Wildcats' offense explodes late in first win

COLUMBIA FALLS — Wildcats football flipped its season on their homecoming night, rallying past Bigfork 27-13 behind a breakout performance from quarterback Banyan Johnston, who threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns. 

“We just bowed up,” said Columbia Falls coach Kelly Houle. “In the past we might’ve deflated, but tonight we showed resilience and persistence.” 

Columbia Falls (1-3, 1-0 in the Northwest A) took the lead 7-0, in 5 minutes from the opening kickoff. After forcing Bigfork (2-2) to punt, Johnston connected with Hayden Strandberg for 39 yards on the next snap. Two plays later, Johnston made an impressive throw outside the pocket to find Easton Brooks for an 8-yard score. 

Bigfork (2-2, 0-1 in league) answered with a powerful ground game. The Vikings marched down the field behind running backs, Treker Hickey (16 carries, 67 yards) and Tayden West. On 4th and goal from the 2, Cole Schmit found West for a touchdown to tie the game at 7. 

After exchanging three-and-outs, Vikings’ tight end Austin Savik caught a 52-yard pass to put Bigfork in field goal position. Kicker Quinn Kerr made a 44-yard field goal to give Bigfork a 10-7 lead with 7:04 remaining in the first half. 

The next drive highlighted the start of the Jory Hill Show for the Wildcats. Hill hauled in a 40-yard pass from Johnston to set up another chance to score. At 3:39 ofnhe second quarter, Daniel Contreras found an opening in the back of the endzone, and Johnston threw his second touchdown to put the Cats up 13-10 at halftime.  

“He (Banyan) kept his eyes up, escaped pressure, and threw a BB.” Houle said. “He’s a leader and it showed tonight.” 

The game shifted to a defensive battle in the third quarte. The Wildcats were able to force key turnovers on fourth down by the Vikings.  

“I’m really proud of our defensive line.” said Johnston. “Stopping the run had been a weakness the past few weeks, but tonight they showed up.” 

Kerr made another field goal from 29 yards to tie the game at 13 just before the fourth quarter.  

Eventually, one side had to break through, and Hill did just that for the Wildcats. He caught a screen pass and weaved his way through traffic to burst free for a 46-yard touchdown with seven minutes remaining. Hill finished with 116 yards on six catches. 

“We called a jailbreak screen and when I saw one open hole from the lineman, I got through it, and everyone did their job.” said Hill. “Our coach just had a great game plan coming into this game and we just had to execute that.” 

The Vikings had two more drives to try and tie the game but punted both times. Bigfork running back Trip Ross put the icing on the cake, scoring from 3 yards out. Ross had 57 rushing yards.  

“All week we talked about winning Monday’s, Tuesdays, Wednesdays.” said coach Houle. “On Friday we took the chain off the cage, and we were ready to go.” 

Johnston was 20 of 34 passing. Schmit was 11 of 20 for 107 yards. 

Columbia Falls travels to Ronan next week, while Bigfork returns home to face Libby.  

Columbia Falls travels to Ronan next week to continue conference play, while Bigfork returns home to face Libby.  

Bigfork            7    3    3    0    -    13 

Columbia Falls     7    6    0    14    -    27

CF — Easton Brooks 8 pass from Banyan Johnston (Billy Joe West kick) 7:35-1Q 

B —Tayden West 2 pass from Cole Schmit (Quinn Kerr kick) 1:52-1Q 

B —Kerr 44 FDG, 7:04-2Q 

CF — Daniel Contreras 16 pass from Johnston (West miss PAT) 3:39-2Q 

B —Kerr 29 FDG, 0:39-3Q 

CF —Jory Hill 46 pass from Johnston (West kick) 7:08-4Q 

CF —Trip Ross 3 run (West kick) :37-4Q