Sports Now -- Griz and Cats + Prep Playoffs

Local sports talk from Northwest Montana covering prep sports, Bobcats, Grizzlies and more!

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Transcript

Sports Now -- Griz and Cats + Prep Playoffs

 Welcome back to another jam-packed edition of Inter Lake Sports. Now I'm Josh Duggan, and right now, as far as sports in the Valley and Bianco, this is about as good as it gets. This week we're gonna look at some Griz and cats. We're gonna talk with the daily inter lakes fritz Neighbor, about some Grizzlies, Bobcats, and the big sky in general right now.

And of course, we're gonna dive into an action-packed week of sports in the valley and surrounding areas. As I said, We got playoffs going on. We got state title action going on, a lot going on in various sports, and we're gonna get into it all before we get to that reminder, today's episode is brought to you by Nomad.

Voted the Flathead's best manufacturer. Nomad is a longtime supporter of the local community and sports scene, celebrating 20 years of building great careers and mission-focused custom vehicles. Nomad, a Montana-based company, mission, had a global impact visit. www.nomadgcs.com for more information. That's www.nomadgcs.com.

Quick reminder, you can subscribe to the daily Inter Lake e addition to get all your local news right at your fingertips. Check out the daily Interlake.com for more information. Alright, let's get it rocking and rolling. I can't talk how much about it, it's a jam-packed week, and then not getting into it. So let's do it right now.

First off, we have two local soccer teams. State title bound. That's impressive. Let's start with the Whitefish Girls soccer team. This exert is from the daily Inter Lake, and you could read the full recap on the daily interlake.com. The Whitefish Bulldogs are headed to their second state title game in three years.

So hey, two outta three, not bad. After a five, three-overtime victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs and a state, semi-final game Saturday. Here's a quote from Whitefish Coach Roland Benedict. We played well credit to Hamilton. They came out and they were set up in a certain way to attack us and prevent us from scoring, and they did a good job, end quote.

It was the second time Whitefish has had Whitefish, has had a game. Decided in overtime this post-season last week, the Bulldogs beat the Faning champ Laurel in a penalty kicks overtime. So Whitefish, they've had some postseason play. They overcame that. They make the state title game. They got that coming up soon.

That's exciting, so keep it going here. Whitefish LED three zeros before Hamilton tie things up in the second half and forced the extra frame. Here's another quote from Benedict. We took control and unfortunately got a little complacent in the second half and allowed them to get back in back in it and tie the game.

Benedict said. They scored on a great set piece and a free kick and a one-touch laser beam from 30 yards out. But in the overtime period, it was two zero. Super comprehensive. We took care of Ben of business. Benedict thought the cold, wet weather did cause some adversity, which is something to look forward to.

Moving ahead toward the state title game because there could be snow on the way. So soccer and the snow, are a tough game to play in those conditions. Here's what Ben and Dick had to say. We missed a lot of chances, like our expected goals for the game, our XG was almost seven and theirs was just under three.

It's a high-scoring game. And the wet ball's tough to deal with, but it was entertaining, that's for sure, which we've done all year. Whitefish will play host to Billing Central in the state final this weekend. Our next local team in the state soccer title action is gonna be the Columbia Falls Boys Soccer Squad.

Very impressive for the Wildcats. This ride was from Daley Inner League sports editor, Katie Brown, who was in attendance for the Wildcats playoff game that got them to the state title Action. Here we go. Last year, the Columbia Falls Wildcats had to go through Missoula, Loyola en route to the state, a boys' soccer final.

It was the same story this year, and the Wildcats are headed to the chipper after a two-zero semi-final wins over the Rams on Saturday and Flip Darling Memorial Field, it's the third straight year the Wildcats will play in a state final game. In the first half, you could cut, cut the tension with the knife.

In this one, even after Sophomore River Walford buried a rebound kick from the corner, the Wildcats knew they still have more battles to win. Here's a quote from Wildcats, coach O'Brien Bird. It's just this pressure of being number one. And so when we scored that first goal, I don't even know if I celebrated it.

It was just like I knew we were still in it for the long haul, but. Kai Golan out of the dagger in the 69th minute. A beauty of a goal perfectly angled from the left wing. Here are some more quotes from Coach Bird on the Wildcats performance, and Kai Golan. Kai when he wants to, he can turn it on and nobody can stop 'em.

That was just a goal outta sheer will and determination. Super proud of the boys. They made it, and now we're gonna host the state championship, which was our dream. Columbia Falls will play host to the Livingston Rangers and the state championship game, and the Rangers do have some momentum going as they just knocked off Whitefish in the semi-final game.

As we know, Whitefish was coming off Ford State, four straight state title championships, so it's gonna be a good game for Columbia Falls. Looking forward to seeing how that one goes. Local squad though, made it. They're in the state title game. They're undefeated. Very impressive. One last. Headline from this week, some more.

State title action. It's one of those weeks, so we had state cross-country championships that took place in Missoula. You could check out the full recap on the Sunday, October 23rd version of the Daily Inter Lake. The Whitefish Boys Cross Country team ran down a landmark trophy at the State Cross-Country Championships, but it was a little hard to tell.

After posing for a handful of photos with their second-place hardware inside the awards pen at the University of Montana Golf Course, the Bulldogs quickly exited. We were looking to win. It said Captain Nate Engel Finger, a senior. The title went to Livingston, which scored 78 points behind three runners in the top 15.

The Flathead Valley was well represented in the meet with the Columbia Falls girls following up their state, 2021, A title with the third place finish Flatheads Girls vibe for a trophy, but ended up fourth Junior brat. Lil Rumsey East. Finished Fi finished fifth. The highest of all Valley runners. All right, so the Valley was well represented, and had a lot of good track action, so we're gonna get a little bit more to that later.

But a quick reminder, make sure you're following the daily Inter Lake on Twitter. That's. At Daley Inter Lake on Twitter to keep up with the latest breaking news in the valley and beyond. Also, you can follow yours truly on Twitter at j Duggan 4 0 6 for local coverage and more. All right, let's dive into the rest of the prep Roundup from a jam-packed week.

