Thanks to the creative work of Columbia Falls activities director Troy Bowman and with the cooperation and flexibility of ADs from Stevensville and Frenchtown, O’Brien Byrd will be able to coach both the boys and girls Columbia Falls soccer teams in opening-round action of the Class A soccer playoffs today.

Byrd, the head coach for both programs, and his Wildcats will begin the day with a noon start at Frenchtown for the boys.

After that, it’s a 7 p.m. date for the Wildkats versus Stevensville at Flip Darling Field in Columbia Falls for the girls.

“Twenty-two games so far,” Byrd said of matches, boys and girls, he’s been on the pitch for.

“We’ll do the Frenchtown game (early) and that will allow me to have enough time to coach the girls under the lights.”

Whitefish and Polson are also in action today for quarterfinal play.

Whitefish makes the long trip across Montana, again, to Laurel for boys and girls matches at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively

Polson’s girls play at Hamilton while the Polson boys host Missoula Loyola/Valley Christian. Those two outings begin at noon.

This will mark Whitefish’s third trip over the mountains this season. The Bulldogs played at Livingston and Belgrade in early September and were in Laurel and Billings versus Central a week later.

The matches with Laurel and Billings Central were originally set for Whitefish, but were moved because of air quality issues from wildfires.

The Whitefish boys, on two goals by Noah Romagnuolo and one from Xander Burger edged Laurel 3-2. Laurel had 12 shots on goal to Whitefish’s eight while Colter Upton had 10 keeper saves for the Bulldogs.

The Laurel girls, on the other hand, beat Whitefish 4-2.

“It was actually the worst game we have played all year,” Whitefish coach Roland Benedict said.

“We just played poorly ... no grit, tenacity and fight. Because of that, we conceded some cheap goals, easy goals and lost.”

Whitefish finished the regular season records of 7-5-0 overall, 7-1 in league. The Bulldogs are the No. 2 seed from Northern A.

Laurel is the No. 2 seed from the Eastern.

Laurel reached today’s play thanks to a 2-1 home play-in victory on Tuesday over Belgrade.

“I know the girls are pumped up to play them again because of that (earlier loss),” Benedict said.

“We are playing well (right now). On our best day, we are a top team in the state.”

The Whitefish boys were also second in Northern A. Laurel, the No. 3 seed from the Eastern, won a play-in match over Billings Central on Tuesday, 4-0, to advance.

Leading the Bulldog’s high-powered offense are Romagnuolo, a senior midfielder, who has 12 goals and nine assists to date, and Casey Schneider, a sophomore forward, with 12 goals and 5 assists.

Burger, eight goals and eight assists, and Sam Menicke, four goals and three assists, are next in line.

“That was a great come-from-behind win for us,” Whitefish coach John Lacey said of the earlier decision over Laurel.

“I feel grateful that we were able to get that match in.

“We are not the biggest or fastest, but we move the ball around as well as anybody,” he continued.

“We feel confident, ready. We prepared for playoffs this year more than in the past. This year we were targeting October. We’re hopeful.”

This marks the first year Byrd has coached both programs.

The Columbia Falls girls are the top seed from Northern A thanks to a 9-1-1 overall, 7-1 in league.

Columbia Falls played at Stevensville, the third seed from the Southern, in mid-September and the teams battled to a 1-1 tie. Josie Windauer scored for the Wildkats in the 65th minute to tie it.

Columbia Falls outshot the Yellowjackets on goal 30-7.

“We had a real challenge finding the back of the net,” Byrd said of that outing.

“It was our lowest scoring game (of the season).”

Since then, the Wildkats have tallied at least five goals in every match.

Hannah Gedlaman, a senior forward, has enjoyed a standout season for the Wildkats with 25 goals and six assists. She shares the scoring lead in Class A with Zoie Althoff of Billings Central, who also has 25 goals.

Windauer is next in scoring for Columbia Falls with 17 goals and 10 assists. She is followed by Hannah Callender, nine goals and nine assists, and Lakia Hill, eight goals and eight assists.

“Having home field for girls will help,” Byrd said.

“That will give them the confidence they need.

“We are a very good team,” he continued.

“We’re dangerous and score a lot of goals.”

Columbia Falls hosted Frenchtown in boys play back on Sept. 2 and came up short, losing 3-1.

Jakob Iken had the lone goal for the Wildcats at 59 minutes.

Auguste Emond, a junior midfielder, has been the top offensive threat for Columbia Falls with 12 goals and four assists.

Jakob Grein and Tristan Grein both have five goals. Jakob Grein has five assists.

“Frenchtown is the favorite,” Byrd said of the Broncs, who are the No. 1 seed from the Northern.

“Our guys are playing their best soccer of season right now. Everyone is healthy.”

The winner of this match would host semifinal play the following weekend.

Byrd said that should give both teams “all the motivation in the world.”

“Frenchtown, they love to keep possession, try to keep the majority of possession and that’s fine with us.” Byrd said.

“Our strength is our counter attack. It’s OK with them having the ball more than we do, but we’re so dangerous when we intercept. We’re deadly, dynamic on the counter attack. We just have to be patient and rely on those opportunities. We should be able to get it done on Saturday.

“These boys are very mentally strong,” he added.

“The fact we are away will not be a factor. We get the same effort and display of mental toughness no matter where we play.”

Frenchtown is the top seed from the Southern conference.

Class A Playoffs

Boys

Tuesday

Play-In Match

At Billings Central

Laurel 4, Billings Central 0

Saturday

10 a.m.

Whitefish at Laurel

11 a.m.

Hamilton at Belgrade

Noon

Missoula Loyola/Valley Christian at Polson

Columbia Falls at Frenchtown

Girls

Tuesday

Play-in Match

At Laurel

Laurel 2, Belgrade 1

Saturday

Noon

Missoula Loyola/Valley Christian at Billings Central

Polson at Hamilton

1 p.m.

Whitefish at Laurel

7 p.m.

Stevensville at Columbia Falls