ST. IGNATIUS - The Mission Bulldogs started their season with a nine play, 68-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown by senior running back Lane Wheeler.

They rumbled down the field, running the ball in smashmouth fashion and never looked back the entire year.

Mission would end up winning their first game, 34-21 over Boulder and getting a win in their first try after not winning a contest all of last season. The emotional outpouring from the sideline was hard to ignore as the Bulldogs even surprised themselves.

"It was more shock," senior center Zane Foster said. "I'd only won one game in my high school career before that."

Mission would go on to win many more games during the season, finishing with a 5-3 record, their first winning season since 2001.

"People don't like to play us," head football coach Peter Hamilton said after the Bulldogs' final game.

And why would they? Their stable of running backs and hard-nosed offensive line powered ahead for ridiculous rushing totals and clock-eating drives.

Senior end Dakota Matt said that while the line downgraded in size from an average of about 200 pounds per lineman to 170 pounds, they worked much better as a unit. Hamilton also had simplified the playbook and his young, but talented team executed effectively.

"I thought it was good that a lot of younger players stepped up when we needed them," Matt said.

With just three seniors on the team, the Bulldogs may have been just pups, but they certainly had bite. And commitment.

"During the summer, there was a lot more players putting in time," Matt said.

It showed on the field when Mission won their homecoming game 40-13 over Thompson Falls, a team they hadn't beaten in nine years.

"Whoever's got Mission to play yet, I would most definitely game up because they're a solid team that'll come out and just punch you in the mouth," Bluehawks head coach Doug Padden said after the game.

The Bulldogs had a 200-yard and a 286-yard performance from junior Austin Durglo during the season.

"It meant the line was doing our job," Foster said.

Wheeler also had top performances with 161-yard and 172-yard games.

"It felt amazing," he said of running behind the Bulldogs' line.

Wheeler said that the team did a good job keeping their heads up during the season when adversity reared its head.

"I think we just worked well as a team," he said. "We were focused. The next play is more important than the previous play."

Wheeler also said that players did a good job of keeping their egos in check.

"There wasn't one player who thought they were better than the team," he said.

Senior running back Chris McKay, who had transferred from Choteau, was unsure if he could play because of transfer rules. However, he did get a hardship exception and was a vital part to the team, running before he was knocked out at the end of the season due to injury.

"It was great, there were a lot of young kinds on the line and that was pretty impressive," he said.

McKay said that Mission's 28-14 victory over Deer Lodge this season was the most memorable because they had to mount a 14-point comeback.

"Seeing our team come back after being whooped up on was pretty awesome," he said.

While the seniors played an important part on the team this season, Hamilton has a lot of young players coming back next year. Before the season, he knew his team was young and knew that the Bulldogs would be building. They seem to already have a strong foundation from this season and should have plenty to growl about going into next year.