Let's start low with more soccer playoff action. The Flathead Bravettes fell to Sentinel three zero on girls' state AA soccer action in the first round Tuesday in Missoula. The Ettes did sneak into the playoffs with the wind over crosstown rival Glacier, so you know, there was a lot to be proud of and they could take that to hang their hat on.

Moving forward, moving to the boys, we had some crosstown playoff action. Speaking of that, the boys met as well with Glacier and Flathead boys soccer teams. Meeting up on Tuesdays, double a Western playoff match with a trip to the quarter-final on the line. The game was scoreless for the first 38 minutes, but after that glacier found its groove scoring, four unanswered goals to take home.

The W. The Wolf Pack was led by two goals from Liam L and a shutout performance by Glacier goalie. Dylan Hawley, the Wolf Pack traveled to Billings Friday and their quarterfinal matchup, but they did fall three to two to Billings. Here are some words from Glacier Head Coach Ryan Bill on his squad quote.

We played our best match of the season when it mattered most. It was just encouraging to see the guys come off the bus on a long road trip and really come to play and played fantastically. To be honest, I'm proud of the character that they showed. And you hope that they play their best at the end of the season when it matters most, and they certainly did.

So end quote there. Look, you beat your crosstown rival, the knock in a playoff in the playoffs, excuse me, to make it to the next round. Travel the billings. You put on a great effort. I could see why their head coach was proud. Let's keep it moving. Columbia Falls. The girls' soccer team, as we mentioned to the boys earlier, is their state title band.

The girls, unfortunately, fell just short, falling into billing Central in the state. A semi-final last Saturday. They fell four to three to the Rams, and here's what Wildcats coach Thomas Clark had to save his team's effort, quote, after going down three to zero. From then on out, the girls started fighting.

We gave ourselves a shot and fought like hell and made it a game where you could walk away with your heads held high. I think Billings is the best team in the state of Montana, and I wouldn't be. Prize I and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't go out there and win the holding this year. Huge, huge credit to our seniors and our leaders as a whole.

Clark added Zoe Bird played a hell of a game and Goal City man scored a goal. And our other captains, Josie Harris and Hope Macte each scored two. When your leaders all go out there and show that kind of grit, it tells you a lot about the character of your team. And quote, billing Central was the runner-up last year to Laurel, and this time they'll move on to the state title game.

The valley's very owned Whitefish Bulldog. So we'll see how that one goes. We'll update that next week. So getting into the world of prep football action, but first, uh, words from our friends at Nomad. At Nomad, the key to our success has always been the amazing talent experience of our team. Based in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Our Kalispell Montana headquarters is home to some of the most skilled engineers, integrators, software developers, welders, electricians, carpenters, mechanics, and professional staff in the market. Our team is dedicated to working collaboratively with our valued clients. To ensure success in every mission, join our team.

Check out our careers page@nomadgcs.com/careers to view current job openings and submit an application. Go check that out. Shout to the good people at Nomad for helping make this show happen. Alright, keep it moving. Remember, you can always check out the full recaps, typically in the Sunday edition of The Daily Inter Lake when it comes to our prep football action.

And right now there is a lot of it going on, especially with the playoffs on the horizon. But let's get into the end of the regular season this week. Let's start it out with Whitefish at Polson. In my opinion, this was the game of the week. Two great quarterbacks, and two playoff-bound teams. Here we go.

Paulson's Jared Wilson packed a lot of football into the first half Friday and Whitefish quarterback Finn Ridgeway had the goods in the second. In the end, a low snap ended a whitefish drive at Paulson's four-yard line, and the host pirates held off the Bulldogs 34 27. In a western showdown, Wilson helped the Pirates to a 34-13 halftime lead.

First with the seven-yard scoring run, and then with four touchdown passes, the senior qb. Rain is the season touchdown told at 31, which strikes Tyler Wender Roth, Dawson Dumont, Tommy Sherry, and Trent Wilson. Whitefish wasn't done though getting a two-yard run from Ridgeway at 5 24 in the third quarter, then a 55-yard catch and run from Ryder Baranowski on the first play of the fourth.

Now it was 34-27 when Polson gained just won first down in two fourth-quarter possessions. The Bulldogs had their chances. They punted once but got the ball back at their 44 and drove to the pirate. 13. The key play was a 31-yard pass from Ridgeway to Baranowski. Ridgeway ran the ball to the five with under a minute left, but Paulson's defense stood strong even after a pass interference.

Put the pi, put the ball at the Pirate's three-yard line fourth and one 16 seconds left. The ensuing snap got away and Polson recovers to seal the game. Two very impressive quarterbacks. Ridgeway was 14 for 24 for 188 yards passing with one interception. Ran the ball 22 times for 147 yards, putting him at 1,144 rushing yards on the season.

Jared Wilson kept on doing his things. He was 15 for 25, passing 196 yards, had the touchdown passes, and tacked on the other on the ground. So I mean, when you add a plus, he had 118 yards rushing on 17 carries so. Pretty much, to sum it up, that was a heck of a ball game. Playoff-bound teams, the Pirates, got the buy.

They don't have a game. Next week they're gonna be waiting to see who they take on A Whitefish is the number five seed and the A playoffs. And they're gonna be traveling to Hore to take on the number four seed. So, a heck of a heck of a game to get us going. Let's keep it moving. Glacier. This one wasn't quite as close.

Okay, glacier beat Hellgate 84 to 15 Thursday night. So, That kind of sums it up right there. Gage Slider had five touchdown passes in the game. And I mean, it was just one of those games. The Wolf Pack offense rolled 672, 672 yards of total offense, 358 of those coming on the ground. Jackson Henley had a Hensley, excuse me, had 138 rushing yards on 10 carries.

He had multiple touchdown runs and caught a scoring strike. Here's a quote from Blazer head coach Grady Bennett. I'm proud of the kids for en. Earning that home game, that four seed. Now we get to play the game to get into the tournament. I have such a belief in this group and we want to get in the tournament and if we get there, we feel we can play with anyone.

The slider was 16 of 26 passing for 286 yards and he ran his season touchdown, told to 34 2 scoring, passing with the Bridger Smith, Cole, Johnson, and Cohen casts each caught one. So Glacier now they made the playoffs. They're the, they're gonna host a playoff game at home. That's kind of the goal of your season.

