QB-rich Western A is ready to rock

The Western A was filled with excellent quarterbacks in 2021, and not much has changed as teams gear up for their season openers Friday.

Whitefish has a four-year starter in Fynn Ridgeway; Polson has the same in Jarrett Wilson. Columbia Falls’ Cody Schweikert is a junior starting for the second straight season.

The state champion Hamilton Broncs do have to find a new starting QB — Tyson Bauder moves over from receiver — but they also have eight starters back on both sides of the line.

So the Broncs, who beat Laurel 21-7 last November for their first state crown since 1998, retain the role of favorite. But they should watch out for their QB-rich rivals.

Columbia Falls coach Jaxon Schweikert feels his up-tempo offense could find another gear this season, with his 6-foot-4, 225-pound son at the controls.

Targets include Jace Hill and Jace Duval at outside receiver, and Justin Windauer, Mark Robison and Alihn Anderson on the inside. The younger Schweikert also has a seasoned line back: Hunter Goodman and Jason Torpin at the tackles, Tristan Crane at guard and Trey Rice at center.

“We’re just pretty solid everywhere,” said Jaxon Schweikert, whose club went 5-3 in 2021, including a first-round playoff loss. “They’ve all just played a lot of football, and we’re long and athletic. The only thing we don’t have is a true No. 1 running back, but we have guys that run hard.”

Blace Wunderlich, Reggie Sapa, Brandon Role and Tyler Gilfrey make up the Wildcats’ tailback-by-committee. On defense, Gilfrey and Anderson man the corners; Role stands out at defensive end and the young Schweikert plays middle linebacker.

The lack of depth on the offensive line is worrisome, but the experience gained last year is a plus.

“We were really young last year, and we’re still kind of young,” Jaxon Schweikert said. “We’re playing a lot of juniors this year, but they’re looking good. They look athletic and look like they play pretty fast — I think because they have the experience in the system. If you’re thinking, you’re stinking, right? They can just get it done.”

Whitefish is entering its first year under head coach Brett Bollweg, a long-time assistant who replaced the retired Chad Ross. Bollweg has had to mix and match some with the graduation of several front-liners from a 7-3 team; helping is the 1-2 punch of Ridgeway and running back Ty Schwaiger.

“The best compliment I can give Fynn is that he has really stepped into a leadership role,” Bollweg said of his QB. “He’s taken huge strides as a player and a leader.

“He’s put on really good weight over the course of the year; he’s a bruiser. He’s going to have a lot of opportunities with the ball in his hand, and we trust him to make the right reads and choices.”

Juniors Jesse Burrow, Dane Hunt and seniors Ryder Barinowski and Clayton Godsey are the main receivers for Ridgeway; Bollweg extolled Godsey’s effort and improvement. Up front Kai Nash and Montana Cohenour are established.

“We’ve got a lot of young juniors that have taken some good steps forward, and kind of owned the positions they were put in,” Bollweg added. “We have some selfless kids, like Henry Bennetts.”

Bennetts, a 175-pound linebacker, is also on the offensive line.

“You look at your team, as you do every year, and think, ‘Gosh, I need to move guys around,’” Bollweg said. “He’s one of those guys that said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it,’ and stepped up to the plate and he’s done a nice job.”

He thinks big things are coming from Decker Wold, who will carry the ball in addition to his defensive end duties.

Polson marched the farthest of the northwest schools, going 10-1 with a 28-14 loss at Laurel in the semifinals. The good news is Jarrett Wilson is back; the bad news is only two of his 48 touchdown passes from 2021 return. Junior running back Keyen Nash caught both.

“We graduated five seniors,” Polson coach Kaden Glinsmann said. “On paper that’s a ton of production lost. But when you have the best quarterback in the state coming back, you let ‘er ride.”

A lot of players that contributed mainly on defense in 2021 — standout linebacker Trent Wilson (Jarrett’s brother), Owen McElwee, Tyler Wenderoth, Brock Henriksen — are now targets. The offensive line, Glinsmann said, was very green last year and now is an asset: Austin Oberwegner, a 6-4 junior, is the leader there.

