Down 21-7 late in the second quarter to the No. 1 ranked Dillon Beavers, it was looking like yet another glum homecoming for the Columbia Falls football team.

But this year’s squad might get down, but never out. They proved it Friday night in front of a capacity crowd at Satterthwaite Field. With 2:23 left in the second, Braxton Reiten returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to put the Cats back in the game. It was his third kickoff return for a touchdown on the season and couldn’t have come at better time.

On the next possession, the Wildcats stalled a Dillon drive and the Cats got the ball back with 55 seconds left in the half and drove 73 yards. Dakota Bridwell hit Sean Miller on an eight-yard pass for a touchdown with 10 seconds left. Brandon Karberg hit the extra point and just like that, the game was tied.

The crowd went wild.

In the third quarter Bridwell found Reiten and the speedy receiver sprinted down to the 3-yard line, stopped by a shoestring tackle. Bridwell then rumbled in the end zone on the ensuing play to put the Cats up for good. Karberg nailed the extra point and the Cats had the lead, 28-21.

They then played some of the best defense Columbia Falls has executed in decades, harassing Dillon quarterback Troy Andersen at every turn. They also stifled the run, holding the Beavers to just 81 yards total offense in the second half.

Sean Miller had a great game. He scored the first touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Bridwell and stopped a Dillon drive in the first half with an interception.

The Cats also got great play from Logan Kolodejchuck and Trevor Hoerner. Kolodejchuck plowed through the Dillon defensive line late in the game, chewing up valuable time off the clock. On defense, he sacked Andersen with less than two minutes left for a 14-yard loss. On the next play, Hoerner picked off Andersen, ran it back for a bit and then slid so the Cats could run out the clock and secure the win.

Coach Jackson Schweikert was pleased with the way the team kept its confidence.

“We settled down and started playing fast ... when we play fast and we’re not thinking, we’re pretty good,” he said.

While the win was huge, Schweikert said there’s still a lot of season left to go, noting the Cats (5-0) start conference play this week against Whitefish.

“It’s still all preseason,” he said. “The real stuff starts with conference play.”

Bridwell ended the game 21 of 34 for 269 yards and two interceptions. His one mistake was an interception at the 11-yard line that resulted in a Beaver opening touchdown.

After that he settled in and played very well.

The Cats rushed for 34 yards, but they were punishing runs that were critical toward the end of the game. Reiten had 7 catches for 128 yards and Hoerner had six catches for 76 yards.

The Whitefish game is away at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs are 2-4 on the year.

Dillon 14 7 0 0 — 21

C. Falls 0 21 7 0 — 28

First Quarter

D—R.J. Fitzgerald 2 run (Todd Nordahl kick)

D—Gabe Hupp 4 pass from Troy Andersen (Nordahl kick)

Second Quarter

CF—Sean Miller 16 pass from Dakota Bridwell (Brandon Karberg kick)

D—Hupp 4 pass from Andersen (Nordahl kick)

CF—Braxton Reiten 87 kickoff return (Karberg kick)

CF—Miller 8 pass from Bridwell (Karberg kick)

Third Quarter

CF—Bridwell 3 run (Karberg kick)