They did their job. Maybe they didn't get to buy, but they got the home game. They have a billing senior coming out next Friday, and that's gonna be a heck of a game if Clay can just keep it rolling offensively. They're so tough to beat and the sky's the limit for that Wolf Pack team. Let's move on to Flathead the other Kalispell squad.

This one's by our very own Fritz neighbor who was in attendance at the game. Plenty of things went right from Missoula, Big Sky. And the other way for Flathead Thursday night, but the key stretch came in the second quarter of what was a tie football game. Big Sky took the ball after bro. Brody thorns.

Barry's 50-yard touchdown, catch through, Flathead even at seven. Seven and refused to give it back. The Eagle scored a touchdown, a field goal, a safety, and another touchdown. Had eight minutes to pretty much run away with this ballgame. Flathead, though they did have some bright spots.

Nate s Sced through for 322 yards and two scores for the Braves. He added a late 20-yard touchdown strike to Colin Leonard to cap the scoring, and he led Flathead on a sharp 86-yard drive to close the first half to end it with a Joe Jones touchdown on the ground. Other flathead high points, a leaping grab by Gabe Sims, and a nice reception by Jackson Walker quarterback who was playing low receiver cause of an injury.

And Thornbury finished the day with 147 yards receiving. So he had a big game. The Braves overall, gained 374 yards of total offense. They picked up 21 first downs, but ultimately, turnovers and penalties played a factor with having 10 for 93 yards total on the day. So, Fly ahead. They didn't get the win.

They might not be playoff bound, but there are some bright spots there. You could take a lot away. Thorns, Barry had a heck of a game and they're just gonna keep growing from that, and that's what football's all about. Keeping item moving Bigfork. Ended up handling business. They got the Western B title in the bag with a 39-0 win over Eureka.

Bigfork's been a problem all year. They will let's see, let me, let me fact-check the vi. The Vikings will host Manhattan, the number four seat out of the South, and a first-round playoff game this Saturday. So Big Four does not have a first round. They got a playoff game coming up this Saturday. Will keep you updated there.

And Eureka, whom Big Four Beat, they have a road game against Boulder, so we'll see how that one goes. We'll keep you updated on both the local squads. All right, Libby. They won this 1 52 to 42 over Corvallis. We mentioned him earlier this year. Dudes a beast size Stevenson, ran for 272 yards and four touchdowns as Libby took home the win and made the playoffs with the victory that size.

Stevenson, the kids are an absolute beast. I covered the game earlier this year. I think he finished with 300. 30 rushing yards. It, was around there, 337 I believe. Just an absolute tank. Um, on the day he carried the ball 23 times and scored on Bruns of 73, 31, 59, and nine. So pretty much it was the Si Stevenson show.

They're going to the playoffs and they will travel to Laurel for a first-round playoff game this Saturday at 1:00 PM last up in the prep football roundup. For this week we have the Columbia Fall Wildcats. The Wildcats fell to the defending state champion Hamilton Bronx, who you know is a powerhouse in their own right, undefeated record, kept that intact.

Columbia Falls, though they put up a great fight early. It was eight to seven and a half the temperature. In this one, it was sitting in the low forties. Rain was pouring down as you would kind of expect it was a grinder early, heading into the second quarter. It was just two zero Hamilton early in the second quarter.

That's when the Wildcats found some life. Cody Schweiker quarterback faked the handoff to his running back and found Mark Robinson wide open on a slant route over the middle for the Lone Columbia full score. The day. From there, though, the Bronx did their thing, they started bucking. The Broncos were bucking the Bronx.

Same thing. And they pretty much locked down on the defensive side of the ball. That being said, you're playing the de defending state champions. It's your last regular season game, the Wildcats, they might learn a thing or two from that. That can help prepare you, and make you a better team. That's just me. I think sometimes you, you take a loss and you gotta just kind of run with it and use it to get better.

In the Wildcats, when you're playing a team who has had success in the playoffs, you know, that elevates your level of play. They've had that big win over Whitefish recently. The Wildcats did. I think they can get back on track. They do host a playoff game this Saturday. Miles City comes to town. I'm looking forward to the Wildcats, and seeing what they could do.

This postseason. Schweikert's a good quarterback. They got a solid squad and I like the way Columbia Falls plays football. They do a lot of. We're gonna take what you give us. We're gonna play efficiently and we're gonna move the football. I, I like the way they run the screen pass frequently.

I did notice watching Hamilton's coaches on the sidelines, the whole game, every play. Watch the screen. Watch the screen. So, Maybe other people are noticing too. But I will say I like that style of football. Play smart, play efficiently, and keep the other team's offense off the field. Let your team control the clock, and that's kind of what Columbia Falls does, and it makes it hard for other teams to get into a rhythm when you can.

Do it correctly. So we'll see how they do in the playoffs, and excited to see how all these local teams do in playoff action this week. I mean, we'll have a lot to recap on next week's show. We got Polson Glacier, Bigfork, Whitefish, Columbia, Polson, Libby, all playoff-bound Paulson's. On a bye.

The rest of those guys are gonna be in action and we're gonna get to all of them. So that was a great prep. Roundup. And it's just gonna be jam-packed next week or two. I, hopefully, we got a next month or so and all these teams make some runs towards that state title game and we're like I said, we'll be checking back in on our other state title-bound soccer teams.

So it's been a lot of fun. That being said, It's time for your Prep Players of the Week presented by ha Adon Media Group Montana. The team of Montana is here to help you grow. Our skilled team will assess your marketing goals and craft ROI-focused campaigns home to meet your business needs. Our integrated marketing solutions will help your people find you wherever they are looking, whether it's Google, YouTube apps, or the local newspaper.

Contact Anton at 4 0 6 7 5 8 4 4 1 oh for more information. Let's get a rock and roll on your Prep Players of the Week. First off, we mentioned her a little bit earlier. We're gonna get to the cross-country world. Flathead, brave Aunt Jr. Lil Rumsey. Eish came in third. Third, had the third-best time in all AA and the fifth-best time overall at the State Cross Country Championships in Missoula Saturday, October 22nd.

When you can sit there and be like, you know, you're in that top tier, it's well worth celebrating. I mean, I respect all the athletes out there who compete, especially in a sport like cross country. Let's be real. That is a tough sport. But you know, we gotta celebrate the success around here in ours. Hagadone Media Group, Montana Prep Players of the Week.

