Whitefish takes down Ronan in conference opener

The Ronan Chiefs ran into a determined Whitefish squad Friday night, falling 65-0 in their Northwestern A conference opener.

The Bulldogs (1-0, 3-1) set the tone early, piling up 37 first-quarter points behind a mix of offensive firepower and opportunistic defense. Whitefish quarterback Luke Dalen opened the scoring with a 12-yard run, then connected with Cooper Akey and later with Akey again for touchdown passes of 41 and 40 yards. 

The Bulldogs also capitalized on turnovers, returning three interceptions for touchdowns, including a 28-yard pick-six by Akey and a 37-yard return by Sam Rainford. Whitefish added scores on a 60-yard punt return from Vlad Shestak and rushing touchdowns from Colt Moss and Vance Schwaiger. 

Ronan (0-1, 0-5) continued to battle but struggled to find rhythm offensively against the Bulldogs’ swarming defense. Standouts for the Chiefs on defense was Layton Burland's four tackles, while Brodee Woll also had four tackles and Drew Holmlund added three. 

The Chiefs will host 1-3 Columbia Falls next Friday.