Lions, Vikings battle for B title game berth
Bigfork and Eureka have developed quite the rivalry over the years, in what used to be District 7-B and is now the Western B, and now comes a football game that means a little bit more.
The Vikings (8-2) and Lions (9-2) kick off at 1 p.m., and the winner will head to the State B championship game against either unbeaten Florence or Boulder next week.
Both teams have lost to Florence, a conference foe; Eureka edged Bigfork 14-13 on Oct. 15. The Lions gave up a short touchdown run to Bigfork’s Patrick Wallen with 6:35 left in that battle, then were offside on the PAT kick. The Vikings then went for a two-point PAT and had a pass intercepted, preserving Eureka’s lead.
It was a fairly bitter defeat from the sounds of it, though Bigfork coach Jim Benn cared little to go over the particulars of that day.
“The past is the past, is probably the best way to put it,” Benn said. “They’re a different team, as are we. They’ve improved, as they do. They’re a team you’d much rather play in Week 1 than right now. They’re well-coached, and so good. They’re going to be dialed in.”
Neither team really got on track offensively in October: Bigfork won the yardage battle 251-239. Wallen threw for 111 yards and one TD and ran for 31 yards. Eureka quarterback Caleb Utter ran for 112 yards and one score, and threw for 43 yards.
Eureka, with Remington Little lining up behind Caleb Utter, is decidedly run-first, though Danny Dunn and Joey Kindel are excellent targets. Bigfork’s Levi Taylor and George Bucklin have piled up big yards, while the passing game has become dangerous with Wallen and receivers Isak Epperly and Nick Walker.
Benn expects Eureka to try to shorten the game.
“One of the best ways to keep us from scoring is to keep the ball away from us,” he said. “We tend to be a pretty quick scoring team. They did a good job of taking away some things we’d hung our hat on, all season.”
“Both teams run the ball, that’s no secret,” countered Eureka coach Trevor Utter. They’ve got big boys up front, they’ve got good running backs and a good running quarter.
“Their quarterback throws a nice ball.”
Eureka’s QB is a big key.
“He’s tough,” Benn said of Caleb Utter. “You typically don’t play your quarterback at linebacker. He’s a very good linebacker, and he plays quarterback with the same type of mentality.”
Eureka is hunting a fourth State B crown in six seasons, while Bigfork is seeking its second crown and first appearance since taking the 2010 championship.
“I think the biggest thing for us is to be who we are. Try not to overthink it,” Benn said. “They’ll be excited about the game as it is, let’s not make it out to be bigger than it has to be.”
“You’re playing the semifinals against your rival,” Trevor Utter said. “Of course it’s going to be intense. I think they would consider us one of their main rivals, we consider them one of ours.
“It was tough for them to move the ball, and tough for us to move the ball (in October). Both offenses have been putting up better numbers and points since that game, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.”