By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

The Columbia Falls football team secured a third-place finish in the West with a 43-14 drubbing of Bigfork last Friday at home.

The Wildcats forced eight Viking turnovers in the win. Easton Brooks had three interceptions alone in the drubbing.

The Cats put up 22 points in the second quarter. They were up 14-0 after turning two Bigfork turnovers into points. 

Then with 58 second left, Jori Hill picked off a Bigfork pass and on the Cats next possession Brooks made a great catch on a 49-yard bomb from sophomore quarterback Banyon Johnston to the half-yard line.

Johnston ran it in from there (his third short run for a TD in the quarter) and then got the two point conversion to put the Cats up 22-0 at the break.

The Cats went up 29-0 at the 4:18 mark in the third after Brooks got his second pick of the evening, which set up another deep Johnston pass, this one to Cooper Ross on a 45-yard strike to ice the game. Ross added another sweet 20 yard TD catch in the fourth and then Jory Hill picked off another Viking pass and ran that in for a TD to cap off the night.

Bigfork would put up a touchdown in the third and fourth but it was too little, too late.

Coach Kelly Houle said the object going into the game was to stop Bigfork’s running attack and they did that. The Vikings were then forced to throw into the Cats’ secondary, which has a host of talented skill players, just waiting for the Vikes to make a mistake.

Johnston was 17 of 26 passing for 211 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one pick.

The Cats also got the running game going with 166 yards rushing on 47 attempts. Johnston rushed for 74 yards, while Reggie Sapa had 49 and Austin Dodson 35.

“We got our run game going,” Houle noted. “The kids did really well.”

Johnston has rounded into an excellent quarterback, being just a sophomore. Is Houle surprised at his progress?

No.

“I knew he was a phenomenal athlete,” Houle said. “He’s very coachable. It doesn’t surprise me he’s progressed this fast. He’s a phenomenal human being.”

Ross led the receivers with 97 yards and two TDs, Brooks had 65 yards and Sapa 29.

Bigfork meanwhile had six interceptions and two fumbles in the loss, passing for 86 yards and rushing for 159. Most of that rushing tally came late when the Cats were well ahead.

The Cats wrap up the regular season against Ronan at home at 7 p.m. Friday.

It’s senior night as well. The Chiefs are coming off a 48-12 drubbing of Livingston.

The Cats are now 5-2 on the year. The Cats have secured the third seed in the West, meaning they would host an opening round playoff game against the sixth team in the West, likely Bigfork or Corvallis.

If they win that, they’ll have an eastern road trip, but where, exactly, remains to be seen.