About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The final football game at Memorial Field went so well they're doing it again.
Whitefish, fresh off a 43-7 win over Bigfork at the final regular-season game at Memorial, is bringing Dillon to the venue for a Class A playoff game Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Other area playoff games include Polson heading to defending State A champion Frenchtown and Eureka heading to defending State B champion Manhattan. Both games are at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Bulldogs, 8-1, would have to go on the road to East Helena with a win, so let's call this the final-final game before they move into a new facility next season.
"We get to play again there and we're excited," Whitefish coach Brett Bollweg said. "We're certainly going to try to make the most of it. It's one of the more unique venues in Class A football."
At 4-4 Dillon doesn't have the sparkling record of years past, but it does have championship pedigree and familiar names. Quarterback Canin Christiansen was the freshman backup to senior Kee Christiansen on the 2023 Beaver team that went 11-0.
The younger Christiansen has thrown for 1,341 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2026 and is the Beavers' leading rusher with 563 yards and 12 TDs, on 64 carries.
"I think they've improved a lot over the course of the season," Bollweg said. "At the end of the day, we're playing Dillon: We know we're going to get a disciplined, well-coached team that we need to play hard against for 48 minutes."
Bollweg noted Dillon receivers Titus Thomas (28 catches-353 yards) and Gage Curnow (25-338) can stretch the field. Whitefish, meanwhile, has seen senior Luke Dalen complete 69 percent of his passes for 1,465 yards and 15 scores. The QB has also rushed for 793 yards and 14 scores, teaming with Vance Schwaiger (473 yards, six TDs) to lead a strong run game.
Dalen's main receivers have been Vlad Shestak (27 catches-440 yards-6 touchdowns), Sam Rainford (24-399-2) and Brody Forthofer (16-306-4).
The Bulldogs have one last-second loss to Columbia Falls on their ledger, and their success is not just about the skill kids. The guys with the big numbers — Leo Bungener, Braylon Dunn, Nick Demetrop, Collison Lewis and Keonye Franklin — have been key. "They've done a really good job of solidifying our line up front and allowing our playmakers to make plays," Bollweg said. "Jayke Thew has really turned it on at the end of the season on the D-line, after being injured earlier. And Keenan Curtis at linebacker."
The Pirates' 29-25 win over Bigfork on Oct. 9 more or less punched their playoff tickets, and the reward is a trip to face the defending State A champions.
Bradley Smith has performed capably at quarterback after taking over for the injured Case Cox; Polson has leaned more heavily on running back Kelby Dumont, a senior who is up to 961 rushing yards with nine TDs. Twice, he's run for over 200 yards in a game.
Luke Horner is the leading receiver with just 12 catches but with an average gain of 24.6 yards.
Frenchtown lost a state title rematch with Billings Central 21-17 on Sept. 11 and also fell 21-20 to Hamilton. But the champs remain formidable with sophomore Cody Forthofer (1,037 yards and 14 TDs passing) at QB and junior Jake Forthofer (676 rushing yards, 5 TDs) at running back.
Top receiver Cooper Michaud has been out since the Billings Central game; Cody Forthofer is a very capable runner with 414 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
The Lions earned the Western B's fourth seed and a trip to play the defending State B champion Tigers.
It's a rematch from last year's semifinals, which Manhattan narrowly won 14-12 before beating Three Forks 28-7 for the championship.
This year's Tigers are 7-1, with the loss coming 33-20 to another Western B power, Florence, on Sept. 4. The Falcons beat Eureka 55-6 three weeks ago.
Manhattan is led by Tyson Pavlik at quarterback, who has thrown 25 touchdown passes and is also the Tigers' leading rusher. His two main targets are seniors Matthew Fenno and Brayden Zikmund; both have caught eight TD passes.
Eureka counters with Hunter Grieve, who has thrown for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns and run for 322 yards and another four scores.
Aiden Helgert leads the team with 372 yards and six touchdowns rushing; the Lions have a top-flight receiver of their own in Tyce Van Orden: 36 catches, 695 yards and eight TDs.
Source: Sports
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