knox lead the way up front.
Strozzi,Matt Sawyer, Monte Folsom and Derrick Hucke are the linebackers. Theirimproved play has been the difference in stopping the run.
Brandon Robinson and Travis Rehm are the cornerbacks, and Carver and Torrey Vezina are the safeties.
The winner of Saturday's game will head to Havre next week to take on the Central A champion Blue Ponies.
If Dillon wins in the first two rounds, the way the bracket is set up the Beavers would host a semifinal game on Nov. 15.