Wildcats fumble it away

COLUMBIA FALLS - You could say Columbia Falls either gave this one away, or fumbled it away.

Either works, so take your pick.

And speaking of pick, or in this case picks, Stevensville intercepted four passes.

All-in-all, mistakes figured prominently in this one as Columbia Falls squandered a 20-6 lead en route to a heartbreaking 41-20 season-opening nonconference football loss to Stevensville on Friday night.

The Wildcats finished with seven fumbles, two inside the 10-yard line that led to easy Yellowjacket scores.

"We fell apart in the second quarter," a disappointed Columbia Falls coach Bill Coleman said.

"We never regained our footing."

Columbia Falls got off to a fantastic start, scoring 12 quick points on its first two possessions.

Quarterback Austin Barth launched a pretty, perfect strike to a streaking wide open Kaleb Johnson down the left sideline on the second play of the game for a 67-yard touchdown.

On the next series, running back Nate Thompson turned a simple sweep into a 57-yard touchdown jaunt for a 12-0 advantage with 8:34 to play in the first period.

Things were looking oh so easy for the Wildcats.

Trouble, however, started on the first series for the Wildcats in the second quarter - a bad exchange in the backfield resulted in a fumble at their own 7-yard-line.

Stevensville scored on the next play - a 7-yard pass from quarterback Caleb Vance to Josh Lords.

Columbia Falls briefly took the momentum back when Thompson took a fake punt 48 yards for a touchdown on some nifty running up the middle, breaking a couple tackles along the way. The Wildcats passed for the conversion and led 20-6.

Then, the bottom fell out.

The Wildcats threw an interception in the end zone, lost a fumble on a bad snap from the shotgun formation, lost a fumble on a kickoff return, had an interception returned 55 yards for a touchdown with 52 seconds left in the second quarter, and if that wasn't enough, lost another fumble, which led to a 30-yard touchdown scamper by Vance with no time left in the half.

Suddenly, Stevensville led 27-20 at the half.

"As we moved into the second quarter, they adjusted to the speed of the game," Coleman said.

"Our kids thought it was over. We were making mistake after mistake after mistake, and we tackled poorly."

Columbia Falls opened the second half with its best drive of the night, marching 58 yards in eight plays. The drive, however, stalled at the Stevensville 12-yard line.

After holding Stevensville to just one first down, Columbia Falls took over at its own 40. Thompson ripped off a 59-yard gainer, only to be brought down from behind by Stevensville's speedy Lords at the 1-yard line.

A penalty moved it back to the six, and on third and goal from the six, another bad snap in the shotgun resulted in a fumble recovered by Stevensville.

The Yellowjackets then marched 85 yards in 15 plays to score on a 12-yard pass from Vance to Josh Haynes. That put Stevensville on top 34-20 with 7:59 remaining.

"That was huge, that was big," Stevensville coach Hank Praast said of Lord's touchdown saving tackle.

"He's a track guy."

Praast said he never lost faith in his team.

"They didn't fold, they stayed with it," he said.

"It was a tale of two halves. We just hung in there, we kind of weathered the storm."

The loss spoiled a sensational night for Thompson. Unofficially, he ran for 207 yards on 17 carries.

Stevensville 0 27 0 14 - 41

Columbia Falls 12 8 0 0 - 20

CF - Kaleb Johnson 67 pass from Austin Barth (kick blocked)

CF - Nate Thompson 57 run (pass failed)

S - Josh Lords 7 pass from Caleb Vance (kick blocked)

CF - Thompson 48 run (Devyn Rocker pass from Barth)

S - Tyler Murray 4 pass from Vance (kick blocked)

S - Jalen Pfau 55 interception return (Vance run)

S - Vance 30 run (Vance kick)

S - Josh Haynes 12 pass from Vance (Vance kick)

S - Billy Andrews recovered fumbled in end zone (Vance kick)