The linebacker corps is led by Dawson DuMont — he’ll miss Friday’s game at Butte Central, inside Naranche Stadium — and Nash. Glinsmann will surely miss the big frame of Braunsen Henriksen, who headed to the Griz, but having that QB certainly helps.

“They have a fighting chance against anybody and everybody because of him,” said Schweikert.

Butte Central is set to rise after a couple down years, and East Helena is looking to improve in its second season of varsity football.

Libby claimed a playoff spot in 2021, overcoming injuries and illness to get to 4-6. They boast tailback Cy Stevenson and linebacker Jace Deshazer.

“(Deshazer) pops out on film,” Polson’s Glinsmann said. “He freaking brings the hat. It warms my heart a little bit, except when it's against us.”

Libby coach Neil Fuller has hinted that this, his 20th season with the Loggers, could be his last.

Frenchtown, meanwhile, brought a guy out of retirement. After the Broncs avenged a regular-season loss to Whitefish with a playoff victory in 2021, their entire coaching staff was dismissed.

Taking over is 63-year-old Frenchtown alum Dan Lucier. Before spending five seasons in Pullman, Wash., and three more in Kellogg, Idaho, Lucier racked up a 164-71 record in Superior while the Bobcats toggled between Class B and 8-man football. He guided Superior to the 2008 8-man crown.

The Broncs could be harkening back to the triple-option preferred in Lucier’s playing days. If so they have two-thirds of a Wishbone in Peyton Hicks and Noah Rausch.

Things could escalate quickly: Dillon, a perennial power, is at Whitefish Friday; the Bulldogs visit Frenchtown on Sept. 2.

“Hopefully we’re in that conversation,” Bollweg said of the Western A race. “At the same time, it’s anyone’s game.”

Prediction

Hamilton

Columbia Falls

Dillon

Polson

Frenchtown

Whitefish

Libby

Butte Central

Ronan

Stevensville

Corvallis

East Helena

Players to watch

Ryder Barinowski, WR/DB, Whitefish; Tyson Bauder, QB/CB, Hamilton; Kellan Beller, RB/LB, Stevensville; Cristian Bird Rattler, OL, Browning; Andrew Burrows, OL/DE, Hamilton; Kaeben Bushnell, WR, East Helena; Kee Christiansen, QB, Dillon; Montana Cohenour, DL, Whitefish; Jace DeShazer, LB, Libby; Dawson Dumont, LB, Polson; Tristan Fisher, LB, Ronan; Andrew Frederick, RB/LB, Hamilton; Moases George, LB, East Helena; Tyler Gilfrey, CB, Columbia Falls; Hunter Goodman, OL, Columbia Falls; Hunter Gum, TE/DE, Stevensville; Peyton Hicks, RB/LB, Frenchtown; Kyle Holter, WR/CB, Butte Central; Caden Kibler, DL, Butte Central; Kale Konen, RB, Dillon; Lucas Lant, LB, Hamilton; Connor Michaud, WR, Frenchtown; Kai Nash, OL, Whitefish; Logan O’Connell, WR/LB, Hamilton; Konnor Porchervia, RB/LB, Butte Central; Noah Rausch, FB/DE, Frenchtown; Maurice Redhorn III, CB, Browning; Fynn Ridgeway, QB, Whitefish; Tommy Running Rabbit, RB, Browning; Derrick Saltzman, DE, Hamilton; Ty Schwaiger, RB/LB, Whitefish; Cody Schweikert, QB/LB, Columbia Falls; Taylor Searle, SS, Hamilton; Adam Shirley, DE/OL, East Helena; Cy Stevenson, RB/DE, Libby; Isaac Stoker, DE, Corvallis; Eli Taylor, WR/CB, Hamilton; Gus Turner, WR, Stevensville; Carter White, Ret, Frenchtown; Jarrett Wilson, QB/S, Polson; Trent Wilson, LB, Polson; Justin Windauer, FS/WR, Columbia Falls.