Bigfork blows by Eureka in 2nd half
EUREKA — Bigfork put an emphatic end to Eureka’s 23-game win streak on Friday, blanking the Lions 37-0 in a Western B football clash at Lions Field.
The fifth-ranked Vikings (4-0 overall, 3-0 league) scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to build a commanding lead over the Lions (3-1, 1-1). They frustrated Eureka’s offense throughout, allowing the Lions just 154 total yards.
Defense dominated the first half as both offenses squandered opportunities to score. Eureka’s longest play of the game — a 38-yard pass from junior quarterback Hank Dunn to sophomore Gunnar Smith — took it into Vikings territory. But Bigfork’s pressure was relentless and the Vikings reclaimed the ball on a fourth-down sack.
“Our defense has been stout and solid,” Bigfork coach Todd Emslie said. “They bent a little bit, but they don’t break.”
The Vikings took a 3-0 lead into the locker room as Jacob Herd hit a 33-yard field goal on the last play of the half.
“Defensively our kids were able to hold up physically in the first half,” Eureka coach Trevor Utter said, but added the Lions were worn down by the Vikings larger linemen in the second half.
Bigfork worked quickly on the first drive of the second half, and seemingly caught Eureka off-guard. The Vikings capped a four-play drive with a 29-yard touchdown run from senior standout Randy Stultz with 10:37 on the clock.
After snuffing out a fake punt, Bigfork reclaimed the ball in Eureka territory. Senior quarterback Anders Epperly threw a pass down the middle to senior Brady Thorness, who snagged the ball at the goal line to put the Vikings up 17-0.
As Eureka searched for a comeback, Bigfork’s defense kept the Lions offense in check. Late in the third quarter when Eureka finally entered Vikings territory, Stultz intercepted a pass at the line of scrimmage. Four plays later, it was Stultz again taking the ball to the left and tip-toeing along the sideline into the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown, Bigfork’s third of the quarter.
“He is a stud,” Emslie said. “He’s just a great athlete and a better kid to be around.”
Bigfork padded its lead in the fourth quarter with Stultz’s 70-yard touchdown run up the middle and junior Kainin Lafontaine’s 1-yard touchdown run on a pitch to the right.
Utter said his team struggled with Bigfork’s size and physical play.
“They were just more physical than we were out there,” Utter said. “We couldn’t control the line of scrimmage on either side of the ball. We had a hard time moving the ball and we had a hard time stopping their run.”
He added that his team is struggling with injuries, and the Lions were down two tailbacks.
“We need some speed,” he said.
“We couldn’t get outside, we couldn’t stretch the field because we didn’t have the speed of our top two tailbacks.”
Despite Bigfork’s decisive victory, no one is writing off the Lions just yet.
“I’ve got a feeling down the road that [Eureka] is going to come back around,” Emslie said.
Bigfork celebrates homecoming on Friday hosting Thompson Falls while Eureka visits Missoula Loyola.
Bigfork 0 3 21 13 – 37
Eureka 0 0 0 0 – 0
Second quarter
B – Jacob Herd 33 field goal, 0:01
Third quarter
B – Randy Stultz 29 run (kick good), 10:37
B – Brady Thorness 22 pass from Anders Epperly (kick good), 7:27
B – Stultz 18 run (kick good), 1:57
Fourth quarter
B – Stultz 70 run (kick good), 10:48
B – Kainin Lafontaine 1 run (kick no good), 6:15
Big Eur
First downs 18 8
Rushes-yards 42-265 28-60
Passing yards 134 94
Comp-Att-Int 9-19-1 13-32-3
Total offense 399 154
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Punts-avg 4-19.3 5-29.8
Penalties-yards 4-35 3-26
Individual Statistics
RUSHING – BIG: Randy Stultz 17-180, Luke Taylor 11-40, Anders Epperly 10-38, Kainin Lafontaine 4-7. EUR: Jake Kindel 14-33, Hank Dunn 11-31, Gunnar Smith 3—4.
PASSING – BIG: Anders Epperly 9-18-1-134, Randy Stultz 0-1-0-0. EUR: Hank Dunn 13-31-3-94, Jake Kindel 0-1-0-0
RECEIVING: BIG: Brady Thorness 5-96, Colton Reichenbach 2-38, Randy Stultz 2-0. EUR: Gunnar Smith 5-64, Cory Chaney 6-32, Jake Kindel 2—2.