Chiefs fall to Stevi in tight-knit contest, prepare for Dillon

Ronan High School football coach Matt Detwiler and his coaching staff discussed what the difference was in their 25-26 loss to Stevensville Friday night at Ronan High School.

Detwiler and his coaches had a post game discussion and realized in order to win they have to remain consistent on both sides of the ball.

“The difference for us that we talked about on both sides of the coaches meeting is consistency,” Detwiler said. “We have drives where we moved the football really well and drives where we didn’t move the ball well. Stevi had possessions where they would mash the ball up the middle for 10, 15, 20 yards on easy drives. Overall, both sides performed well but our inconsistencies started to add up.”

In spite of the inconsistencies, Detwiler expressed that he was “pleased” with his team’s overall effort in the loss to the Southwestern conference opponent.

“There were some good things to take from that game and obviously we’ve been in the position to have a chance to win,” Detwiler said. “We played really well and I was happy with our overall effort.”

Unlike 2016 and 2017, the non-conference games will count towards qualifying for the playoffs, according to Detwiler.

“It is a little different than last year’s because qualifying for the Class A MHSA playoffs will all be based in power rankings and they are important,” Detwiler said.

This week, the Chiefs will play another Southwestern conference opponent in Dillon at 7 p.m. Friday night at Dillon High School.

“Because of the power rankings, it makes it really important in the quality of teams that you play,” Detwiler said. “We play Stevi, Butte Central and Dillon. In each game that we win, we will get three points and nine points towards the power rankings. It makes those three preseason non-conference games important. You don’t want to play three teams (in your preseason) schedule that aren’t that great. You want those tough teams and we picked teams that were tough by playing teams in the Southwesteren conference. You just pick a team in the Southwestern Conference and they are loaded.”

Detwiler, who attended Western University in Dillon, got a chance to witness the Beavers’ program from afar. He watched the continued development and tradition of a school that has an enrollment of a 305 students.

“They have a school enrollment of 305 kids and they get kids to come out for football out of tradition,” Detwiler said. “Dillon has a strong tradition in athletics in general. You can name the sport and they have a great tradition that has been built up over the years.”

The Beavers’ roster is down from last year with only 55 kids that came out for their school’s football program.

Despite their small numbers for their team this year, they are still a perennial state championship contender and in the mix to qualify for the playoffs. Since 2010, the Beavers have won a total of four Class A MHSA state championship titles.

Detwiler said he was able to use the Beavers’ coaching staff as one of his many templates to construct a successful Chiefs’ football franchise.

“There are a lot of pieces that I would take just teaching and rarely does a teacher come up with their own work sheet because it is either borrowed or stolen from someone else,” Detwiler said. “I borrowed a lot from the Montana State University head coach (Jeff Choate) and I take some from coaches at Dillon and Western. You just kind of piece together what you see fit to make your own program.”

Detwiler praised his now junior quarterback Eric Dolence, who is in his second year as a varsity head quarterback, and LB Justin Mays.

He also praised the multi-faceted play of Zane Walchuk.

“(Zane) returned punts, kicks, played safety in a game that he started at cornerback and finished (the game) at safety for us,” Detwiler said. “He had a long kickoff return that was 65 yards and he was pretty tired at this point. That set us up for a great drive and we went right back down the field. He does all of the little things right and you just can’t ask for a better kid.”

In spite playing against another stacked Dillon team primed to make the playoffs, Detwiler has been in the business of high school football long enough as a player and a coach to realize there are no guarantees.

“We have to play consistent football and play our game,” Detwiler said. “They have thrown in a few wrinkles and play assignments and played consistent football. Nothing is guaranteed in football.”