Sports Now -- Prep Football Playoffs + Griz and Cats Football

It was an action-packed week of prep football action with Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Glacier, Polson and Whitefish all competing while both the Grizzlies and Bobcats picked up wins in the college football world.

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

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Hosted by Josh Dugan

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Transcript

Welcome back to another edition of Inter Lake Sports Now! I'm Josh Dugan, and I oh my, do we have a jam-packed episode on our hands today? Prep football playoff action, a few headlines from the Daily Inter Lake, and we're gonna dive into some crazy Bobcats talk, who are both coming off wins, I must add.

As always, we will highlight our Prep Players of the Week. But first, a 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. Visit www.nomadgcs.com for more information.

Alright, quick reminder, you can subscribe to the Daily Inter Lake e-edition to get all your local news right at your fingertips. Check out dailyInterlake.com for more information. Let's get it rocking and rolling, and let's dive into those headlines!

We're going to talk about some Prep football playoffs in our headlines this week. First up, Bigfork bounces the Scotties en route to the state semi-final game. I was in attendance for this one down in Bigfork, and man, that was an epic environment for some football. The snow was coming down, constant flurries throughout the day. It ended up in the sunshine, only fitting. But one of those days where you had a little bit of taste of everything, and the way Bigfork plays football, old school run the ball in the snow, it just felt right.

Also, shout out to Glasgow. I gotta say, that Scotties' logo is pretty epic. I would definitely love that on a T-shirt. If anybody wants to send that in, I'll definitely wear it on the show. Okay, well, I will wear that shirt to the show. A lot to say there. Alright, here we go.

The Bigfork Vikings battered their way to a 52-12 Class B quarterfinal playoff win over the Glasgow Scotties. Led by Joseph Farrier, who carried the ball 23 times for 155 yards and five rushing touchdowns on the day, the Vikings' rushing attack was relentless, piling up 321 yards on 41 carries.

Real quick, I gotta say, I kind of mentioned it before, but that Bigfork rushing attack in that weather with the snow, it just felt very old school football. And Bigfork, what I like about them is they have an identity. Styles make fights, I always say that. I've said that on this program multiple times. I think Bigfork, they have a style. They know their game, and they know what they do best. They pound the football, they get their running backs in space, and they make plays.

Bigfork quarterback Tristan Hurd was 7 of 16 passing for 123 yards with three interceptions on the day. Hurd did find Elijah Thornis for a 26-yard scoring strike late in the fourth quarter for his lone touchdown pass of the day. The Bigfork offense finished with 444 yards of total offense compared to 125 total yards by Glasgow, who was intercepted four times by the Vikings' defense on the day. The Scotties finished the day 1 for 16 on third-down conversions, while Bigfork was an efficient 7 for 12.

The Vikings take on Missoula Loyola next in the Class B semifinal, with a trip to the State title game on the line. All right, keep an eye on Bigfork next week. I'll probably be at that game, and we'll have some good coverage of that one for sure.

Next up, let's travel down the road a little bit to Polson. Reminder, you can check out the full recaps from these games in the Sunday, November 6th edition of The Daily Inter Lake or on dailyInterlake.com. Let's get into the Polson game.

It was a tough win for the Polson Pirates against the tough locomotives of Laurel. Polson's Jarrett Wilson intercepted a Laurel pass with a minute seven left in regulation, then scored a six-yard touchdown run with 29 seconds left to lift the Pirates to a 14-7 win in a Class A quarter-final football game on Saturday. Wilson, the Pirates' senior quarterback, threw for 208 yards and ran for 98 more, also added two scores on the ground to guide his team into the semifinals for a second straight year.

Polson (9-0) travels to Lewiston, who is 10-0, next weekend for a shot at the State title. Lewiston just edged Columbia Falls 14-6 on Saturday. It was the Pirates' fourth showdown with a playoff team this year and the third that was a one-score game.

A sharp south-to-north wind hampered both teams and played into Laurel's hands early. The locomotives got a one-yard touchdown run from Gus Robertus with the wind to lead 7-0 in the first quarter. It took most of the day for Polson to get the lead. Here's a quote from Polson coach Kate England: "Credit to Laurel, they knew what it took to stop Jarrett Wilson and our offense. I think the wind and the field were the difference."

With the wind at his back in the second quarter, Wilson found King Jaron for a 27-yard connection to set up a Wilson touchdown run, capping a 95-yard drive. The second half had plenty of action but few points. Wilson had an interception on Laurel's first play of the second half, but Laurel returned the favor on the ensuing drive.

