WHITEFISH - In a showdown between Northwestern A's two undefeated squads, the Libby High School football team found its running game early and survived a spirited second-half comeback to beat Whitefish 27-17 on Friday.

Libby (6-0, 4-0) had thrown the ball well and often in its first five games, but Jeremy Chumley ran the ball 23 times for 235 yards and two touchdowns.

Chumley totaled 169 yards on 11 first-half attempts as Libby built a 20-3 halftime cushion.

Libby quarterback Joel Fuller threw just seven passes, completing three of them for 92 yards and a touchdown. Fuller's second pass of the game was a 70-yard scoring strike to mammoth wide receiver Kyle Baker. The 6-foot-4, 215 pound Baker caught the ball near the right sideline and outran Whitefish's defense. Zack Rowan's extra point gave Libby a 7-0 lead with 9:29 to play in the first quarter.

Whitefish (5-1, 3-1) drew within 7-3 when Brad Nielsen booted a 27-yard field goal with 8:51 remaining in the first half, but then Libby went to work on the ground.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, Chumley broke through the line of scrimmage, cut to his left, hurdling and breaking several attempted tackles on his way to a 50-yard gain. He scored from 24 yards out on the next play and Libby lead 13-3.

Jake Graham plunged into the end zone from 2 yards out with 45 seconds left in the second quarter to conclude Libby's first-half scoring.

Libby coach Neil Fuller said he knew Whitefish had a very good team and the Loggers would have to start running the ball better if they were to win.

"My hat's off to Whitefish," Fuller said. "They've got a great group of kids, they're a class act."

Whitefish coach Patrick Dryden said he knew from watching film that Libby had the ability to run the ball, but not as well as they did.

"I was surprised they were able to push us around like they did," Dryden said. "Chumley ran hard."

The third quarter was a defensive struggle, but Whitefish's offense got rolling early in the fourth quarter when Luke Fennelly ran 2 yards to score standing up. Fennelly finished with 72 yards on 14 carries, but Libby played relentless run defense, holding the Bulldogs to 56 net rushing yards.

Leading 20-10, the Loggers quickly snuffed Whitefish's momentum and responding by driving 69 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown. Chumley capped the drive with a 7-yard scoring run.

And then the comeback was on. Whitefish's Zach Fennelly scored on a beautiful quarterback keeper when he raced to the perimeter of Libby's defensive line and sprinted into the left corner of the end zone from 14 yards out with 3:27 left in the game.

Whitefish got the ball right back when Kevin McDowell's onside kick was recovered by Nielsen at Libby's 48-yard line. The Bulldogs drove all the way to Libby's 16-yard line, but the Loggers' stopped Whitefish on fourth-and-10 and ran out the game's final minutes.

Dryden was proud of Whitefish's positive attitude and that the Bulldogs never stopped fighting and gave Libby a late scare.

"That is extremely important to me," Dryden said. "That's something I've been saying from the moment I took this job. I guarantee nothing except that these kids will play hard until the final gun."

Zach Fennelly was sharp all night, completing 13 of 27 passes for 116 yards, despite a few costly drops from his receivers.

"It was a gutsy performance on Zach's part," Dryden said. "He got hit a lot and he just stayed in the pocket, delivered the ball and took some hits."

Whitefish sacked Fuller five times in the first half. Brian Flickinger bagged Fuller once and Scott Yogodzinksi was in on every other sack, including one in the first quarter he shared with Lucas Gregory.

Whitefish is host to Columbia Falls on Friday while Libby will entertain Post Falls, Idaho, for its homecoming.

Libby 7 13 0 7 - 27

Whitefish 0 3 0 14 - 17

First Quarter

Libby - Kyle Baker 70 pass from Joel Fuller (Zack Rowan kick), 9:29

Second Quarter

Whitefish - Brad Nielsen 27 field goal, 8:51

Libby - Jeremy Chumley 24 run (kick failed), 8:00

Libby - Jake Graham 2 run (Rowan kick), :45

Fourth Quarter

Whitefish - Luke Fennelly 2 run (Nielsen kick), 11:50

Libby - Chumley 7 run (Rowan kick), 7:04

Whitefish - Zach Fennelly 14 run (Nielsen kick), 3:24

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L WF

First downs 13 11

Rushes-yards 45-287 29-56

Passing yards 92 116

Passing 3-7-0-92 13-28-0-116

Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0

Penalties 9 5

Individual Statistics

Rushing - Libby, Chumley 23-235, Fuller 10-(-5), Graham 11-59, Steve Bertelsen 1-(-2); Whitefish, L. Fennelly 14-72, Z. Fennelly 13-(-17), Colt Idol 1-1, Matt Star 1-0

Passing - Libby, Fuller 3-7-0-92; Whitefish, Z. Fennelly 13-27-0-116, Byron Whitcomb 0-1-0-0

Receiving - Libby, Baker 1-70, Bertelsen 1-7, Richard Brumbaugh 1-15; Whitefish, Kenny Overcast 1-7, Colt Idol 3-22, Whitcomb 2-20, Scott Yogodzinski 3-24, Danny Neff 4-43