Whitefish Bulldog Football "Flips" Into 2nd Round of the Playoffs

Monday, November 4, 2024 at 10:24 AM

Carson Gulick Flips Over a Pair of Defenders to give Whitefish the 24-21 Win. Photo © Brittany Brown

The Whitefish Bulldog Football team played host to Bigfork, Friday night, to open post-season play.

Friday was the opening round of the 2024 Class "A" MHSA State Championship Football Playoffs.

This was the first playoff game that Whitefish has hosted since the 2021 season.

The Dawgs would come away with a gutsy 24-21 victory, propelling them into the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Whitefish would get the scoring underway first in this one. Early in the 2nd quarter Carson Gulick found Scotty Dalen for a 5 yard touchdown pass.

The Dawgs would strike again, later in the frame, as Gulick tossed his 2nd TD of the game, this time a 4 yard pass to CJ Thew.

Whitefish held on to a 14-0 lead at the halftime break.

Whitefish received the ball to start the third quarter. The Dawgs would get inside the redzone once again, but this time Gulick would be picked off after his pass ricocheted off a receiver.

One play later Gulick would then intercept Bigfork's QB Cole Schmit to reset things for the Whitefish offense.

With 7:41 to go in the 3rd the Dawgs would settle for a 22 yard Field Goal from Tait Orme to put them up 17-0.

The game would then flip on its axis.

Bigfork took advantage of an illegal kick out of bounds, got Whitefish to commit a late hit out of bounds and finished off their next drive with a touchdown pass from Schmit to Treker Hickey for 21 yards. At that point there was 4:21 to go in the 3rd.

On the ensuing possession, Gulick would throw his 2nd interception of the game with Austin Savik the recipient and returned the ball inside the Whitefish 10. Schmit would run it in from 8 yards out to cut the lead to 17-14.

After a Whitefish punt, the Vikings would start the 4th quarter with the ball and ate over 6 minutes of clock before Tayden West scored on a 6 yard run. That gave Bigfork the 21-17 advantage.

With 5:41 to go in the game, Whitefish was down to their last drive.

The Dawgs orchestrated one of the best final drives that you'll ever see. A great mix of runs and passes, converted two fourth downs and Gulick ran it in from 2 yards out with just :48 seconds remaining to cap off the drive and give the Dawgs the 24-21 win.

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Playoffs: Whitefish Football vs. Bigfork. Photo © Brittany Brown

B- 0 0 14 7 21

W- 14 0 3 7 24

WF Rushing

Zetooney- 16 for 105

Gulick- 11 for 30, 1 td

Moses- 1 for 3

Thew- 1 for 3

B Rushing

33 rushes for 127, 2 td

W Passing

Gulick- 15/30, 137, 2 td, 2 int

L Dalen- 1/1, 9

B passing

Schmit- 7/22, 85, 1 td, 1 int

W Receiving

Eisenbarth- 4 for 54

Dalen- 4 for 43, 1 td

Thew- 5 for 30, 1 td

Akey- 1 for 22

Zetooney- 1 for 9

Moses- 1 for 3

2nd quarter

W- Gulick to Dalen, 5 yd td pass (orme kick)

W- Gulick to Thew, 3 yd td pass (orme kick)

3rd quarter

W- Orme 22 yd FG

B- Herd 21 yd pass to #11 (missed kick)

B- Herd 8 yd run (2 pt good)

4th

B- #33 6 yd run (kick good)

W- Gulick 2 yd run (orme Kick)

More on this game including post-game video here:

Sports Talk 1240 & 102.7 KSAM

With the win, Whitefish will now travel to Billings to face Billings Central for the quarter-final round of the playoffs.

Kick-off for the 2nd round of the playoffs is TBA.

It will either be played Friday at 7pm or Saturday at 1pm.

Either way, make sure to tune into sportstalk 1240AM & 102.7FM KSAM for the live play-by-play broadcast.

Jason Smith and Mike Harmon

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