Wilson would throw a second interception in the fourth quarter, and Laurel drove to Polson's 33 before a fourth-down pass was dropped. Polson's ensuing possession went nowhere, but Wilson, doing it all, got off a 64-yard punt to pin Laurel deep. Then, after Cannon Johnson tore off a 20-yard run for the locomotives, Robertus tried another pass into the wind, and Wilson was there for the pick again. Set up at Laurel's 28, Wilson found Tyler Wentz-Roth for a 16-yard gain on third and ten. Then, he called his own number twice, scoring the game-winner. Tia Mercer tacked on the PAT kick, and Nash made back-to-back sacks of Robertus to seal the outcome.

One last quote from Polson's head coach Glinsmann: "We lost to them 28-14 in the semifinals last year, and that was a game we feel like we should have won. We weren't going to let the weather be an excuse for this team, and we were able to grind this win out."

Let's get to the rest of our prep roundup, but first, a quick word from our friends at Nomad. At Nomad, the key to our success has always been the amazing talent and experience of our team. Based on 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.

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Alright, a reminder: you can check out the full prep recaps in the Daily Inter Lake Sunday edition or on thedailyInterlake.com.

Alright, real quick, we are going to have a little bit of volleyball news, and then we'll get to the rest of the playoff action.

A quick look at Glacier and Flathead, whose volleyball teams both had their seasons come to an end last week at the Western AA Divisional Volleyball Tournament in Missoula. Glacier fell to Big Sky, and Flathead fell to Missoula Sentinel. But hey, kudos to both teams for their efforts this season! That's what it's all about—competing, playing hard, and doing what they've got to do. Shout out to them, gearing up for next season and what is in the future.

Moving to the prep football playoffs, the Glacier Wolf Pack football team had their season come to an end as well with a 31-23 loss on the road versus Bozeman. Glacier rallied from a 31-7 deficit to make it a ball game but ultimately came up short. They had two onside kick attempts, both of them fell short, and then they ran out of time. Here's a quote from Grady Bennett on his team's performance: 'It's just hard when you feel like you didn't play your best, but I'm so proud of how they fought until the end. We got together at the end of the third quarter, and I asked them to give it their all until the final gun, and all of a sudden it got interesting.' Wolf Pack star quarterback Gage Slider threw his 36th touchdown pass of the season on the day and wound up 17 of 30 for 220 yards passing in his final high school game. Slider has an offer from the Griz, so I'm excited to see where he ends up in the next steps in his career. And I really like what Coach Grady Bennett said there. This team made a push late. You're down big in a playoff game on the road, not the best weather, it's easy to be a little demoralized. Do you know what they did? They rallied, they fought back, they made it a football game, and they made it come down to a couple of plays for Bozeman to beat them. And that's what you have to do. They put the pressure on, they did not let Bozeman off the hook and coast into their next playoff matchup. They said, 'Look, we're gonna fight, we're gonna make an attempt,' and you gotta respect that.

Moving on, let's talk about another local squad. Columbia Falls fell 14-6 to Lewistown in another defensive battle. Lewistown took care of business on the defensive side. Cody Schweiker did get the Wildcats on the board with a nine-yard scoring run in the third quarter, but the offense couldn't get any more footing. The Eagles outgained the Wildcats 190-128 on the day. Schweiker had 18 carries for 34 yards and was 11 for 23 passing for 79 yards with one interception. Jed Nagler caught four passes for 48 yards. The Wildcats ended the season 7-3. So, the Wildcats were very fun to watch this year. I talked about it last show—I really like the way Schweiker plays the position. I think he's a very efficient quarterback. 

You know playoff football is going to be tough. You're going to have those low-scoring, grinder-type of games, and inevitably they fell short. But he's a junior, he'll be back next year. Columbia Falls, the future's probably bright for that football program. Very excited to see the future there and Schweiker's football journey. Alright, let's keep it moving.