Alright. Ish is a junior. So look for her to keep, you know, be a state championship contender once again next season. Her fifth-place finish Saturday was the highest of all Valley Runners in attendance. So, as I said, that is well worthy of this award. Moving along Columbia Falls, Wildcat Soccer, we had to pick somebody from this team.

Soccer's such a group sport, it's hard to pick just one guy. But usually, this is one of the most important positions, a bit of the anchor of the team, you could say. We're going with the goalie, Bryce Dunn Dunham. So, Dunham had his ninth shutout of the season in the Wildcat semi-final win that tied a school record, and he only allowed four goals all season.

And all of those goals, according to uh, my stats here have come off free kicks or penalty kicks. So essentially when the ball's in play, Dunham is about as lockdown as it gets super impressive. Wildcats are state title bound, and when you're playing a sport like a soccer, having a guy in goal who could give you that confidence, a guy or a girl, a goalkeeper who is just gonna lock it down, and you have that understanding that we can go out there and play with no pressure because we know our guys got us and we don't have to worry about him.

You know, letting up those early goals, and then we're playing from behind. It goes a long way and you see the confidence. It seems like the Wildcats played week in and week out. Dunham deserves a lot of the credit. Alright, let's move it into the football world for our prep players. Polson Pirates, quarterback Jared Wilson.

He had four passing touchdowns at one rushing touchdown for his playoff. Now Whitefish, Polson scored 34-pound points on the day. I'll do the math real quick. That meant being a counter for all of the Polson points, so, When you do that versus a playoff-bound team, in my opinion, it kind of makes it that much more spectacular.

He added 118 yards rushing on the ground. He threw for 196. He had the five total scores, just a flat-out playmaker Polson against the by, and well worthy of, I believe, his second prep player of the week and odd. All right. Last up, we got another group nod. We've done this a couple of times, but we're gonna shout out the big boys.

The Glacier Wolf Pack offensive line. After helping clear the way for the wolf pack to pile up over 600 total yards in double-digit offensive touchdowns, which is rare in football, especially in high school football, when there's not a lot of time on the clock and the clock's moving quite a bit. 600 total yards, double-digit offensive touchdowns.

Here's a quote from Glacier head coach Grady Bennett on the offensive line. Gosh, that offensive line just keeps getting better. Rush for 300, row for 300. I'm really happy with the front play. Here's another quote. This was via glacier running back cash goes Chaa a few weeks ago after the wolf pack knocked off View about the offensive lion quote.

Henry Sellers, Ryan Hele, and Ben were winners, they did a great job. And then Gage, slider, quarterback, uh, the Wolf Pack added this about the offensive flying. After that Butte game, the big boys up front, battled tonight. Shout out to those boys. They competed and played a great game. I bring the quotes up because this isn't the first time Glacier has credited their offensive line for playing a major role in their success.

So you gotta give those guys credit because when you watch an offense like Glacier, Who does go through the progression, slider takes his time, he reads the defense. They're running backs. They make that cut or two before they go downhill, they are patient. And that has a lot to do with your offensive line.

Set in the tone. I mean, we just talked about ear a few seconds ago. Columbia Falls, soccer goalie, Bryce Dunham, offensive line goalie. There are a lot of similarities there in the sense if they do their job correctly, Everybody around them gets better. Just having that confidence instilled because it makes the game that much easier.

So a lot of credit to that offensive line. A lot of credit to the goalie. Maybe they don't always get the love, but they're a big reason for the success and we see it time in. Or timeout. Time in. All right, whatever. We see it all the time. I'm pumped up. Former offensive lineman here a little bit, and hey, we gotta give the old lines of credit.

I mean, a team can rarely put up 600 total yards in a game and score 10 touchdowns at the end of the day. I could go out there and run through those lanes and I, you know, I can't even, okay. I'm gonna cut that out. Just kidding. Let's move it along to a big thank you to the HAA Media Group, Montana, for presenting this week's Prep Players of the Week.

Reminder, the team in Montana is here to help you grow. Our skilled team will assess your marketing goals and craft R o I focus campaigns home to meet your business needs. Our integrated marketing solutions will help your people find you wherever they are looking. Whether it's Google or YouTube. Apps or your local newspaper?

Contact Anton at 4 0 6 7 5 8 4 4 1 oh for more information. That's 4 0 6 7 5 8 4 4 1 oh. All right. Last up. It's time to get into the college ranks. We're gonna talk a little bobcats, talk a little Grizzlies. Let's start with Montana State who just won their FCS-leading 17th straight home game in a crazy game over Weber State.

This Weber state set the FCS record for most safeties in a game. Four that totaled eight points for the Bobcats, and the Bobcats won 43 to 38. So those safeties pretty much won the game for the Bobcats. The Weber state safe, uh, safeties all. Came as a result of the long snapper snapping the ball over the punter's head and into the end zone, or out the back of the end zone.

So it's pretty much eight free points. That being said, the Bobcats did do some work to get the W. The Butte legend touched down. Tommy Melot was extremely impressive. He rushed for a Big Sky Conference record and Mont Montana State record when it comes to quarterbacks 273 yards. So when you're set in records, you're getting the w you know, the kid has a different gear, by the way.

The Wer State Wildcats were undefeated coming into this one, and the Bobcats found the way to win without Sean Chambers, who has emerged as one of the best offensive players in the country at the FCS level. I think once Sean Chambers is back to full health and the way Mulo looked, I mean they are gonna be dangerous offensively.

Some other Bobcat News. What a weekend last? Last weekend in the N F L. Troy Anderson racked up 13 tackles in his first-ever start Sunday for the Falcons and Alex Singleton of the Broncos followed that up with a blackjack on Monday Night Football 21 total tackles 19 solo tackles and checked this out.

Singleton's 19 solo tackles are the second most in a single game in N F L history. Very impressive. As for the 21 solo or total tackles, Mark is tied with N F L Legends, Zach Thomas, Rodney Harrison, and London Fletcher for the fourth most in a single game of all time. Those guys were some of the best defenders in tackling machines of the early two thousand.

