CLASS A FOOTBALL: Eight named all-state from state champion Whitefish

It’s good to be on top.

Fresh off its first state championship in 36 years, eight members of the Whitefish football team were named all-state, the most of any Class A team, and four Bulldogs swept the Northwestern A most valuable player awards.

Seven other local players were selected for the all-state team — four from Columbia Falls and three from Polson.

Five Bulldogs seniors garnered all-state honors for the second time. Quarterback Luke May, wide receiver Jed Nagler, running back Chris Park, defensive end Chaffin Ross and safety Brian FauntLeRoy all repeated as all-state picks.

“It’s a great reward for all of the hard work those guys have put in,” Whitefish coach Chad Ross said of his team’s selections.

“It’s all guys who have worked really hard in the offseason to get where they’re at.”

Park was injured early in the state championship game at Dillon but the two-way star cleaned up when conference awards were announced. Park was named the co-offensive most valuable player and co-defensive MVP in Northwestern A.

Whitefish’s primary running back, Park averaged a sliver under 10 yards per carry and finished the year with 1,175 yards on the ground, 1,539 all-purpose yards and 13 total touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, the 5-foot-7 Park played linebacker and returned a pair of interceptions for scores.

“He plays so much bigger than he is,” Ross said of Park. “Since his sophomore year, he’s been the strongest guy on our team pound-for-pound and he shows up on film in lots of different ways.”

May, who will throw javelin at the University of Minnesota next year, put up mind-boggling offensive numbers this fall. In just 12 games, May accounted for 40 touchdowns and nearly 2,800 yards of total offense. He ran for 936 yards and 18 touchdowns, completed 68.6% of his passes for 1,845 yards and threw 22 more touchdowns against just three interceptions.

May was an all-conference selection all four years as Whitefish’s starting quarterback and shared the offensive most valuable player award with Park, the second straight conference player of the year honor for May.

Like May, Ross repeated as co-defensive most valuable player in Northwestern A behind another stellar season on the defensive line. A two-way starter in the trenches, Ross was named an all-state defensive end.

Nagler has committed to catch passes at the University of Montana next fall and earned his second straight all-state commendation after hauling in 40 receptions and seven touchdowns as a senior.

FauntLeRoy scored touchdowns rushing, receiving and by returning both a kick and a punt, but earned all-state honors for his work on the defensive side of the ball at safety.

Three other members of the Whitefish defense were named to the all-state team — linemen Steven Quimby and Alex Curry, and junior linebacker Travis Catina.

Polson junior Matt Rensvold was the only other local player to repeat on the all-state team, doing so at linebacker. Fellow Pirates Tanner Wilson (safety) and Hudson Smith (wide receiver) joined Rensvold on the all-state squad. Smith led Polson with 35 catches for 529 yards.

Columbia Falls senior center Blake Arneson made his first all-state team after garnering an all-conference selection each of the past two years. Wildcats offensive tackle Zach Baker, defensive end Stephen Lindsey and cornerback Sean Miller also were named to the all-state team.

2015 CLASS A FOOTBALL AWARDS

ALL-STATE OFFENSE

C — Blake Arneson, Columbia Falls, Sr.; Matt Dey, Sidney, Sr.; Mark Waldrup, Dillon, Sr.

G — Matt Smith, Belgrade, Sr.; Micah Holt-Seavy, Billings Central, Sr.; Kordale Behner, Stevensville, Sr.

T — Zach Baker, Columbia Falls, Jr.; Travis Adams, Havre, Sr.; Ethan St. John, Butte Central, Sr.

QB — Luke May, Whitefish, Sr.; Dane Warp, Havre, Sr.; Matt Blunt, Miles City, Sr.; Michael Stanton, Billings Central, Sr.; Troy Anderson, Dillon, Jr.

RB — Chris Park, Whitefish, Sr.; Hayden Van Winkle, Belgrade, Jr.; Tyler Burk, Miles City, Jr.; Bridger Coffman, Sidney, Sr.; Connor Murdock, Hardin, Sr.; Alex Draper, Hamilton, Sr.

FB — Devin Blythe, Fergus, Sr.; Wyatt Haldorson, Corvallis, Sr.

WR — Jed Nagler, Whitefish, Sr.; Hudson Smith, Polson, Sr.; Nate Rismon, Havre, Sr.; Wyatt Lesh, Miles City, Sr.; Jacob Hadley, Billings Central, Sr.; Bridger Bauder, Hamilton, So.; Cole Harper, Butte Central, Sr.

TE/SB — Lane Giovanetti, Miles City, Sr.; Nate Simkins, Dillon, Sr.

