Class A football playoffs under way

Wildcats travel to Stevensville, Libby plays host to Corvallis

The Class A state playoffs get under way tonight and tomorrow with first round games. Columbia Falls, the third seed from the Northwestern Conference, is at Stevensville tonight at 7 and No. 2 Libby hosts Corvallis at 7:30.

Top seed and conference champion Polson has a bye.

"We had a good week of practice," Loggers coach Neil Fuller said. "I think our kids should be ready to go."

The Blue Devils come to Libby as the third seed from the Southwestern Conference.

"They look like they're scrappy," said Fuller after watching game tapes. "They've got some good skill kids. They're going to be a good challenge for us.

"They've got a fullback that runs hard. Their quarterback looks like he has a pretty good arm.

"I think we match up with them real well. But anytime you have a quarterback that can throw the ball, that can pose problems."

The Loggers feature a potent running game with Blaine Baker and Jake Graham getting a lot of touches. Quarterback Kyle Baker can also pull it down and run.

"We're going to run some misdirection at them and hopefully get our option going," Fuller said. "They look like they fly around pretty good to the ball. They're real aggressive.

"If our kids keep getting better like they have each week, then we'll be OK. If we execute, we like our chances.

"They're the kind of team that if you give them any daylight, they'll take advantage."

Libby elected to play - with the Blue Devils' agreement - on Friday night to try and maintain the continuity of the season. Most of the rest of Class A plays Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats are playing tonight because of a conflict with a speech tournament in Stevensville on Saturday.

For Columbia Falls, tonight's game marks a return to the playoffs after more than a decade.

"The kids are excited," Wildcats coach John Thompson said. "They're ready to play. We need to make the most of our opportunities and hopefully we will."

The game is a rematch of a Sept. 10 nonconference tilt that did not exactly showcase Columbia Falls at its best.

"We didn't play very well the first time around," Thompson said.

Indeed, the Yellowjackets romped 41-14, led by Travis Browne's 210 yards rushing on just 17 carries. He scored four touchdowns on runs of 9, 52, 37 and 48 yards.

"Travis Browne is a very good football player," Thompson said. "He's going to be a constant for them. He does some special things on the football field that you need to account for.

"I think the biggest thing is putting ourselves in position to make plays, and make the plays when we're there. That's not something we did last time."

It is fair to say that the Wildcats are not the same team of seven weeks ago. Columbia Falls has improved greatly, as evidenced by commanding wins over Bigfork and Whitefish in the final two games of the regular season.

"We've played a couple of real good games offensively lately," Thompson said. "What we need to do is get positive yardage on first down plays. That makes it favorable to sustain drives."

Sustaining drives and winning the time of possession battle is the surest way to prevent Browne from running roughshod.

"Those are things we weren't doing early in the year," Thompson said.