Seven hours from Whitefish is Laurel, home of the 8-1 Locomotives, who are the Bulldogs’ quarterfinal opponent in the Class A playoffs Friday at 7 p.m.

Five hours away is Bobcat Stadium, where the 7-2 Bulldogs practiced in preparation for the programs’ first meeting since 2002. 

Whitefish coach Brett Bollweg hasn’t seen the Locomotives up close but watched enough film to be impressed. 

“Up front they’re good and tough,” he said. “They love to run the ball and do it well and effectively.” 

The main ball carrier, and it is by quite a bit, is Curtis Fox. He’s run for 1,240 yards and 19 touchdowns, averaging 8.1 yards a carry.  As a junior he ran for 1,344 yards to help Laurel into the State A title game, where it lost 31-21 to Billings Central. 

“He’s not a huge guy,” Bollweg said of the 175-pounder. “He runs really well; he has great hips. There’s a lot of big-play ability in him.” 

The quarterback is senior Krew Hunter, who has thrown for 1,026 yards and 11 TDs with two interceptions. He also has five TDs rushing. 

Junior Luke Dalen has thrown for 1,079 yards and eight TDs (5 interceptions) for 7-2 Whitefish, but also has 573 yards and 15 scores on the ground. The Bulldogs’ top ground-gainer, Cole Moses, has run for 822 yards and eight TDs. 

Both teams have standout receivers — Vlad Shestak for the Bulldogs, Bridger Burrows and Isaiah Burt for the Locomotives — and similar approaches on offense. 

“They’re not super different than we are, in that respect,” Bollweg said. “Nothing we’ve never seen before. They do a nice job with all of it though.” 

Three things that did stand out on film: two-way linemen Kingston Oe, Emmet Nelson and Kade Leibrand.  

“We’re going to have our hands full with those guys and we’re going to have to do a good job of creating space for our guys, not only running the ball but passing,” Bollweg said. 

Travis Rauh is in his third season guiding Laurel after a successful 20-year stint in Townsend.  

Bollweg has been in the Whitefish program for 19 seasons; this his fourth as head coach, so he missed that 2002 matchup. Laurel won it 13-0, one of three road wins it had enroute to its second State A title. Laurel also won in 1999 and 2020. 

Whitefish won titles in 1979 and 2015.