Also. A couple of other guys tied there as well, but those were the big notable names. So Epic company for Singleton and what a performance on Monday Night Football. And then Anderson had a great game Sunday last week, so it just kind of highlights the level of college football being played right here in the state of Montana.

Very impressive. Special stuff. All right, one other Bobcat note we're sharing. Montana State standout and former Bozeman Hawk. Callahan O'Reilly was added to the watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award, honoring the top defensive player at the FCS level, joining Kalispell Zone, former Glacier High product, and current Griz standout Patrick O'Connell.

To make that award race just a little bit more interesting now we have a Bobcat and a Griz both chasing the hardware. Sean Chambers was also added to the uh, watch list himself added to the Walter Payton award, given to the best offensive player at the FCS level joining. Tommy Milo, who was a preseason addition.

So now the Bobcat's quarterback room features two of the best offensive players in the nation at the FCS level. It's gonna be impressive and it's gonna be scary to watch down the stretch. Let's get into that G Griz game though, because. We have that conversation with Fritz's neighbor to get to. We're gonna talk to some Chris and we're gonna talk to some bobcats and some big skies.

So a lot, lot to left get when it comes to the college ranks. But the Bobcats right now, a lot of good news coming out of there. They have the FCS record home leading straight. They got their guys playing well on, you know, Monday night football. And they got the win with Melot said record. So it was a good week, you know, and, and you know, I, I keep it unbiased here.

You know, I, I don't lean either way. You know, I'm, I'm going rooting for the Griz, I'm rooting for the cats. I, I wish them both success at the end of the day though. I mean, that was an impressive week. So let's jump into the G Griz stuff and, you know, I don't wanna make Griz fans relive this tough, tough weekend of football.

They went through the Griz led for almost the entire game until Sac State tied it with less than three minutes in the fourth. And then the Hornets took their first lead in overtime at 12:39 AM Mountain Time. So no excuses, but this is what I wanna say. The Grizzlies are coming off a loss. They went on the road playing in a very unusual time slot its time slot.

It was prime time, it was ESPN Two. It's a big game. Got the nation watching, it's unorthodox. And at the end of the day, they went out there and did their thing. For almost, they almost got the job done. It was a heartbreaker and for almost the entire regulation, they were in control of that football game and just, it was just a little, just not enough.

Just not enough. Right. But here's the thing, like I said, you're playing in an unusual time slot. Your backup quarterback came in for major action. Lucas Johnson had the Griz rolling in that game before he took that helmet. The helmet shot resulted in the sac Sac State defender being tossed. I have to imagine if Johnson stays in that game, we have a different outcome.

Now. Chris Brown was solid in relief, but Johnson gives him that dynamic element. And look the Grizzlies, they got back to the run game. Osmo carried the ball. Nick Osmo carried the ball 20 times for 72 yards in a touchdown. Marcus Knight carried it 22 times for 61 yards in a touchdown. Maybe not the most efficient rushing numbers.

They got the ground game going. Johnson was rolling early. They had this game. They, I, my opinion, I come out of this game with fewer questions than heading into it. I had got answers from this Grizzlies team, cuz that's a tough game to win. In Big Sky Play, Sacramento State, since their coach took over, has lost just one game.

So this was no easy opponent. They're one of the best FCS teams in the country. You're on the road in an unusual time slot with your backup quarterback. And here's what made the rounds all over Twitter. There was a very questionable call late where a Sac State receiver may have had a foot on the line, and after they reviewed it, they kept the play and kept it a catch.

And that setup kind of. The end of it for the Griz as far as getting the wind from all the angles I saw. And like I said, trying to keep it unbiased here. I saw a flood on the line. That shouldn't have been a catch. That one should've been coming back. Now that being said, I think the Grizzlies coaching staff is gonna be upset with that.

I do. But you have to think they missed two field goals in the second quarter and they had a really hard time stopping the running quarterback as O'Hare of the Hornets. I mean, he, he rushed 13 times for 56 yards and two touchdowns, I mean, You gotta think with Tommy Milot and Sean Chambers coming up, we just mentioned Miat.

Just set the big sky record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a game. You gotta think the Grizzlies are gonna have to make some adjustments to either get a QB spy going or alter a couple of things because they're gonna have to minimize that bobcat's rushing attack later this year if they want to keep it close in that one.

And I think the Grizly's defense has the key players to do that without a doubt. They have the speed, they have the athleticism. My big point, I guess is this can be, a learning experience. I thought they responded well after the Idaho loss. They're on the road. You wanna win that game. You led the entire duration of regulation, but your run game was rolling.

The Hornets' high-flying offense never really got it going. And, as I said, if Lucas Johnson doesn't get hurt, I think the Griz probably rolled to a victory in that game. He can't play the what-if game, but he was grooving. So my big point here is I don't think the Grizzlies need to panic. Griz Nation.

No need to panic. I think if this was the FBS and only four teams made the playoffs, it would be a little bit different story. But we're in the FCS right now talking and there's plenty of room to make that tournament. So the Grizly to focus on preparing for, wait, Weber State, they need to prepare for Cal Poly in Eastern Washington coming up.

And those two games, if I'm. The Grizzlies. I'm circling both those games and saying, let's go win BTOs by 40. Let's prove a point. Let's get our momentum going as they head to Bozeman, on November 19th for the Brawl of the Wild with Montana State, because that game is, is leading up to being. Very crucial to the Big Sky Conference Championship.

The way the Bobcats are playing and the Griz, they're still hanging around, can unravel down the stretch, and they could easily be sitting there with a shot at the conference championship if a couple of teams lose down the stretch so that game's gonna be even have some extra weight on it. Playoff implications, big sky implications.

The point is, the Grizzlies can take this loss for Sacramento State. They can learn from it. They can watch the film and they can understand, look, this is what we did, right? This is what we did wrong. Our running game did get going. Johnson Win Healthy had us rolling. The big thing is, let's stop those mobile quarterbacks.

Let's prepare for a guy like Tommy Mallot Asan Chambers, because when they come, you know when they come up on the film, it's gonna look a lot like Asher O'Hara was doing for Sacramento. Hornets. So, That's just, you know, that was my big takeaway. I was, I'm not gonna lie, I watched the Bobcats game in the daytime and I stayed up till one in the morning watching the Grizzlies game.

