Bulldogs can't find endzone in Frenchtown

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

The Bulldogs gave perennial powerhouse Frenchtown a run for their money on Friday, but they failed to get on the scoreboard and were shutout 0-14 in the nonconference game.

The game was a scoreless deadlock for the first half. Both teams made several big defensive plays and came up with turnovers.

Seth Wiley and Matt Whitehead had big interceptions for the Bulldogs in the first quarter, but Whitefish failed to capitalize.

"Wiley almost broke loose on his interception, but the guy caught him by the shoelaces," head coach Pat Dryden said.

Kyle Knox also recovered a fumble to stop a drive by Frenchtown.

"We were playing assignment football," Dryden explained of his team's success in stopping the potent Frenchtown offense. "Everybody had a gap to take care of, and that worked pretty well. We really didn't give them any big plays. I think they're a little better than they were last year. Their running backs just run hard. They're going to be a tough team to contend with."

The Broncs broke the tie in the third quarter when running back Cody Kirk scored on a 3-yarder, and they followed that up with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Aichlmayer to J.D. Undem.

"Offensively, we had some opportunities in the first half," Dryden said. "In the second half, it seemed like we were on defense the entire half. We got a little impatient and turned the ball over."

The Bulldog offense gave up two interceptions to Frenchtown in the second half.

Dryden said the Broncs just physically wore down the Bulldogs with their big size-advantage, but he was still impressed with how his boys fared.

"Talking with Frenchtown players and coaches after the game, they were impressed with the level of hitting," he said. "It's a feather in our cap for us to be able to go toe-to-toe with a team like that."

Dryden specifically mentioned Dustin Beck for an outstanding game at linebacker and offensive guard. He also said Josh Backer made a number of important plays on defense.

"I was also impressed with our special teams, especially the punting of Aaron Tkachyk," he said.

Whitefish travels to Hamilton next Friday in another nonconference matchup. Dryden said that like Frenchtown, Hamilton will have some giant kids on the line.

"Their right guard and right tackle are 280 and 320 pounds, I think. That's insane, and these guys can actually move. We're just going to either cut them down like tall timber, or concede that part of the field to them and go somewhere else."

Kickoff against Hamilton is set for 7 p.m.

Whitefish 0 0 0 0 - 0

Frenchtown 0 0 7 7 -14