Wildcats get windy win over Blue Devils
CORVALLIS — Columbia Falls’ 19-7 win over Corvallis Saturday was as tough as advertised, — and with the usual suspects stymied by a sturdy wind and stingy Blue Devil defense, the play of the game came from a Wildcat who wasn’t supposed to be in there.
Freshman Banyan Johnston fired a halfback option pass to Jace Hill for a 23-yard touchdown just before halftime, and that along with two short Cody Schweikert TD runs was enough to vanquish the Blue Devils..
The Wildcats, 9-2, advanced to its third State A championship game. They’ll play at unbeaten Dillon next weekend.
They got there via some solid defense of their own, including interceptions from Mark Robison and Hill, and a fourth-down stop by Adler Waters to halt Corvallis’ first drive.
And there was Johnston’s throw.
“He wasn’t even supposed to be in on that play but we had some personnel problems,” Schweikert said. “We just told him, ‘If he’s open, throw it to him and if he’s not, just run it.’ “
It capped a demoralizing turnaround for the host Blue Devils (9-2), who had the ball at Columbia Falls’ 31-yard line with 2:02 left in the half following a short punt into a stiff, northerly wind.
But on first down Aydan Mayn’s pass was tipped by Austin Dodson and intercepted by Robison. The Cats then went 73 yards in seven plays, getting a 6-yard pass to Chance Miller on fourth-and-1 and an 18-yard strike from Schweikert to Lane Hoerner on a great check-down by the QB.
That left the ball at the 23. Alihn Anderson, the usual running back, was nicked up, so on came Johnston, who is the Cats’ backup QB. He took a handoff on what appeared to be an end around. Hill, who caught seven passes for 73 yards, was all alone.
Columbia Falls led 19-0.
“When the play came in, I was like, ‘Gotta set up a block here.’ The corner bit in and I was wide open,” Hill said. “Perfect play call, perfect execution.”
“We just needed a big play at a big time, and holy crap, that kid was up for it,” Schweikert said. “His eyes were all big before the snap. … It was awesome to see it happen and have our fans go crazy.”
The score loomed bigger when Corvallis, finding running room between the tackles, drove 52 yards after a Wildcat fumble in the third quarter. Logan Avery’s 5-yard run cut the deficit to 19-7 at the 6:23 mark.
The Blue Devils would get four more chances to get closer, but punted twice, lost the ball on downs at the Wildcat 25 and threw a pick to Hill with 1:54 left in the game.
Not that the Wildcats were having a lot of offensive success after halftime.
“Probably one of the strongest if not the strongest team we’ve played this year,” Hill said.
“It was windy, it was hard to throw the ball, and we knew they had an extremely tough run defense,” said Schweikert, who ran 31 times for 56 yards — but netted just 1 yard in the second half. “Yeah, they brought the house. They wanted it. They didn’t hold anything back.”
The Wildcats also lost left tackle Hunter Goodman to a leg injury in the first half, and Anderson and Schweikert needed rest at times.
“Blaise Cronk went in (at linebacker) and was just awesome,” said Wildcat coach Jaxon Schweikert. “He made a lot of tackles.
“(Sophomore) Halen Powell went in at left tackle. We always tell them. ‘You’re one twisted ankle from being the guy who wins or loses a state championship for us.’ Both those kids stepped up and were absolutely awesome.”
Game time in Dillon likely depends on if Montana Western, which won the Frontier Conference championship Saturday, has a home game the same weekend. That news comes Sunday.
Whenever it is, it will be the Wildcats’ third title appearance in eight seasons, all under Jaxon Schweikert, Cody’s dad. The program’s lone championship came in 2017.
“My brother played here, and he was a linebacker too,” said Cody Schweikert, who became emotional. “I’ve been with the team since I was in first grade. I’ve always known, with all my teammates, that we would be here one day. We watched all these guys come up, all these legends. (Assistant and former QB) Austin Green, right there, I watched him win a state championship. It’s always been a dream to get here with my dad, my mom, our fans.”
Col. Falls 6 13 0 0 - 19
Corvallis 0 0 7 0 - 7
CF — Cody Schweikert 2 run (kick blocked), 2:52-1Q
CF — Schweikert 2 run (Kai Golan kick), 9:16-2Q
CF — Jace Hill 23 pass from Banyan Johnston (kick failed), :09-2Q
COR — Logan Avery 5 run (James Nordenstrom kick), 6:21-3Q
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Columbia Falls (41-97) — Schweikert 31-56, Alihn Anderson 5-21, Banyan Johnston 3-10, Blaise Cronk 1-9, Mark Robison 1-1. Corvallis (29-137) — Logan Avery 14-73, Levin Reynoso 11-55, Aydan Mayn 3-8, Bennett Boleman 1-1.
PASSING: Columbia Falls — Schweikert 12-15-0 for 123 yards; Johnston 1-1-0 for 23 yards. Corvallis — Mayn 14-17-2 for 140 yards.
RECEIVING: Columbia Falls — Hill 7-73, Lane Hoerner 2-44, Chance Miller 3-20, Robison 1-9. Corvallis — Dillen Potter 4-57, Gideon Bosell 5-38, Cameron Whitefey 2-27, Hunter Loesch 2-13, Avery 1-5.