And I spent most of the day sweating, so I'll just leave it there. I won't go into too much detail, but it was like a nerve-wracking day for a Montana sports fan. Between those two games, the Weber State, and Montana State game was just a grinder, and then the Grizzlies made you sweat it out all night. I thought they had it until the last second.

It was just a crazy day of football. Real quick, some Griz news worth cheering for, and then we will get into that conversation with Fritz's Neighbor. We kind of just talked about some general Grizly stuff, a little bit of their loss, some Griz legend, and stuff like that. Just fun stuff. But here's something worth cheering for.

Former Glacier Wolfpack Punter, Patrick Roach was added to the Jerry Rice Award watch list for the nation's top freshman in the FCS division. The Glacier High product Dorn joins former Grizly's Jerry Lou McGee, GRE Jensen, and Ravi Houk to become the fourth Grizly to play his way under the Jerry Rice watch list.

So the ward is now in its 12th year. Just real quick, I'll run through a couple of guys who have won the Jerry Rice award just to show the company that Roarer Box guy's named next to Cooper Cup. Just came off winning the Super Bowl and had 145 catches, 1,947 yards, and 16 receiving touchdowns last year for the Super Bowl champion, Los Angeles Rams.

And those were in one season, all those stats, so just having your name next to a guy like that, is pretty dang impressive. Trey Lance also won the award, who was a number three overall pick in the NFL and was set to start for the nine ERs this year but got hurt, and Chase Edmonds who attended Fordham. He's the Miami Dolphins running back right now.

He's in a bit of a running back by committee, but the point is it's a very, very special company. Very impressive. Shout out to the former Glacier Wolf Pack punter for making his way onto that list. All right, y'all, this show was just one of those. State title, action playoff action. Prep scores.

They were 84 to 15. I mean, it was, it was one of those weeks where the sports world was crazy. Like I said, I was watching Montana State football from, you know, Montana. Lemme say this, I was watching football in the state of Montana from about noon till about midnight, or 1:00 PM or 1:00 AM the other night, and I'm still rattled.

I can't even talk. Just a jam-packed week. Let's get to that conversation, with Fritz to wrap this show up. I mentioned it before. Fritz is the walking encyclopedia of Montana Sports Knowledge. It's great to have him on the show talking about some football. Hope you guys enjoy it. Make sure to fall Fritz at Fritz's underscore neighbor on Twitter and as I mentioned before, make sure you follow the Daily Inter Lake on Twitter at.

Daily Inter Lake on Twitter. All right, here's that conversation. Hope you enjoy it. All right, I'm joined with Fritz's, neighbor of the Daily Inter Lake. Gonna talk a little Grizly, about some big sky conference. Gonna get into the college football talk. All right, Fritz, just to kind of jump into it, Montana, the Grizzlies are coming off their first loss of the year.

First Idaho Vandals. I know that was an A-game. The Grizzlies wanted to win. They wanted to keep that undefeated season going. The fans are riled up about that one. But Idaho had some real playmakers on both sides of the ball. And that qb, Giovanni McCoy looks like a real problem moving forward for the big sky.

So I just wanted to ask you, if you were in person watching the game. How much of that loss was the Grizzlies' mistakes versus the Vandals or just a really good football team? Well, I think Idaho came in underrated. I, I kind of started having a funny feeling about the Vandals as I, uh, was typing up the big sky capsules last week, and, Uh, that quarterback was coming in, completing over 70% completed, 78% or 76% against the Griz.

He's, uh, he's not very big, but he's mobile. He's got a great arm. They, hit underneath passes all day, and then he had the home run when they needed it. Um, I kind of forgot about, uh, the hat and Kit. Mm-hmm. All Big Sky two years ago and, uh, was hurt. So he kind of came back in a big way that gave him, a second big play guy on the outside.

Um, The thing that struck me is, uh, Montana's offense was kind of stuck in the mud. Idaho's t defense had six FBS transfers, one from Notre Dame, the linebacker made, that made a critical interception. Um, Idaho Reloaded. They're just, they're just pretty much loaded, and, uh, Montana's offense wasn't ready.

Seemed a little disjointed. I think Marcus Knight deserves more carries. I don't think I'm alone in that. He had two for 11 yards. And the second athlete, they get a first down. They punt three plays later and uh, I don't think you saw the ball the rest of the game. There are just a lot of things that went wrong.

And coupled that with a good Idaho squad and it's an L Yeah, I think that's well said. And I agree Idaho. When I checked out your capsules and started looking at them a little bit more and noticed all the transfers, and how efficient their quarterback was in a. Against a team like the Grizzlies this year when I've watched 'em, it's their past rush has been dangerous.

When you can get rid of the ball quickly, it makes it tough for those guys to do their job. So, no, the vandals do deserve a lot of credit and I just thought I'd get your opinion on that. You just mentioned it kind of the next thing I wanted to jump to. It did feel like the running back by the committee's been going.

I have the stats here. Xavier Harris. Has 246 yards on 42 caries. Nick Osmo has 49 carries for 230 yards and night, who you just mentioned has 39 carries for 205 yards. Harris and Osmo both have one rushing. Touchdown night has three, so it does feel like maybe they need to kind of get one guy going find that bell cow because a lot of the times when you're rolling the running back by committees, nice, but when it gets tough, you kind of need that guy who could grind it out.

You did mention Knight just now, do you see him as the guy who maybe could take the leap or does anybody else come to mind as that go-to guy down the stretch? Well, you know, all three get downhill. Xavier's more of the mobile, um, cut, make a guy miss kind of guy. Shifty. Yeah. But Knight's the one that's got downhill and, you know, three years ago, uh, pre-pandemic and pre-knee, knee surgery, he had 23 touchdowns.

He's just a talented kid. He, now he's back bigger, stronger. He looks nimble, looks recovered to me. Um, I asked Bobby A. A little bit, Bobby Houck. Mm-hmm. A little bit about the identity of the team cuz uh, you know, in his previous tenure he did have a Bell Cow. He had Alex Hilliard who was a Flathead High graduate.

He had Chase Reynolds. Um, tied to those two guys was a lot of g Griz success cuz he was giving these guys one guy, 20, 25, sometimes 30 caries. He famously told me once that Chase Reynolds would be a never, never be a 25 carry guy. Three weeks later he had 38 carriers against Portland State. So, I am not sure about what the identity is.

