Whitefish boys soccer heads to Billings with a title in mind

A rematch with everything to play for.

Whitefish makes the long journey east to take on the Billings Central Rams in the State A championship match for the second straight season Saturday. 

“We are excited for the opportunity to play again, these boys keep finding a way,” Whitefish coach Eric Sawtelle said. “A special opportunity and we are thrilled to be in it.” 

Last season, the Bulldogs came out on top in a 1-0 affair at Amend Park. The teams met again at the beginning of the season with Billings Central taking the 2-1 win. 

This time around it’s a different looking lineup for Whitefish, who field 10 different starters than a season ago — the lone holdover is Preston McPherson. 

The Rams see their two leading scorers from 2023 back on the pitch for Saturday’s matchup — Cole Bland and Luke Pankratz. 

“We are expecting a proper battle,” Sawtelle said. “Billings is a well-coached, well-drilled team.” 

Kyler Jonson leads the Bulldogs in scoring this season with 16 goals and 11 assists. McPherson added 11 goals this season and Logan Bingham has nine. 

Sawtelle says that his team is working on their positioning and staying fit at training this week, and that he isn’t sure of how exactly Saturday’s game will unfold. 

“It's hard to say how it's going to play out,” Sawtelle said. “It will be a battle at all areas of the pitch, we need to finish the opportunities we create.” 

A win on Saturday would give the Bulldogs their sixth championship in the past seven seasons and their 11th overall — the most of any school in Montana — all coming since 2002.