Alright, Hamilton knocked off Whitefish 34-20. The Bulldogs fought back from a 20-6 halftime deficit and trailed just 26 to 20 after Finn Ridgeway found Clayton Ghazi with a seven-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter. Then came a golden opportunity. Hamilton lost 27 yards on a bad snap, then had a seven-yard punt to give Whitefish the ball at its own 25 with 7:06 left in the game. The Bronx held, though. Whitefish gave up the ball on downs at the 25, and Hamilton drove 75 yards for Frederick's touchdown, taking most of the final 5:08 off the clock. Frederick was the Hamilton quarterback there, so Hamilton did enough to hold on to the win. The Bulldogs did rally. You gotta respect the heart, just like I said with Glacier. It's easy on the road in a playoff game versus a tough opponent to kind of falter. Whitefish did not do that. Finn Ridgeway kept them in the fight, kept going, and kept things moving. Hamilton will take on Billings Central in the semifinal Saturday. Whitefish ends the season 7-4. Ridgeway, on the day, was 14-23 passing for 173 yards. He ran 15 times for 48 yards. He ended the season with 1,259 yards and 17 touchdowns rushing, 1,684 yards passing, and 15 scores. So, Ridgeway is just one of those kids that was a playmaker. Had the good fortune of catching a couple of Whitefish games this season. A lot of fun to watch. I'm really excited to see Ridgeway's journey to the next level. He has a couple of scholarship offers floating around, NAIA schools, and a couple of D3 and D2 schools. We'll see, you know, maybe some Big Sky schools come calling. If not, hey, either way, kudos to him on his journey, and we will keep you updated the more we learn. And he's fun to watch, that's for sure. Good player on both sides of the ball. Saw him make some big hits on defense. Anytime you've got a kid who's kind of like Garrett Wilson earlier, making plays on both sides of the ball, that says a lot about their football IQ, their mentality. Ridgeway plays defense, plays offense. I mentioned it with Wilson earlier. So, just another trait, football guy, as they say. Football mentality, whatever you want to say.

So, that was it for our prep roundup this week. Not a ton of prep sports going on in the valley, mainly football action. Got a little bit of a lull here, waiting for basketball, wrestling, and swimming to get going. But, that being said, we'll definitely keep an eye on our local schools and the prep football action over the next couple of weeks. Bigfork and Polson making that run to the state title game. We'll see what happens.

Alright, a quick reminder: make sure you're following the Daily Inter Lake on Twitter. That's @dailyInter Lake on Twitter, to keep up with the latest breaking news in the valley and beyond.

Also, you can follow yours truly on Twitter, @jaydugan406, for local coverage and more. Also, if you're a Facebook user, make sure to check out the Daily Inter Lake on Facebook. They keep it active on there, good stuff. So, check all that out, make sure you're following on social media, and stay up to date with all your local action. It's been a fast-paced show, I will say that. We're rocking and rolling through this one, but let's get to those Prep Players of the Week presented by Hagadone Media Group Montana. The team in Montana is here to help you grow. Our skilled team will assess your marketing goals and craft ROI-focused campaigns to meet your business needs. Our integrated marketing solutions will help your people find you wherever they are looking, whether it's on Google, YouTube, apps, or in your local newspaper. Contact Anton at 406-758-4410 for more information.

Alright, so this week we only ended up with two Prep Players of the Week, like I said, not quite as much action as we've had the past few weeks. And I do want to mention this because I will say both the guys who ended up being Prep Players of the Week here, their teams won. And now, I just don't want to make it seem like you have to win to end up a prep player of the week. These two just really stood out and had such an impact in a playoff game. It's hard not to highlight that. I just wanted to say that though, because you can play your heart out, lose, and still, without sounding too corny and cliche, and being a sound like a coach talk myself here, you could still be a winner. Alright, I know that was corny. You know you can't lose and be a winner. But there's a lot that comes with playing your butt off, leaving it all on the line, and putting your heart out there. Just something to consider moving forward.

Now, this week's Prep Players of the Week. I will say both did help keep their team's seasons alive. So we'll keep it going. Bigfork football, we mentioned him earlier, Joseph Ferrier. Put the Vikings on his back Saturday in their Class B playoff matchup with the Glasgow Scotties. Ferrier had five rushing touchdowns on the day and was the battering ram that led the Vikings to their blowout 52-12 win over Class C. Now, Ferrier had three first-half rushing touchdowns and tacked on two more in the third quarter. It was flat-out old-school football. Snow coming down, fear, and lowering the shoulder to fight for extra yards. Fun stuff. Impressive performance from Bigfork. Excited to see how they perform next week.

Keeping it moving, it might be expected. We've mentioned them quite a bit this show, but Polson Pirates quarterback Jared Wilson. He does become the first-ever player to have his name called three times on our Prep Players of the Week list. But the kid's balling, what can you say? You've got to give him his credit. So the Pirate senior quarterback threw for 208 yards, he ran for 98 more, and he had two scores on the ground to guide his team into the semifinals for a second straight year. He also had those two interceptions on defense, as I mentioned.