I know they're more up-tempo than they ever used to be. Um, maybe that's not Bobby's style. Maybe there's still some, some adjustment to make, but all of a sudden they're, they're looking up at like three, four teams ahead of 'em in the big sky. Car sands including Saturdays for six dates. So yeah, and that's gonna be the big one on the horizon there.

And yeah, I think there, there's great points there with when you do have that guy, it sounds like in the past, and I know both those guys you mentioned went on to play in the pros. When you have that guy. Who could break down a defense and then let a running back find a rhythm? Cuz sometimes, you know, it's, it's like anything, it's hard to do a short burst.

You're out of the game, get in that groove. So yeah, maybe they will find that guy. And you kind of just mentioned it, but I noticed Montana did feel like early on, a lot of passing on first and second down a lot of. Ended up in third and long situations, it kind of felt like all those home runs that worked early in the season, now that they're playing a little steeper competition, maybe gotta get back to hitting the singles, kind of taking what the defense gives you.

And you did touch on that, but just kind of want to hear your thoughts on if maybe getting back to the basics could help that team. Yeah, I mean, I, if I had a nickel for, um, every time in the two thousand that, uh, Montana at first and go and give up the ball and downs. Trying to give score touch on, on the ground.

I'd have a lot of nickels. Didn't matter then cuz the big sky was, uh, not as good as it is now. Not as good, not as deep. Uh, I mentioned Idaho's speed. That made a big difference. I think maybe the disguise coverages are very true. And, uh, you know, that led Lucas Johnson to say, okay, we're gonna, we're gonna throw on this defensive look and then, uh, couldn't get, couldn't get open.

Man. The thing that struck me about that game and um, I mentioned it I think in my, in my game story was that, uh, You know, IDO had terrible first downs. Uh, they had a lot of second elevens, a lot of second longs didn't seem to bother the vandals at all. They just kept, uh, plugging away and the ball for big chunks of time.

And, uh, when the Griz were two, you know, two and 10, third and 10, uh, you just didn't get the same feeling. They just seemed kind of, uh, Australia and it never changed hardly the whole game. Yeah, that's, that's kind of, I actually kind of brought that up in the last podcast just a little in the sense. It felt like the Grizly's defense kept getting stuck in those long third downs.

They couldn't get the defense off the field and it wasn't the defense's fault cuz they made a lot of plays. But at a certain point when you're on the field for that many plays with a quarterback like that third and long, they're just converting, starts wearing down the defense. So, no, it, it did feel like that.

It was just, and we kind of talked about it earlier, but Idaho does deserve a lot of credit. Well, uh, if there's anything else Griz you wanted to mention, we can get to that now. I had a couple. Just a little bobcats thing. And then one more other big sky, uh, question. No, let's move on. Oh yeah. You know what?

I did have another Griz thing. We'll jump to that. That was my fault. I'm getting too excited here. Good, good stuff so far. But I did want to ask, speaking of that, Grizly's defense, good timing. We talked earlier. Lucas Johnson, he's been a, you know, he had a kind of a lackluster performance last week, but he is been an exciting playmaking qb.

So we talked about some of the best Playmaking QBs that Griz has had. So now with Patrick O'Connell and Justin Ford tearing it up at Linebacker and Corner, I wanted to ask who is kind of some of the best past rushers you've seen? Or just in Gris history, as long as well as lockdown corners, just to kind of credit those players for what they're doing now and just reference the past.

Yeah, you know, Aconno is possibly the best I've seen. He's just, uh, another, another one of those walk-ons that make good for the Griz. Um, I think he's up to 7.5 Sax this season. Um, I think he, I'm pretty sure he's gonna win the Buchana Award, which is, goes to the best defensive player in the FCS. Um, the thing with, uh, His position.

It's, it's been kind of the linebacker you rush and you at the Uni University of Montana seen quite a few guys going back to, um, before Cory Bierman, who was our first, I shouldn't say our, going back to Cory Bierman, who was Montana's first Buchanan Award winner. Mm-hmm. He played the same way, in the same, same position basically that, uh, Patrick does right now.

Um, just a huge talent. Out of Harden. And, he went on to succeed with, was it the Falcons, I believe? Yeah. I do remember that with the Falcons did a lot of the same things he did, did with the Griz, you know, ripping the ball from the quarterback, um, wreaking havoc. Yeah. That's what Reen Hav O'Connell does.

Yeah. Yeah. He wasn't, Biman was maybe, you know, 15 pounds away from being an all-pro every year, but to, was a pretty dynamic, pretty, uh, what's the word I'm looking for? Productive. Mm-hmm. The NFL rush ends for a lot of seasons. Of course, some people may know him from, uh, Housewives and don't be tardy, but.

Here's a good football player. I wasn't aware of that, but that's funny how that works out with some guy's post-career, all of a sudden they get a bigger impact for that kind of stuff too. Funny. But no, I, yeah, I thought I would ask him, you know, he's a guy who, I don't wanna jinx anything, but if he has some good workouts in, in the off-season, who knows?

He might be playing on Sundays one day, O'Connell. Cause he just has that motor and I feel like he can't teach that. And as you'd walk on the kid, chip on the shoulder, it all shows. And then as far as corners go is, has there been anybody that's kind of, I know Ford's been locked? Down. Has there been anybody who comes to mind kind of on that level or close to it?

You know, the guy that comes up to mind right away is Truman Johnson, who had a pretty good N-F L career. Mm-hmm. I, I thought that's where it would go before that, uh, tuff Harris had a cold strip, was a really good corner for the Griz. Got a little bit of a cup of coffee in the N F L, uh, Truman was great.

Um, and then, uh, you know, Justin Ford, I'm gonna show my age here. It's kind of the Louie Wright deal with him. I saw a graphic where people have thrown at him seven times all season in six games and completed three. You know, last year he was picking off a pass like in eight straight games I think, or seven.

Um, this year he hasn't had very many opportunities just cuz people are staying away from him for the most part. Yeah. So, um, don't judge him by his stats. He's a great player and I think he'll play at the next level. I, I've been thinking that too. And just to make another comparison, there was that sauce gardener outta Cincinnati last year and I think it was similar where his numbers were just insane.

