Dogs slip at Libby, look toward Polson
A big second-half charge by the Loggers
buried Whitefish’s bid for much-need conference win at Libby.
Whitefish took a 10-9 lead into
halftime on the tails of a 9-yard touchdown pass from Connor
Donahue to Logan Harwood in the first quarter. Koler Kanistanaux
added a field goal to give the Dogs the edge.
Chris Forrest tallied a 21-yard
touchdown run in the third quarter to put Whitefish up 17-9.
Then the defensive wheels slipped as
Libby ticked off three consecutive scores, including a 69-yard run
by Chase Hoyer, to claim the 28-25 vicory.
“Libby ran the ball down our throats in
the second half,” Whitefish coach Chad Ross said. “They did a great
job of finding a weakness in the defense.”
Whitefish misstepped in a few
instances, which may have been the difference, Ross said.
“Twice we were inside the five-yard
line and kicked a field goal,” he said. “We self destructed a few
times, you can’t do that against well-coached teams.”
Ross said their passing game was on
target and commended both quarterbacks and the recieving unit.
“Connor Ellis, Logan Harwood and Gage
Vasquez showed consistency in making plays,” Ross said.
Whitefish managed only 49 yards on the
ground while quarterbacks Donahue and Forrest combined for 360
yards passing.
The loss drops the Bulldogs to 0-1 in
the league and 2-2 overall.
Wfish 10 0 7 8 - 25
Libby 9 0 6 13 - 28
L - Patrick Valentine 26 FG
L - Chase Hoyer 6 run (conversion
failed)
W - Connor Donahue 9 pass to Logan
Harwood (Kanistanaux kick)
W - Koler Kanistanaux 20 FG
W - Chris Forrest 21 run
(Kanistanaux)
L - Hoyer 6 run (conversion failed)
L - Hoyer 69 run (conversion
failed)
L - Micah Germany 10 run (Valentine
kick)
W - Donahue 30 pass to Forrest (Donahue
pass to Gage Vasquez)
Whitefish hosts Polson (1-0,4-0) this
Friday for their Homecoming game.
The fifth-ranked Pirates blasted
Columbia Falls last week 36-7 led by three touchdowns from star
Vince DiGiallonardo.
“Vince is that good all the way
around,” Whitefish coach Chad Ross said. “He’s the whole deal.
We’ve got to contain him, which throws a hickup in what he’s trying
to do.”
DiGiallonardo leads the league in
scoring
Polson’s defense had previously shut
out each of their first three opponents, including Belgrade 40-0,
Hamilton 41-0 and Anaconda 44-0. The Bulldogs will look to
establish a running game to open up the passing lanes.