If you have the football IQ to play both sides of the ball, playing quarterback, especially in a very vulnerable position, you take a lot of hits. And then, to go flip around, not take a breather, and get right back on the field and be the one laying the hits, that says a lot about Wilson and his mindset. It's probably the passion for the game of football, I'd have to imagine.

So, his second interception of the day was the one that gave the Pirates the ball back late in the fourth quarter to set up the game-winning touchdown by Wilson himself with 29 seconds remaining. He was the ultimate playmaker in this one. He rushed for two touchdowns, had two interceptions, and he booted a 63-yard punt. Which, call me crazy, but that's almost the most impressive thing of the day. I mean, a prep athlete booting it 63 yards. I mean, don't get me wrong, the game-winning touchdown, the interceptions are up there, but I gotta give credit where credit's due. 63-yard punt while you're doing all that, that's hard. That takes focus.

So, it was the Jared Wilson show. Kudos to him. I'm really interested to see where this kid ends up playing on Saturdays. He's gotten some offers out there. We're waiting to see kind of where it all leads to because the talent's there, the football IQ is clearly there, and I'm excited to see his football journey continue. So, somebody's gonna get a good player on Saturdays.

Alright, it was kind of a brief week, but again, those were your Prep Players of the Week presented by Hagadone Media Group Montana. The team in Montana is here to help you grow. Our skilled team will assess your marketing goals and craft ROI-focused campaigns honed 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 local newspapers. Contact Anton at 406-758-4410 for more information. That's 406-758-4410 for more information.

Alright, this has been a speedy show but jam-packed. That's kind of how I like it. Let's keep the ball rolling, let's keep things moving, let's keep covering the action because there's been a lot to get to. But we're rolling through, and that's what it's all about.

Now, it's time to talk a little bit about Griz. Let's get to the Griz football game. This recap of the Griz was from the Daily Inter Lake's own Fritz Neighbor, who was in attendance to watch the blizzard. Offensively, the Grizzlies put on Cal Poly and the blizzard that was coming in from the sky. So, it was snowing like crazy. It was a pretty epic day of football. I saw on Twitter the Grizzlies game went viral, whether it was ESPN or The Athletic or all these different platforms covering sports. Everybody was hyped for some snow football in early November. So, you bet that one made the rounds. But let's dive into the recap.

Fun stuff, Osmo and the Griz overpower Cal Poly by Fritz Neighbor. October is over and the Montana Grizzlies came to play. The Griz wouldn't necessarily make that connection, but Saturday was a welcome tonic. Nick Osmo ran for a career-high 221 yards and two touchdowns as Montana crushed Cal Poly 57-0 at Washington Grizzly Stadium.

Quarterback Lucas Johnson returned to the lineup and threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in three quarters, I might add, as the Grizzlies snapped a three-game losing streak. Here's a quote from Griz head coach Bobby Houck following the performance: "We were fired up this morning at our walk-through and all week in practice. But we've had excellent prep every week with this. They don't know any different. They prepare every week, they play their tails off. And you know, I kind of admired them because we had lost three in a row, in a group that wants to go out and prepare like that, coming off of some really difficult circumstances. I'll just go back to this, what I said before, I admire them."

The losses came to probable FCS playoff teams Idaho, Sacramento State, and Weber State. Cal Poly came in without a league win, and the Mustangs had the dual issues of playing a victory-starved Griz team and then some heavy snow squalls. They fell to 1-8 and 0-6 in conference play.

It was over early. Johnson set the tone with a 24-yard scramble on Montana's first offensive snap. Five plays later, he hit Keelan White for 36 yards, setting up his own one-yard scoring run. After Johnson scrambled left and found Xavier Harris, who turned a short pass into a 20-yard touchdown reception, the Griz led 31-0 with 4:26 left in the second quarter. By then, the yard lines were obscured by snow. Paul Baldwin's Mustangs were out of it, and Osmo was on his way to the sixth-best single-game performance in school history. It had Hulk recalling Chase Reynolds' 193-yard performance against Appalachian State in the 2009 FCS semifinals.

