When Whitefish pinned a 20-14 overtime loss on Columbia Falls on Sept. 15, it marked the first game that first-year Bulldogs’ coach Brett Bollweg went all-in with Carson Gulick at quarterback.

The junior has presided over four wins in six starts, helping Whitefish (4-5) recover from an 0-3 start to make the State A football players.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs’ reward is a trip to No. 4 seed Columbia Falls for a rematch Friday at 7 p.m. 

It’s one of three playoff games with local flavor this weekend: Bigfork travels to Hamilton in another intra-Western A playoff game Friday, with a 7 p.m. kickoff; on Saturday at 1 p.m. Eureka hosts Huntley Project for a State B playoff.

Whitefish at Columbia Falls

History shows us it's tough to beat any team twice, but Gulick — with his 1,343 yards and 12 touchdowns passing and another four TDs rushing — gives Whitefish a fighter’s chance.

“We’ve been really pleased with his play,” Bollweg said. “He’s done a job of developing and understanding what he’s out there for, and how to attack the defense. His growth is a big bright spot.”

Dane Hunt has a team-high 34 catches for 384 yards and three scores, but Mason Kelch and Curtis Thew have another four TD receptions each for Whitefish. 

Gulick’s 146 rushing yards lead the team, which has played some solid defense against the Wildcats and, in a 20-16 win on Sept. 29, Bigfork.

Columbia Falls is triggered by senior QB Cody Schweikert.

“He’s a good football player,” Bollweg said. “He does a lot of things well and he’s a big physical player. Things run well for them when he’s clicking. And he’s on, a lot.”

While five Bulldogs have at least 15 catches, and Jesse Burrough has 29, five Wildcats have at least 17. Jace HIll has 35 for 540 yards — 18.3-yard average that has put him in the end zone seven times for the Cats. Only Bigfork’s Elijah Thorness has more yards and touchdowns.

“We’re excited about it. It’s going to be a fun game,” Bollweg said. “It’s always a good atmosphere with those guys. Playoff implications — the game means that much more.”

“We’re happy to be in the playoffs and we’re happy that we’re playing really well right now,” Wildcats coach Jaxon Schweikert said. “And we like the matchup. 

“They’re a really good team, they’re well-coached, they’re hard-nosed kids. They’ll bring their A game and we like that. It will be a really tough out, to get out of the first round. And if we didn’t win, we didn’t deserve it.”

Bigfork at Hamilton

The 4-4 Vikings get a second crack at 6-2 Hamilton, having lost 35-14 on the road to the Broncs on Sept. 8. 

Tyson Bauder was on his way to a pretty ridiculous season at QB for Hamilton at that point, but he’s since been injured. 

Bigfork had a bye last week, so coach Jim Benn took his Vikings to Polson to see Hamilton dispatch Polson 33-13. Lucas Lant, another senior, threw for 150 yards and ran for another 68 for the Broncs.

“He was their starting tight end-slot guy,” Benn said of Lant. “He’d start for a lot of teams in our league at quarterback. They just have an embarrassment of riches, with their 22 seniors.”

Hamilton has mainly got it done on the ground, with Andrew Frederick (680 yards, 6.6 a carry) leading a rushing attack that averages 185 yards a game. The Broncs piled up 312 against Bigfork the first time around.

“I think a lot of it came down to missed opportunities and missed tackles,” Benn said. “We had two drives (stall) inside their 25 in the first quarter, and then let them score with four seconds left in the first half. If we can button up a couple of those things, it’s closer.”

Bigfork has averaged 202 yards rushing and 196 passing. Wyatt Johnson and Asher Knopik have led the way on the ground; Tristan Herd has thrown a majority of passes to Johnson (28 catches for 493 yards) and Thorness (36 for 761 and 12 TDs).

“It’s been an interesting year, moving to Class A,” said Benn, who guided Bigfork to deep runs in Class B the last two seasons. “I feel like our kids have handled the transition really well. It’s been fun to see new teams. And we’re just hoping to keep our season moving forward.”

Huntley Project at Eureka

The Red Devils from a spot just east of Billings are still running the wing-T offense, and that’s a little concerning for Eureka coach Trevor Utter.

“And they’re running it pretty darned well,” he said. “That’s why you run the wing-T, so you can grind it out in conditions like this.”

Quarterback Jake Cook and fullback Grady Schmidt lead Project, and Utter said they found plenty of room in a 44-27 loss to Florence early in the season.

“They were ripping runs up the middle against Florence for 15 yards,” he said. “It isn’t anything special for fancy, they’re just doing it right. I don’t think it’s one guy; I think it’s a system that works.”

Eureka, which fell at Florence 35-14 on Oct. 6, has a prolific offense led by quarterback AJ Truman (1,650 yards and 23 touchdowns passing), receiver Tristan Butts (30 catches, 853 yards and 11 TDs) and running back Caden Pecora (597 yards, 9 TDs rushing). Against teams in the playoff field — Florence, Manhattan, Baker, Red Lodge and Shepherd — the Red Devils have been outscored 206-118. 

“They lose to Florence but put up 27 points,” Utter said. “They lose to Red Lodge but put up 21. They run the ball effectively. That’s something we’re working on this week. They’re not a slouch of a team, I’ll tell you that.”