Thrilling Class B football title for Bigfork

BIGFORK - Leave it to a pair of talented, battled-tested seniors to come through in the clutch.

Christian Ker hit Travis Knoll for a 7-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 8.6 seconds left to lift No. 10-ranked Bigfork to a 24-21 come-from-behind victory over No. 7 Fairfield Saturday in the Class B state championship football game.

Bigfork marched 66 yards in 12 plays to cap off a wild finish and secure its first state championship.

"We knew we had to focus," Ker said when he took the huddle for that final march.

"It was our last drive. This was our last chance to do something special. We wanted to go out on top."

The 6-foot-4 quarterback kept the game-winning drive alive earlier with a key fourth-down pass to Ian Lorang, which netted 12 yards.

Ker followed that two plays later with a dandy 19-yard strike to Cody Dopps with just over a minute to play.

A Ker scramble then put the ball at the 9-yard line with 26.9 showing on the scoreboard.

After two incompetions, Bigfork tried to catch Fairfield off-guard with a Knoll run up the middle. Fairfield was ready, stopping Knoll after a 2-yard gain.

That set up the dramatic fourth and seven play.

"He (Bigfork coach Todd Emslie) called it, but I told him to go with something else," Ker said.

"I didn't have a good feeling about it."

"Jake (Hill, assistant coach) and I, we had thought about a play to get (Connor) Coleman (tight end) over the middle," Emslie said.

"Christian said: ‘No. I don't feel good about that play.' So we said go with (passing to Knoll)."

It was a good move.

Knoll was open and made the easy catch for the victory.

"I just had to hit my best player," Ker said.

"I was kind of (surprised he was that open).

"We knew it would be a tough game," Ker added.

"Defense was the key to the game. We knew we had to step up."

Defense ruled in the first half as both teams were locked in a field-position battle.

Fairfield eventually took a 7-0 lead on a 14-yard pass from Matt Patterson to Troy McInerney with 44.7 seconds left before halftime.

Dopps returned an interception 60 yards in the third period to set up Bigfork's first score - a 29-yard field goal by Dillon Charlebois - with 6:50 left in the quarter.

Ker then put Bigfork on top for the first time at 10-7 with a 9-yard touchdown run with 1:21 left in the quarter.

Fairfield came right back, however, moving 56 yards in five plays to go back in front 14-10. Chad Barrett capped that march with a 2-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds left in the period.

Dopps provided a huge spark with time running down in the fourth quarter, returning a punt 76 yards for a touchdown. Charlebois' PAT kick was again good, giving Bigfork a 17-14 advantage with 3:28 to play.

Fairfield, playing in its fourth-straight state championship road game, used the arm and legs of Patterson and a big fumble recovery by McInerney in the end zone, to take a 21-17 lead with 2:42 remaining. Patterson and Colby Hardin hooked up on a 45-yard pass play, but Hardin fumbled when tackled by Dopps at the 5-yard line. The ball rolled into the end zone, where McInerney beat a Bigfork defender to the ball.

"Just amazing," Ker said of how he felt afterwards.

"I'm just taking it all in right now. It feels like I'm on top of the world."

Jerry Rose, Bigfork's outstanding senior center, said the line was focused on that final drive.

"We did everything we could to hold them out so Ker would have enough time to pass it," he said.

"We told each other to keep fighting no matter what.

"It's amazing," he said of the state championship.

"I really don't know how I'm supposed to feel. I want to cry, I want to be happy. I don't know what to do first."

The victory was extra special for Bigfork, which managed to avenge both regular-season losses in the playoffs. The Vikings knocked off Loyola, which they lost to in the season opener, in the first round.

Fairfield beat Bigfork 26-7 in Fairfield last month.

Fairfield finished 9-3.

This was Bigfork's first state championship appearance since 1995, when it lost at Frenchtown 12-0.

"It's unreal," Emslie said

"I'm just so excited for those kids.

"Fairfield is a very good football team. For coach (Les) Meyer to be there in five championship games, that says volumes about him, his staff and what he does.

"My kids were awesome, just never, never quit. It was a classic textbook case of don't give up and and good things will happen.

"A lot of hugs, tears," Emslie said of the atmosphere in the locker room after the game.

"I just said I was so proud of them," Emslie said of what he told the team. "They got what they deserved."

Fairfield 0 7 7 7 - 21

Bigfork 0 0 10 14 - 24

Second Quarter

Fairfield - Troy McInerney 14 pass from Matt Patterson (Collin Allen kick), :44

Third Quarter

Bigfork - Dillon Charlebois 29 field goal, 6:50

Bigfork - Christian Ker 9 run (Charlebois kick), 1:21

Fairfield - Chad Barrett 4 run (Allen kick), :27

Fourth Quarter

Bigfork - Cody Dopps 76 punt run (Charlebois kick), 3:28

Fairfield - McInerney recovers fumble in end zone (Allen kick), 2:42

Bigfork - Travis Knoll 7 pass from Ker (Charlebois kick), :08.6

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F B

First downs 11 15

Rushes-yards 38-133 39-137

Passing yards 175 97

Passing (com-att-int) 13-25-1 9-28-2

Penalties 7-42 3-25

Fumbles-lost 2-0 0-0

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Fairfield, NA; Bigfork, Cody Dopps 11-64, Travis Knoll 21-58, Christian Ker 6-14.

PASSING - Fairfield, NA: Bigfork, Ker 8-26-66-1-2.

RECEIVING - Fairfield, NA; Bigfork, Connor Coleman 3-32, Knoll 3-17, Dopps 3-36, Ian Lorang 1-12.