As far as they just won't even throw at 'em. Shut everybody down. If you looked at the stats, you're like, oh, this guy's all right. But no, there's something to that. There's a knack for locking guys down and playing with physicality and that, and Ford has it. So no, good stuff. Real quick, as far as Montana State goes, I've been watching them just a little bit, keeping up with, now that Tommy Moat's back, they got Sean Chambers, what are, what are your thoughts on kind of their dual quarterback approach and how much of a problem that could be for FCS teams moving forward?

Well, it's a big problem. I mean, they're. There are six and one. He scored against Oregon State. He scored 28 points a lot and ran for over a hundred yards against the Pac-12 team. Um, he got the concussion at Eastern. Um, I was maybe a little bit surprised. I mean, I know there's a kind of, a rule that you don't lose your starting position via injury, but when he got cleared to play Brent Vegan, the MSU coach instantly said he'll start and he started and I think he had a couple bad throws early, but he wound up 16 for 20 passing.

Um, I think people don't respect his passing enough. I know MSU runs a lot of fades. They throw 'em all day, but that's a hard pass to throw. And uh, and Mulo does it. And then Sean Chambers, you know, is the guy that takes over inside the 20. He's got about 30 pounds on Ao. It's, uh, seems to be the wave of the future.

The Griz aren't there yet, but you know, Look who's at the top of the big sky with one conference loss in three seasons at Sac State and their two-man crew at quarterback is, there's nothing better. U's coming. Pretty close, but watch Saturday. Yeah, that thunder and lightning approach. And, I was surprised too.

I, I kept notice of that where Malak got the jaw back right off the bat. I, I kind of, at first was surprised 'cause I'm like Chamber's playing out of his mind. But I guess having that championship success, maybe the coach was like, look, we'll balance out. But I was surprised too and that was something I was keeping an eye on.

Cause I'm like, where do you go? I mean, that's a, it's a good problem to have. But it was an interesting one cuz a lot of the times when a dude's rolling you just stick with it. But uh, yeah, I think that dual qb thing's gonna be nice, and I. So far it's, it seems like it's working, but they're gonna get some real tests now with Weber State in moving forward, so we're gonna see how they react to that.

Last question. Big sky standing extremely tight. Right now. We, we've been talking about it all to show how much the competition rose in the last few years, but both the Montana schools, Weber State, SAC State, and the Idaho Vandals, are all FCS Top 25. I just kind of wanted to get your thoughts. How many teams do you see from the Big Sky making the playoffs down the stretch, and if possible, wet teams, but just kind of a ballpark guess.

Well, I think, um, you know, Montana, as long as it doesn't lose a fourth game, we'll get in. I think, uh, last, well, I know last year the Big Sky got five teams in. I think it'll be the same this year. It's a, it's a great league. Um, I was shocked last year when Sac State got a home game and lost, but, uh, they'll be back.

We were states loaded. Montana, Montana State, and I think Idaho. As long as they keep rolling like they are, they're in. Yeah, so that's five. I think it'll happen. Yeah, no, I mean I, that sounds about right. That's kind of what my gut was feeling. When you have that many good teams, you just see the competition rise.

You know, people want to play to each other's level, and it just feels like that's what's happened right down the stretch, moving into the playoffs. I mean, these big Sky teams we saw last year with Montana State, I think they're gonna be prepared for the playoffs. So it's been fun to watch. Thank you, Fritz, for your time.

If there's anything else you'd like to throw out there, uh, go for it. If not, thank you. Oh, I still wanted to talk a little bit about the playoffs, just because Yeah, yeah. Throw it out there. If Montana goes seven to four. 24 teams make it. Okay. So it's, it's a huge bracket. Might even get bigger, which I think is a mistake.

So 24 teams, that means eight teams get a buy if Montana, seven to four. It'll be hard for the NCAA not to give 'em a home game on Thanksgiving weekend because they'll make money. They make money for the NCAA. They're one of the few programs it does. So, Yeah. Yeah. And that would be a big, big thing.

Thanksgiving weekend playoff game. That'd be a lot of fun. But we'll see. Who knows? I mean, it's gonna, it's one of those things, I guess time. We'll just tell, we'll just see how they played. It played down the stretch, and it's gonna be fun because like we just said, the competition's there, so I'm excited.

Yeah, I'm excited for the FCS playoffs. It has a little bit of that tournament feel. It's kind of what the FBS is hoping for, so we'll, we'll see how it goes. Yeah. I, I could wind up in Missoula for a month. Who knows. Yeah, right. You might. Hey, it's a, it, it's one of those things. We'll see what happens, but maybe it'll happen.

Reel off a few wins and there we go. That, I mean, that's how it goes in football. Get the hot hand late. We've seen it in the NFL, we've seen it in college. It happens time and time again. So maybe that loss came at the right time. And uh, yeah, on that note, if there's anything else for, it's great stuff today, and um, if not, we'll close it up there.

We're good. Yeah. Awesome. I know. Always good to get some grit talking. Thank you. And we'll get back to the show. Thank you, everyone, for listening before we wrap this thing up. Thanks again to Fritz, and I want to give a special thanks to Hagadone Media Group, Montana for their support, and remind everyone listening that this episode was brought to you by Nomad.

Go to Flathead's best manufacturer. Nomad is a longtime supporter of the local community and sports scene, so brings 20 years of building great careers and is mission-focused. Custom Vehicles Nomad, is a Montana-based company making a global impact. Nomad has worked with NASA and various branches of the United States military.

So you know Nomad is a name you can trust with your manufacturing needs. For more info, visit www.nomadgcs.com. That's www.nomadgcs.com. Alright, what a show everyone. Next week we'll be checking in on how the Griz responds after back-to-back losses. The Bobcats are on a bi-week, so we'll take a little bit of a broader look at the big sky and some Bobcats' stuff.

Plus we have a huge week of prep playoff football. Action recap, and we'll check in our local soccer teams competing for the state titles. And as always, we'll get to those Prep Players of the Week. That'll do it for today's show. Thanks again to the Flatheads Best manufacturer, nomad, and Hagadone Media Group, Montana.

Thanks as always, y'all. I'm Josh Duggan, and that'll do it for the Inter Lake Sports Now, till next time.