Sports roundup: Soccer teams headed to playoffs; wins for football and volleyball

Football, soccer and volleyball all hosted home games last week as Bigfork celebrated Homecoming. The Vikings football squad remains undefeated after punishing Anaconda, both soccer teams are gearing up for first-round playoff matchups Saturday and the volleyball squad looked dominant in a win over Troy.

FOOTBALL

The Vikings picked up 198 of their 428 yards of total offense in the opening quarter against Anaconda Friday as Bigfork cruised to a 48-0 Homecoming victory.

Senior quarterback Patrick Wallen carved up the Copperhead defense through the air throughout the contest, completing eight of his 10 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers.

Nick Walker led Bigfork’s receivers with two catches for 84 yards, including a 55 touchdown on the game’s first offensive play. Bryce Gilliard caught two passes for 61 yards and a touchdown, Joseph Farrier caught a 33 yard touchdown pass and Isak Epperly scored on a 4-yard pass.

Senior running back George Buckling led the ground attack, finishing with two carries for 126 yards, both of them resulting in touchdowns, while Wyatt Johnson scored from 33 yards out on his only carry of the contest.

Jeremiah Venegas led the defense with six tackles in the win while Johnson added 3.5 and Wallen and Epperly each had three.

The Vikings (6-0) will look to remain undefeated Friday as they travel to Eureka to face the 5-2 Lions.

SOCCER

The Vikings and Valkyries soccer teams are preparing for the playoffs after finishing the regular season with wins over Libby and losses to Whitefish last week.

Both Bigfork teams got Homecomings wins Tuesday as they hosted Libby under the lights at the football field.

The Loggers were able to keep the match close early against the Vikings to open the evening Tuesday before Bigfork pulled away to earn a 5-2 victory behind a hat trick from Levi Peterson.

Along with Peterson’s three goals in the win, Jeremiah Pilskalns scored two while Asa Barrett recorded two assists. Traci Fainter and Landon Byerman also had assists for Bigfork in the win.

It was all Valkyries in the late game as Bigfork jumped out to a 5-0 halftime advantage on their way to a 7-0 win.

Scout Nadeau led the way with four goals for Bigfork in the win while Braeden Gunlock added two and Maddison Chappuis scored one while Brette Guenzler finished with three assists.

The Vikings put up a terrific fight against the undefeated Bulldogs in Whitefish Thursday as both teams were scoreless in the first half, but Whitefish scored the match’s lone goal in the second half to grab a 1-0 victory.

Keeper Caden Ridesel finished with 15 saves for the Vikings in the loss.

Nadeau scored the Valkyries lone goal on an assist from Gunlock Thursday as the Valkyries fell to Whitefish 7-1.

The Vikings (5-6) will face Loyola (8-2) in the opening round of the playoffs at 11 a.m. Saturday while the Valkyries (6-5) will travel south to face Stevensville (9-2) at noon.

VOLLEYBALL

The Valkyries maintained their hold on second place in District 7B Thursday with a one-sided win over visiting Troy, 25-8, 25-9 and 25-15.

The Valkyries took control of the match early, jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the opening set before four consecutive aces by Zoey Albert helped Bigfork grab an 18-5 advantage. Kills from Inga Turner, Arianna Saari and Ava Davey down the stretch helped the Valkyries to an easy 25-8 win in the opening set.

The Valkyries never let up as they picked up the sweep.

Albert had nine kills to lead the Valkyries attack in the win while Davey added six and Turner had five.

Jessa Newton has 11 assists to lead Bigfork while Mackenzie Holton added nine. Albert served six aces in the win while Newton, Holton and Turner added three each.

Callie Martinz finished with 12 digs to lead the defense while Turner added two blocks and Alexis Saari had one.

With the win, the Valkyries improve to 6-4 this season, 4-1 in district play.

The Valkyries took on district-leading Thompson Falls after print time Tuesday and will host Eureka Thursday and Shelby Saturday before traveling to face Plains October 19.