The Whitefish Bulldogs had Memorial Field on edge during the first home football game of the season Friday. The Dogs trailed 7-20 at the half but came from behind to top Corvallis in the Northwest A matchup by one point, 21 – 20.  

“Corvallis did a lot of good things, and we made mistakes that put us back in tough situations in the first half,” said Brett Bollweg, head coach for the Bulldogs.  

But in the second half, “they came back and played fundamentally sound football. And that's what gives a chance to win,” Bollweg said. 

“I’m impressed with how our kids were able to respond after a lot of negative things. They didn't get down on themselves and didn’t throw in the towel. They clearly made a decision that after the half that that’s not how they wanted the game to go,” Bollweg said.  

Carson Gulick threw for one touchdown and ran for two, including a 66-yard burst in the fourth quarter that pushed the Bulldogs even, while Tait Orme’s PAT kick provided the winning point. 

Gulick was 9 of 18 passing for 159 yards and ran 11 times for 137 yards for the Bulldogs. 

Sixty of his passing yards came on a TD strike to Curtis Thew; Thew had 70 receiving yards.  

Gulick had a 1-yard scoring run in the third quarter. Then, on a second-and-13 with 10 minutes left, he bootlegged right, found open field and cut past two Blue Devils on his 66-yarder.  

Calvin Eisenbarth had three catches for 51 yards for Whitefish, and Cole Moses had 10 yards rushing and 40 receiving — on one catch. Riley Zetooney ran eight times for 37 yards.  

Corvallis quarterback Aydan Mayn had a hand in all three touchdowns for Corvallis (1-2, 1-2), a State A semifinalist in 2023.

    Whitefish vs. Corvallis at the Dog Pound Friday, Sept. 13. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Nessa Solomon, a junior cheerleader, beams at the stands at the football game against Corvallis Friday (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)