Linebacker Jackson Hill, who had a team-high seven tackles on the day, said, "I've been watching him do it in September, one, playing a game like that ever since I've been 10, watching the App State playoff game. So, you know, defense, we were looking at the weather, and we were hoping it was going to snow like that. And I mean, it was a dream come true out there. We were flying around. And being on that side of the ball, you want that weather. So, it was fun out there."

It was the first snow game for Johnson, a San Diego State transfer who also played at Georgia Tech. Here's what Johnson had to say: "It was awesome. I mean, it was my first time really playing in the snow, but I thought it was cool. I had a lot of fun. And, you know, I'm Montana tough now. So, yeah, I was out there, no sleeves, and I was proud of myself for that. But yeah, it was really cool to play in that type of environment with all my guys, and it was a really cool experience."

The official attendance was 25,658, but far fewer showed up. Those that stuck it out saw Osmo get Montana's first 200-yard rushing day since quarterback Dalton Sneed did it in 2018. The last running back to do it was Jordan Canada in 2014. Those who stayed for the fourth quarter saw a one-yard punt by Cal Poly's Thomas Lee after a low snap. It was that kind of night. Eventually, it all ended, and Montana had a single-game record for first downs (37), breaking the old mark of 35 set in 1999, and the second-most yards in history (695), five yards shy of the record of 717.

Next up is Eastern Washington on Saturday at 1 pm at Washington Grizzly Stadium. The Griz need to stack wins to keep their postseason hopes in range. Healthy Johnson would help. Here's one last quote from Johnson: "Yeah, I mean, I felt good. I felt good to be out there with my guys again. Sometimes you go through speed bumps, but this team is all about bouncing back from adversity, and that's what we showed tonight."

Alright, here are a few quick kicks from our man Fritz Montana. They were down standout linebacker Patrick O'Connell but still held Cal Poly to 192 yards of offense and 12 first downs. Another pair of Glacier products saw action, with Drew Deck hauling in one catch for 15 yards and fellow Glacier product Henry News pulling in a tackle on the day. The fourth Glacier High product, punter Patrick Rohrbach, did not see the field. I think that's a sign of how that day went. The punter didn't even see the field. Huge win for the Griz.

My analysis is that this team got just what the doctor ordered. They had to shake off that funky feeling. Things weren't right. They were playing without their guy at quarterback. The media was starting to panic a little, the fans were starting to panic a little. The pressure was starting to build from a team with so much preseason hype. And guess what? Lucas Johnson comes back healthy and reminded everybody why this is a totally different Grizzly squad when he is healthy. His play-making ability at quarterback was apparent from the start. He just brings a different level of offensive creativity to that team. They looked rejuvenated, and in my opinion, if they can follow that up with another big win over Eastern Washington this upcoming weekend, it would be a historically tough opponent but has had a down year this year. This is a chance for the Griz to really find that mojo as they head into the brawl of the wild and potentially the playoffs.

They had an up-and-down year. I said it last show. They went seven of eight quarters without their starting QB, and it's clear now that he's back. This is the team that people expected to be on the field. At the end of the day, styles make fights. I say that all the time, but Johnson has a unique dynamic style. Chris Brown tried to fill the shoes, but that wasn't working. So the Griz, they got their mojo back, they're flowing. Nick Osmo probably just took the reins as the go-to guy at running back. I discussed that earlier this year with Fritz. Who's that guy who steps up and really takes over, is the guy you can count on to get you, you know, four or five yards every time he totes the ball. Finish, next thing you know, he ends up with 100 yards and two touchdowns. Osimo might be that guy.

And what I really like about his style of play next to Johnson is that Johnson can get outside, he can make plays with his legs, he can make the throws on the outside. And guess what that does for our north-south runner like Osimo? It opens the middle of the field up for him to just keep turning those legs, pick up the four, five, six, seven yards, and keep the chains moving. And that's the style of play that's really hard to beat this time of year. Team defenses don't want to be on the field, especially when it's cold. They're chasing guys around. If you can do what the Griz did against Cal Poly, keep your offense rolling, and keep the opposing offense off the field, that's a good sign.

So kudos to the Grizzlies' big game. I also want to give kudos to the defense for playing a near-perfect game. This unit has been top-notch for Montana all season long, and you know, just another statement performance. And now, a real opportunity to make another statement with Eastern Washington coming to town. Because if you can have back-to-back dominant wins over conference opponents, that's big. And that's the kind of stuff, in my opinion, an FCS playoff voter is gonna have to kind of gauge a little bit. When you see, "Oh, Montana went on a three-game losing streak, oh wow, they're blowing teams out, what's the difference?" "Oh, their quarterback was hurt." We can act like the voters don't want to factor that kind of stuff in, they do. So I like Montana to really go out there, put on a nice performance against Eastern Washington, and keep that swagger going as they lead up to that brawl, the wild.

