Stevensville, Browne, get the best of the Cats again in playoff loss

Hungry Horse News

The Wildcat football team went one and out in their first playoff appearance in more than a decade, losing to Stevensville 41-14 last Friday.

It was the same score as when the teams first met for the third game of the season in September, but head coach John Thompson said it wasn't indicative of the progress the team made this season.

"It's tough to lose to the same team twice by the same score. You're never happy with a loss, but the team showed improvement during the season," he said. "We played hard, but Stevi's a good football team."

Stevensville struck early, recovering an onside kick to start the game, and then went on to score two touchdowns in the first quarter. Running back Travis Browne proved to be just as hard to handle the second time around, rushing for 187 yards on the night.

Stevi scored again in the second, but Jace Ladenburg got the Cats on the board with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Craig Olson. The Cats wouldn't score again until the fourth, when Kyle Rosenbaum rushed in from 15 yards out.

Rosenbaum had 21 carries for 145 yards, while Olson was six for 19 with 134 yards passing.

Drew Perry led the team in receptions, picking up 70 yards on two catches, while J.D. Fields had one catch for 18 yards and Nik Caron had another for 14 yards.

"It was a team effort that got us there (to the playoffs), and the team has a lot to be proud of. Only one team that makes the playoffs ends the season with a win, so it's hard not to feel a little frustrated when you end the season with a loss," Thompson said.

Thompson's next concern is the amount of senior talent that won't be back next year, including Olson, Perry, Caron, Ladenburg, Rosenbaum, Kevin Sheppard, Dewain Knoepfle and Tommy Church.

"We're going to lose a lot of good lineman. We're losing a lot of talent through graduation," Thompson said.

Thompson said whether or not the momentum of the playoff appearance carries over to next year is up to this year's underclassmen.

"They need to decide whether they want to maintain that level of play next year, and the best way to do that is to get in the weight room. We like to see kids who keep healthy, whether playing basketball, wrestling, or track, or just spending time in the weight room," Thompson said.

Stevi 41, Columbia Falls 14

C. Falls 0 7 0 7 - 14

Stevensville 14 21 0 6 - 41

S- Luke Connors 13 run (kick failed)

S - Travis Browne 67 run (Zach Renstrom pass from Connors)

S - Browne 45 run (kick failed)

C - Jace Ladenburg 28 pass from Craig Olson (Kyle Rosenbaum kick)

S - Bridger Chambers 25 pass from Connors (Nick Riley pass from Connors)

S - Browne 30 pass from Connors (Chambers kick)

S - Connors 48 run (kick failed)

C - Rosenbaum 15 run (Rosenbaum kick)

Individual leaders

Rushing - Stevensville (40-369): Browne 15-187, Connors 3-76, David Peach 4-12, Nick Flemmer 5-28, Nick Riley 11-60, Bridger Chambers 1-4, Scooter Thomas 1-2.

Columbia Falls (38-180): Rosenbaum 21-145, Craig Olson 9-3, Nik Caron 3-17, Ryan Buck 1-3, Calvin Williams 3-6, Josh Peterson 1-6.