C-Falls gridders look to make their mark

The Columbia Falls football team has a big goal this season: Win a state Class A title. But the road there will be a challenging one.

The Wildcats start the season on the road against Corvallis this Friday and then Stevensville away the following week. They also face Dillon and Hamilton in nonconference games as well.

Coach Jackson Schweikert has confidence in his team. At the helm of the offense is junior quarterback Dakota Bridwell, who has a great arm and a velvet touch. Bridwell has been throwing everyday all summer long, Schweikert said. He started at the position last year as a sophomore. This season, the team has been refining the offense.

Bridwell has a solid core of receivers that have been working with him this summer as well, including Braxton Reiten, Trevor Hoerner, Mason Riley, Trey Gates, Sean Hoerner and Tyler Murphy to name a few.

"We're deep at receiver," Schweikert said.

In the backfield the Cats will have returning senior tailback Stephen Lindsey and running back Wyatt Green along with Logan Kolodejchuk pounding the rock.

But Schweikert is really excited about the offensive line. The line is athletic and strong Schweikert said and includes tackles Kade Johnstone, Zach Baker, Jared Reynolds and Blake Arneson at center. Arneson has been center for the past three seasons.

"This might be one of the best offensive lines in school history," he said. "We should be one of the best offenses in the state."

On defense, the Cats are young, but aggressive and play hard, Schweikert said. They lost two of their top tacklers, inside linebackers Connor Bowman and Ike Schweikert to graduation. Lindsay could see double time on offense and defense to plug the middle.

All told, the program has about 75 players, both varsity and junior varsity. Schweikert said it's a good group of young men.

"These kids are so much fun to coach," he said. "That's what makes it exciting for me."

The top three teams in the conference go to the playoffs.