Wildcats, Bulldogs lose home playoff games
COLUMBIA FALLS — Miles City quarterback Dalton Polesky threw for 160 yards and three touchdowns, and the Cowboys edged turnover-prone Columbia Falls 21-20 in a State A playoff football game Saturday.
Polesky was 15-for-31 passing, and had scoring strikes of 27 yards to Jackson Whicker, 7 yards to Shane Rickett and 20 yards to Aiden Cline. That was just enough against a Wildcat team that lost five fumbles after halftime.
Polesky also led his team in rushing with 48 yards on 11 carries. His third TD pass put the Cowboys (5-4) up 21-7, before Miles City got a 46-yard touchdown pass from Cody Schweikert to Mark Robison and an 11-yard touchdown run by Mason Peters in the fourth quarter.
Peters’ TD came at quarterback: Schweikert had to go to the sideline after his helmet came off the play before, with 3:30 left in the game. The Wildcats then went for two and the Cowboys snuffed out a screen pass to keep their 21-20 lead.
Schweikert was 18 of 22 passing for 231 yards, and also ran for 67 yards on 16 carries. The sophomore quarterback had two of the fumbles. The game ended on a fumble at the end of a 35-yard pass play as well.
Robison had seven catches for 118 yards. Isaiah Roth ran for 89 yards on eight carries for Columbia Falls (5-3), but was lost to a knee injury before halftime.
Miles City 6 8 7 0 — 21
Columbia Falls 7 0 0 13 — 20
MC — Jackson Whicker 27 pass from Dalton Polesky (kick failed)
CF — Cody Schweikert 1 run (Mark Robison PAT)
MC — Shane Rickett 7 pass from Polesky (Whicker run)
MC — Aiden Cline 20 pass from Polesky (Hudson Blackwell kick)
CF — Robison 46 pass from Schweikert (Kai Golan kick)
CF — Mason Peters 11 run (pass failed)
Billings Central 54, Libby 12
BILLINGS — Kade Boyd scored three touchdowns, including a 15-yard return of a blocked punt, and the Billings Central Rams (7-2) rolled to the first-round win over the Loggers.
Cy Stevenson scored both touchdowns for Libby (4-6), on a 1-yard run and a 71-yard reception from Ryan Collins. Collins, starting for the injured Ryder Davis, was 14 of 24 passing for 204 yards. He was intercepted three times. The Loggers also ran for 152 yards.
Clay Oven also scored three touchdowns for the Rams, including touchdown catches of 18 and 44 yards of Adam Balkenbush passes.
Libby 0 6 0 6 — 12
BC Rams 21 7 12 14 — 54
BIL — Boyd 8 run (Ragar kick)
BIL — Oven 18 pass from Balkenbush (Ragar kick)
BIL — Boyd 15 blocked punt return (Ragar kick)
LIB — Cy Stevenson 1 run (run failed)
BIL — Oven 44 pass from Balkenbush (Ragar kick)
BIL — Ulrichs 14 pass from Balkenbush (kick failed)
BIL — Boyd 1 run (kick failed)
BIL — Oven 60 run (Messer kick)
LIB — Stevenson 71 pass from Ryan Collins (run failed)
BIL — Hofer 48 run (Messer kick)
Frenchtown 24, Whitefish 13
WHITEFISH — Noah Rausch scored two fourth quarter touchdowns for Frenchtown, lifting the Broncs past the Bulldogs in another A first-round matchup.
The win avenged an early-season 20-14 loss to Whitefish, on this same field. Rausch had 23 carries for 126 yards to lead the Broncs (7-3).
Whitefish quarterback Fynn Ridgeway ran for 48 yards and one score, and was 19-for-36 passing for 182 yards and another TD.
The junior hiit Bodie Smith a 29-yard scoring pass, then put the Bulldogs (7-3) in the lead, 13-10, with a 2-yard run.
Frenchtown 0 7 3 14 — 24
Whitefish 0 0 7 6 —13
F — Garret Schmill 3 run (Matt Kleinsmith kick)
F — Kleinsmith 23 FG
W — Bodie Smith 29 pass from Fynn Ridgeway (Ryder Barinowski kick)
W — Ridgeway 2 run (kick failed)
F — Noah Rausch 4 run (Kleinsmith kick)
F — Rausch 19 run (Kleinsmith kick)