Class B football playoffs have Eureka home, Bigfork away

Ironically enough, the Class B football playoffs for Eureka and Bigfork begin just like regular-season play did for both teams.

Eureka entertains Cut Bank today while Bigfork is at Shelby. Both contests kick off at 1 p.m.

Eureka crushed visiting Cut Bank in the season opener 41-0 back on Aug. 25 while Bigfork slipped by Shelby 23-19 for a big road victory.

Eureka, the defending state champion, is 7-0 overall, 5-0 in the Western Division. Cut Bank checks in at 3-5 overall and went 3-3 in the Northern Division, which was good for fourth place.

Bigfork finished third in the Western with a 4-1 mark and was 6-1 overall. Shelby, 5-3 overall, was second in the Northern with a 5-1 mark.

“It went down to the wire,” Bigfork coach Todd Emslie said of the first contest with Shelby.

“We traded blows during the game. We got on top of them with special teams play.”

Bigfork used a safety by Chase Chappuis, who tackled a Shelby player in the end zone, and a punt return by Austin Varner to pull that game out.

“They’re tough,” Emslie said of Shelby.

“They have a great, great quarterback in Aaron White. He has a good cast of players around him, their line is solid, their defense is stout. They have some play makers on offense.”

So does Bigfork when it comes to play makers.

“We have kids on the edge who can catch the ball deep — Anders Epperly, Austin Varner, Luke Schmit and Logan Taylor,” Emslie said.

Epperly leads the team in receiving with 16 catches for 232 yards and four touchdowns.

Taylor has 11 receptions for 328 yards and four scores, Varner has 14 catches for 186 yards and two scores and Schmit five catches for 60 yards.

Emslie said fullback Luke Taylor had a big game for Bigfork at Shelby.

“We’ve battled all year,” Emslie said.

“We have been in every game. I just wish we could have played Eureka. That was kind of a letdown.”

That game was canceled, and not rescheduled, because of terror threats to schools in the Flathead Valley that weekend.

Shelby will get their first look at Bigfork running back Randy Stultz, who missed the last game to attend a baseball camp in Oregon. Stultz has rushed for 806 yards on 125 attempts and 10 touchdowns. He is averaging 6.4-yards per carry and 115 yards game.

He’s also a weapon in the passing attack with 13 receptions for 187 yards.

“He’s good, fun to watch,” Emslie said of Stultz.

Directing the Bigfork offense is senior quarterback Augie Emslie.

“He’s had a great year leading us, holding it all together,” coach Emslie said of his son.

Augie Emslie has completed 62 of 148 passes for 993 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has been intercepted eight times.

Bigfork has outscored the opposition 193-73 and is outgaining teams 338 yards per game to 180.

Eureka picked up right where it left off last year for back-to-back banner seasons. The Lions have outscored the opposition this fall 328-69.

It all started with the rout at Cut Bank with Eureka quarterback Garrett Graves passing for three touchdowns and running for another. Graves had the big play for Eureka in the 2016 title game, connecting with Austyn Sherwood on a 38-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass in the final seconds for a 31-28 victory at Missoula Loyola. That was the school’s first state championship in football.

Today’s Cut Bank/Eureka winner will face the Manhattan/Roundup winner the following week while the Shelby/Bigfork winner advances to play the Whitehall/Shepherd victor.