Alright, so now let's talk a little about Bobcats. We dove into the Griz, looking forward to seeing how this season wraps up. It's been kind of a roller coaster for the Grizzlies, but it's been a lot of fun. Let's get into the Bobcats, who had a nail-biter first Northern Arizona in Big Sky Conference play. This recap is from the Associated Press. This game took place in Flagstaff, Arizona, which, by the way, is at 7,000 feet elevation, so the Bobcats did have to deal with that. Here we go, from the AP: Blake Glessner kicked a 24-yard field goal as time ran out to give Montana State a 41-38 win over Northern Arizona on Saturday. The Bobcats ranked third in the FCS, marched 75 yards in seven plays to pull out the win after the Lumberjacks tied the game on a 46-yard Cole Robbins field goal with a minute five to go. After two completions from the 18, a scrambling Tommy Milot found Taco Dowler behind the defense for a 64-yard gain. Then Elijah Elliott ran to the one. A penalty forced the Bobcats to go for the field goal. Milot had 119 yards and three touchdowns on the ground and was 13 for 19 passing for 179 yards and a TD. Elliott ran for 92. R.J. Martinez of the Lumberjacks was 34 for 46 passing for 452 yards and three touchdowns, and he also ran for a score. So that being said, Montana State led this one 17-0 in the first quarter, but NAU led 21-17 at the half. That kind of just shows you what type of football game it was. The teams alternated five touchdowns before swapping field goals in the final 65 seconds.

I, speaking of roller coasters, the race about a roller-coaster season, that was a roller coaster game for the Bobcats. Anytime you're up big, all of a sudden you're losing before halftime, what? So hey, but kudos to them because they stuck in there. They took care of business and they did what they had to do on the road. In my opinion, in a unique environment, you're playing at a 7,000-foot elevation, you know, that's up there. That affects you a little bit, regardless. You know, I know we're in the mountains here, but 7,000 feet, that's up there. And R.J. Martinez of Northern Arizona, I mean, he could really play. He won Big Sky Freshman of the Year.

And in high school, he tied the Texas state record for completions in the game with 50, and the guy he tied was, uh, the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals right now, Kyler Murray. So, they ended up pulling out the win on the road after kind of falling apart early. I think, at the end of the day, that's all you could do if you're the Bobcats. You took care of business.

At this point, the Bobcats have Cal Poly next on the road, which just got demolished by the Grizzlies. You go win that game, and your main focus at this point, you can never play the game afraid of getting hurt. We've all heard that saying, or at least that's what I was always told growing up. Can't play sports afraid of getting hurt. So, you don't want the Bobcats to go out there timid, but at the same time, you want to protect your guys. You want to rest your players and get them ready for that Brawl of the Wild in the postseason run.

So, that's where I'm at with it. I really like what the Bobcats are doing, and they've got a great spot. Sean Chambers has been out, and they're doing all this. It's going to be a lot of fun to watch. We're going to talk a little about Big Sky basketball, but I do want to say that the Griz, they're getting rolling at the right time. The Bobcats, they found a way to win.

Next week is kind of the, you know, maybe a trap game for both teams, looking forward to their big rivalry week. But if they can take care of business in that one, it sets up for a Brawl in the Wild with potentially the playoffs on the line. For the Griz, we're looking at a special game. The Griz and the Bobcats football teams both got wins. We're going to get back to Bigfork and Polson next week, to see if they can keep their state title hopes going.

But before we wrap this thing up, I do 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, 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 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 information, visit www.nomadgcs.com.

I repeat, www.nomadgcs.com for more information. Alright, that'll do it for this one. Thanks again to Flathead's best manufacturer, Nomad, and Hagadone Media Group Montana for their support. On our next episode, as I said, we'll check back in with that Bigfork and Polson football journey to the state title game, and we're going to talk a little more Griz-Bobcats football. We'll be looking forward to the Brawl of the Wild when we get back at this next week.

So, a lot of football action. I was at that Bigfork game in the snow, then it stayed up, you know, watching the Griz game. It's been a heck of a weekend of football in Montana. Prep football action, volleyball action, and soccer just wrapped up recently, and of course, now we've got Griz and Bobcats basketball to talk about too.