Whitefish scored the first points of the game against Dillon on Friday night, but then allowed the Beavers to score 26 unanswered points to build a significant lead late into the game.

The lead was too much to overcome and Whitefish fell to Dillon 26-9 in both teams’ opening games of the season.

The Bulldogs have several guys in new positions this year and a lot of young players getting their first taste of varsity playing time. There was some rust, and some mistakes throughout the game, but also sparks of talent within the Whitefish team.

“Dillon did a nice job, they played well and we did too at times,” Whitefish head coach Brett Bollweg said. “We did a lot of things that going forward will put us in a position to win a lot of games I think.”

After a scoreless first quarter from both teams, Whitefish’s Mason Kelch, put up a field goal in the second quarter to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. The advantage didn’t last as Dillon took control of the game quickly on some big plays. Dillon’s Eli Nourse got free on a 56-yard pass reception from quarterback Kee Christianson that resulted in a touchdown.

Just a short while later Dillon receiver Treyton Graham caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Christianson. Right before halftime Dillon was in the red zone yet again, but the Bulldogs pulled out a big stop in the final minutes to keep Dillon’s halftime lead a manageable 12-3.

Whitefish’s offense fizzled in the third quarter, and any opportunity they had was held up by a preventable mistake.

“That was our Achilles heel in this game is that we gave up big plays — on offense we shot ourselves and went backward and on defense we gave up big plays for touchdowns,” Bollweg recalled.

Dillon continued to score in the third quarter — Nourse caught another huge 64-yard touchdown pass and Kale Konen also found the end zone.

Whitefish’s offensive struggles turned around late in the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs put together a nice drive that resulted in a 17-yard rushing touchdown by senior Ty Schwaiger.

Whitefish had four interceptions in the game.

Bulldog senior quarterback Fynn Ridgeway was 16-for-41 passing for 141 yards, with two picks, and ran for 50 yards on 10 carries.

Mason Kelch, who took over kicking duties for an injured Ryder Barinowski, came up big in the game with a field goal, an interception and a team-high 82 yards receiving. He was called up to take over kicks and punts just last week and Bollweg said he did a fine job of assuming that role while Barinowski recovers.

“Mason’s a really good athlete, he does a lot of things really well,” Bollweg said. “So when Ryder got hurt last week, we said alright Mase you’re up. It’s always nice to have depth… it’s pretty special to have a kid like that that can step into a lot of roles and can do them well.”

Whitefish hopes to have Barinowski back in a couple of weeks after suffering a foot injury in practice.

The Bulldogs face Frenchtown next and Bollweg is expecting his team to show improvement even against a tough team.

“If we eliminate the big plays and the mistakes to ourselves, I think we have a really good chance against a good Frenchtown team to be successful,” Bollweg said.

Whitefish plays the Broncs in Frenchtown on Friday at 7 p.m.

Dillon 0 12 12 2 - 26

Whitefish 0 3 0 6 - 9

W — Mason Kelch 35 FG

D — Eli Nourse 56 pass from Kee Christianson (kick failed)

D — Treyton Graham 22 pass from Christianson (run failed)

D — Nourse 64 pass from Christianson (PAT failed)

D — Kale Konen 19 pass from Christianson (PAT failed)

D — Safety, punt snap out of end zone

W — Ty Schwaiger 17 run (kick failed)