Football drops Libby, secures conference crown

The Columbia Falls football team capped off a great regular season by downing Libby on the road 42-0 Friday night.

The Wildcats were undefeated in conference play and haven’t lost a game since the opener against Frenchtown. They won the Northwestern A conference championship for the second year in a row.

They’ll have a first-round bye in the playoffs and then play the winner of the Hardin/Lodge Grass-Lewistown game at home Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. 

Against Libby, no one scored in the first and fourth quarters, but the Cats poured it on the second and third quarters, scoring 21 in each.

Quarterback Banyan Johnston threw for 212 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for a TD.

Johnston had scoring passes of 19 and 31 yards to Jory Hill, who had five catches for 118 yards. Hayden Strandberg  had 26-yard TD catch from Johnston to cap a 21-point second quarter for the Wildcats (7-1 overall, 5-0 in league). 

Trip Ross ran 11 times for 114 yards, including a 51-yard TD run that put the Cats up 34-0. He also grabbed a short TD pass from Johnston, who was 12 of 26 passing. Ross was also 6-for-6 on point-after kicks.

The Cats defense held Libby to just four first downs and just 78 yards on offense. Libby also lost two fumbles. 

The Cats put up 400-plus yards of offense,

Coach Kelly Houle is pleased with the way the Cats are playing and looks forward to the postseason.

“Really proud of the kids,” he said. He said they’re a great group to coach.

“They come to practice everyday with their lunchboxes ready to work,” he said.

The Cats are healthy going into the postseason. Houle said it doesn’t matter who they play come Nov. 6, they’ll be ready.