The Columbia Falls football team has a lot of returning talent  and should be right in the mix come the postseason.

The Wildcats have a great core of returning players, including senior quarterback Banyan Johnston, linebacker and running back Trip Ross, and wide receiver and safety Jory Hill and all-state defender Daniel Contreras just to name a few.

Other notable players include Jaxson Cadwell, Tristan Anderson, Hayden Strandberg, Christian Olvera at center and Rhett Lindskoog, who comes in at 6-5, 250 pounds and Kyler Voermans.

“We’ve got a really good core, both on offense and defense,” coach Kelly Houle said.

The Cats will feature four running backs, including  Ross, Connor Davis, Kale Schaeffer and Connor Magnuson. Johnston is also a very mobile quarterback and is always a threat to run.

Houle was also pleased with the turnout from the younger players, with 28 freshmen out this year. All told, the program has about 60 players.

The Cats will have a memorable opener this year. On Thursday,  Aug. 27, they’ll play Fergus County at Washington Grizzly Stadium in Missoula. It will be considered a home game for the Cats and might just be the first game on the new turf at the stadium this season.

Last year the Cats started out the season 0-3, rattled off five straight conference wins and then lost to East Helena in the playoffs in a game where they had a chance to tie it in the closing seconds. They finished the year at 5-4 overall.