ALL-STATE DEFENSE

DT — Steven Quimby, Whitefish, Sr.; Matt Harrison, Fergus, Sr.; Cord Murray, Miles City, Sr.; Ben Smith, Billings Central, Sr.; Jake Michelotti, Butte Central, Sr.

DE — Chaffin Ross, Whitefish, Sr.; Alex Curry, Whitefish, Sr.; Stephen Lindsey, Columbia Falls, Sr.; Derek Marks, Belgrade, Sr.; Tucker Maxwell, Fergus, Sr.; Jaden Senger, Miles City, Sr.; Jarod Asche, Glendive, Sr.; Kyle Schulte, Butte Central, Sr.; Nick Huber, Dillon, Sr.

ILB — Travis Catina, Whitefish, Jr.; Matthew Rensvold, Polson, Jr.; Jace Stokes, Havre, Jr.; Hunter Severson, Sidney, Sr.; RJ Fitzgerald, Dillon, Jr.; Jonathan Ringer, Hamilton, Sr.

OLB — Parker Filius, Havre, Jr.; Cody Lucke, Browning, Sr.; Evan Luhrsen, Belgrade, Sr.; Trent Schilling, Sidney, Sr.; Kyle Finch, Dillon, Sr.

S — Brian FauntLeRoy, Whitefish, Sr.; Tanner Wilson, Polson, Jr.; Tanner Campbell, Belgrade, Sr.; Casey Cole, Laurel, Jr.; Connor Ludwig, Laurel, Sr.; Cal Hollow, Butte Central, Sr.

CB — Sean Miller, Columbia Falls, Jr.; Kohltin Starkel, Dillon, Sr.

FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE OFFENSE

MVPs — Luke May and Chris Park, Whitefish

C — Steven Quimby, Whitefish, Sr.; Blake Arneson, Columbia Falls, Sr.

G — Zak Karlin, Columbia Falls, Jr.

T — Chaffin Ross, Whitefish, Sr.; Zach Baker, Columbia Falls, Jr.; Travis Catina, Whitefish, Jr.

SL/TE — Brian FauntLeRoy, Whitefish, Sr.; Matthew Rensvold, Polson, Jr.

RB — Chris Park, Whitefish, Sr.

QB — Luke May, Whitefish, Sr.

WR — Jed Nagler, Whitefish, Sr.; Hudson Smith, Polson, Sr.

P — Jacob Harrod, Polson, Sr.

K — Haley Nicholson, Whitefish, Jr.

RET — Brian FauntLeRoy, Whitefish, Sr.

SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE OFFENSE

C — Nick Marquardt, Polson, Sr.

G — Nathan Rizzolo, Whitefish, Jr.; Jared Reynolds, Columbia Falls, Jr.

T — Kade Johnstone, Columbia Falls, Jr.; Kabe Forman-Webster, Polson, Jr.

SL/TE — Trevor Hoerner, Columbia Falls, Jr.; Tyler Cote, Whitefish, Jr.

RB — Stephen Lindsey, Columbia Falls, Sr.; Wyatt Green, Columbia Falls, Jr.

QB — Dakota Bridwell, Columbia Falls, Jr.; Tanner Wilson, Polson, Jr.

WR — Jacob Price, Frenchtown, Jr.; Tyler Murphy, Columbia Falls, Sr.

FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE DEFENSE

MVPs — Chris Park and Chaffin Ross, Whitefish

DL — Chaffin Ross, Whitefish, Sr.; Steven Quimby, Whitefish, Sr.; Alex Curry, Whitefish, Sr.; Stephen Lindsey, Columbia Falls, Sr.

OLB — Chris Park, Whitefish, Sr.; Jed Nagler, Whitefish, Sr.

ILB — Matthew Rensvold, Polson, Jr.; Travis Catina, Whitefish, Jr.

CB — Luke May, Whitefish, Sr.; Sean Miller, Columbia Falls, Jr.; Peter Mow, Whitefish, Sr.

S — Brian FauntLeRoy, Whitefish, Sr.; Tanner Wilson, Polson, Jr.

SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE DEFENSE

DL — Logan Kolodejchuk, Columbia Falls, So.; Hayden Mancure, Frenchtown, Sr.; Nick Marquardt, Polson, Sr.; Tyson Lucier, Frenchtown, Sr.

OLB — Steven Decamp, Columbia Falls, Jr.; Bryce Fagerland, Columbia Falls, Jr.

ILB — Logan Wynn, Whitefish, Sr.; Trevor Hoerner, Columbia Falls, Jr.

CB — Jacob Harrod, Polson, Sr.; Jacob Price, Frenchtown, Jr.

S — Zack Palmer, Frenchtown, Jr.; Austin Green, Columbia Falls, So.; Derek Kastella, Whitefish, Jr.