Class A football notebook
Rams beat Dillon
The Dillon high school football team is beatable.
Billings Central proved it Friday night with a 20-6 victory in Dillon. The Rams' victory snapped a 16-game winning streak for the two-time defending state champs.
The Rams used three running plays of 64 yards or more for their touchdowns and then intercepted Dillon's junior quarterback Bryce Carver three times - once in the end zone. Senior Alex Bushman, wearing No. 1, had all three of the interceptions.
The three long touchdown runs accounted for nearly half of Billings Central's Wing-T offense. But the big message that was sent was Billings Central is not only large, but fast.
"We get credit all the time for being big and slow," Billings Central coach Jim Stanton said. "But we'll match our speed with just about anybody. Our speed is as good as any."
Dillon coach Terry Thomas, who started the season with a 38-6 victory over Polson, said his defense played very well, but "they just popped a couple (big runs)."
The Billings Central victory sets up a big showdown in the Bishop Bowl Saturday against Butte Central, which beat Columbia Falls Friday night.
Northwestern A's best teams had big victories Friday. Libby beat Browning, 48-6. Polson beat Corvallis, 37-14.
Whitefish proved how good it was in a 14-7 loss to two-time runners-up Frenchtown.
While Libby has won all its games this season, it surrendered its first victory of the season to Kellogg, Idaho, because of an ineligible player. The player enrolled at the school as a freshman but was actually a second-year freshman. He participated in two plays in Libby's lopsided win over Kellogg.
Still, the Loggers are off to an impressive start in defense of their Northwestern A crown. They've outscored three opponents, 113-28. Junior quarterback Joel Fuller is 32-for-59 (54.2 percent) for 694 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior running back Jeremy Chumley leads the league with 319 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Senior receiver Zack Rowan is second in the league with 13 catches for a league-leading 375 yards and six touchdowns. Rowan and sophomore T.J. Benson each have three interceptions.
Libby hosts Corvallis Friday.
Polson's senior running back Cody Doyle vaulted into the conference's rushing touchdown leaders with four on Friday against Corvallis. He had just 26 yards on 10 carries, but scored from 1-yard three times and another from 6 yards. Junior quarterback Craig Bagnell completed 13 of 15 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown. Bagnell is 49-for-80 (61.3 percent) for 746 yards with four touchdown passes this season. Junior tight end Ryan Kelley leads the league with 22 receptions for 318 yards. Doyle is third in the conference with nine catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
The Pirates are off this week in preparation for the Northwestern A Conference season opening game against Libby on Sept. 21.
The conference still has one Friday night of non-league games before tearing each other up. The top three seeds will advance to the playoffs. The No. 1 seed will earn a bye. The Nos. 2 and 3 seeds will play the Southwestern A Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in the first round.