Bulldogs slip past Chiefs

RONAN — On a night when they could ill afford pivotal mistakes, the Ronan Chiefs football team let glory slip away from them on a rainy homecoming night against visiting Whitefish.

The theme of the night for the Chiefs (1-4) was missed tackles opening the door to big plays for the Bulldogs (3-2).

Whitefish quarterback Fynn Ridgeway threw a pair of long TD passes and rushed for another as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back in the Class A conference clash.

After Whitefish scored on its opening drive, the Chiefs stalled on their first possession, failing to convert a fourth-and-eight at midfield.

Ridgeway soon hit receiver Bodie Smith on a slant route. Smith initially was wrapped up, but slipped away from a pair of Ronan defenders and found a seam for a 51-yard score.

Later, with the first half winding down, Smith struck gold again on a punt return. Again Ronan defenders appeared to have him locked down to his left, but the speedy receiver emerged from the pack and broke free down the right sideline for a 40-yard TD return that put Whitefish up 21-0 and left the Chiefs deflated.

Following another Ronan punt, Ridgeway again hit Smith on a slant that yielded a 59-yard TD with 3:15 remaining in the half.

“We had too many missed tackles to win a game,” Ronan head coach Matt Detwiler said after the game. “At least three of their touchdowns came off missed tackles, and that makes it pretty hard to win a football game.”

Down 35-0 in the third, the Chiefs finally found the end zone when quarterback Daniel Kelsch found a seam up the middle for a 10-yard TD run. And with just over a minute remaining in the game, Ronan running back Bruin Largent powered into the end zone for a 1-yard score.

The Ronan offense held its own most of the night, racking up 272 yards to the Bulldogs’ 345 and holding a 16-15 edge in first downs.

Kelsch went 15-for-27 in passing for 144 yards and rushed for 74 yards on 18 attempts. Largent finished with 48 yards on 12 rushing attempts and four receptions for 43 yards.

Trapper McAllister led all Ronan receivers with five catches for 68 yards and recorded a team-high six tackles on defense. Caleb Cheff (9) and Daniel Bishop (7) led the team in defensive assists.

The Chiefs travel to play Stevensville (0-4) on Friday night.

Whitefish 41, Ronan 12

Whitefish 14 14 7 6 – 52

Ronan 0 0 6 6 – 12

WF – Ty Schwaiger 3-yard run (kick good)

WF – Fynn Ridgeway 51-yard pass to Bodie Smith (kick good)

WF – Smith 40-yard punt return (kick good)

WF – Ridgeway 59-yard pass to Smith (kick good)

WF – Ridgeway 22-yard run (kick good)

RN – Daniel Kelsch 10-yard run (failed 2-point conversion)

WF – Schwaiger 3-yard run (kick blocked)

RN – Bruin Largent 1-yard run (failed 2-point conversion)

Class A Western Division

Northwest Conf. Overall

Col. Falls 4-1 4-1

Libby 4-1 4-1

Polson 3-2 3-2

Whitefish 3-2 3-2

Ronan 1-4 1-4

Browning 0-5 0-5