Bigfork coach Benn facing former team, player

It's just the second week of the season, and there is already a big-time game in the Northwestern A Conference.

Ronan, after, downing Butte Central 29-15, has already matched its win total from last year. In its first game since moving from Class B to Class A, Bigfork toppled conference power Polson 55-20.

Now the two have a matchup that is more than just a contest between two 1-0 teams.

Ronan coach Matt Detwiler played for Bigfork coach Jim Benn when Benn guided the Chiefs over from 2008-15.

"This game brings things full circle for me," Detwiler said. "Coach Benn taught me so much about the game and made me love the game of football. I wasn't going to be allowed to play football growing up, but I ended up going to college to play. Coach Benn was a big part of that."

Detwiler went to play for Montana Western, and then come back to Ronan to coach the team he once suited up for.

"I have a ton of respect for Matt and his staff," Benn said. "I enjoyed coaching with them and still remember that he had three touchdown catches in my first game as a head coach."

It will certainly be a battle of the minds. The two have been exchanging texts and probably a good ribbing here or there, but come 7 p.m. on Friday in Bigfork, Benn will be calling the offense for the Vikings, and Detwiler will try to stop him while calling the defense.

"Bigfork is physical up front," Detwiler explained. "They fire off the ball, and they drive until the whistle. Their kids play hard, and we're going to have a fight on our hands."

The Vikings' success on the football field in Class B is well documented. They've been a consistent playoff team, making runs to the semis and finals, winning a state title in 2010 and playing for another in 2021.

A transition in classification is familiar to Benn, who was the coach at Ronan when they dropped from Class A to B in 2011-12 (Ronan moved back to Class A in 2017-18).

"As far as the jump to A," Benn said. "We need to keep building our depth. Our biggest focus has just been daily improvement and becoming great at what we do. The Western B had great teams, and I feel that will help some with the transition."

Both teams last week showed they could change the makeup of a game in a hurry. Bigfork pulled away later in the game against Polson, and Ronan piled on 29 straight points on Butte Central.

"This is going to be a battle," Detwiler said. "Both teams are going to get their shots in. It's going to come down to who wants it more and who's willing to stay in those trenches and battle just a little bit longer."

Detwiler added that the team has a 24-hour rule where the players have a day to feel good or bad about themselves, and then it is on to the next week.

Going into the game, some eyes will be on Ronan sophomore QB Kolby Finley, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for another against Butte Central.

"His first varsity snap at QB, he had a 40-yard run, breaking tackles, making guys miss, and just being flat-out faster than their guys," Detwiler said.

It's a point not lost on Benn.

"Ronan has a dude at QB and flies around on defense," Benn said. "They are well-coached and fundamentally sound."

Bigfork, meanwhile, got four receiving touchdowns from Eli Thorness and 166 rushing yards from Wyatt Johnson against Polson.

"We emphasize the run game but have really worked on building a dynamic passing game to force teams to cover the entire field," Benn said.

While the bulk of the 2023 lies after this Week 2 game, it's going to be a big boost for whichever team can put that 2-0 mark on their record in a league that includes Columbia Falls, Hamilton and Dillon — and has already seen Polson, Browning, and Whitefish dealt defeats.

— Brandon Hansen