Capsule previews of Saturday's prep football playoffs

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Capsule previews of Saturday's prep football playoffs

By the Missoulian | Posted: Saturday, November 7, 2009 12:30 am

CLASS A

No. 3 Laurel (8-1) at No. 2 Frenchtown (8-1), 1 p.m.

At stake: The winner advances to the semifinals to take on the winner of the quarterfinal between Columbia Falls and Butte Central.

There isn't a whole lot separating these two teams. They bring identical 8-1 records into the quarterfinal and the Broncs were just one notch higher in the final Class A poll. Frenchtown averages 44 points a game; Laurel 42. Frenchtown gives up 8.8 points a game; Laurel 12.4.

"They remind me a lot of us," Frenchtown coach Steve Pinsoneault said. "It's almost like looking in the mirror."

Jake Miller spearheads the Locomotives' ground game, having rushed for 750 yards and nine touchdowns. QB Dylan Kramer is a double threat, having run for eight TDs and thrown for nine more.

"They have really good overall team speed," Pinsoneault said. "They have good athletic bodies up front that can run well."

On top of that, Pinsoneault says Laurel's Ethan Albrecht is probably the best place-kicker in Class A. He has converted 8-of-10 field goals and 46-of-49 PATs.

"Inside of 40 yards they will try to come away with points," Pinsoneault said.

Pinsoneault describes receiver Brian Flotkoetter as a potential Division I prospect. He has 27 catches for 528 yards and six TDs.

"We have him burned into our memory," Pinsoneault said.

The Broncs' Wishbone attack is as potent as ever. Halfbacks Jonny Dilworth (964 yards, 12 TDs) and JD Undem (783 yards, 7 TDs) lead the assault, but fullback Brennan Fisher has come on strong, rushing for 460 yards and 10 scores.

"(Fisher) gives us a real threat from there," Pinsoneault said. "Anytime you have a kid who's 6-2, 215 pounds and can run, along with our normal 1-2 punch it's really nice."

And line coach Dan Moe has the Broncs doing their usual good work up front.

"The line is really starting to gel," Pinsoneault said. "We really have kind of started to get together, defensively too. We're playing good football, just flying to the football and tackling better."

Pinsoneault said the keys are simple.

"Block, tackle and no turnovers," he said. "We've just been harping on the no turnovers. The last week and a half we've been working on ball security with our backs."

Stat pack

Laurel (8-1)

Points scored: 378 (42.0)

Points allowed: 112 (12.4)

Top rushers: Jake Miller 103-750 (7.3) 9 TDs, Dylan Kramer 81-494 (6.1) 8 TDs, Ethan Albrecht 29-275 (9.5) 5 TDs.

Top passer: Dylan Kramer 47-81-3 738 yards 9 TDs.

Top receivers: Brian Flotkoetter 27-528 6 TDs.

Frenchtown (8-1)

Points scored: 397 (44.1)

Points allowed: 80 (8.8)

Top rushers: Jonny Dilworth 87-964 (11.1) 12 TDs, JD Undem 94-783 (8.3) 7 TDs, Brennan Fisher 44-460 (10.5) 10 TDs.

Top passer: Daniel Aichlmayr 29-57-3 377 yards, 5 TDs

Top receivers: Brennan Fisher 12-158 2TDs, Jonny Dilworth 6-75

Top defenders: Brennan Fisher 78 tackles, Jake Anderson 56 tackles, Derrick Dauenhauer 45 tackles, 4 INTs.

- Bob Meseroll, Missoulian

Belgrade (6-4) at No. 4 Polson (7-1), 1 p.m.

At stake: The winner advances to the semifinals where it will meet the winner of the quarterfinal between Billings Central and Dillon.

Since a 42-0 loss to No. 2 Frenchtown to begin the season, the Pirates have been on a roll, outscoring their opponents 304-106.

They've been rolling up the yards behind the two-headed rushing attack of Tim Rausch and Joe Andrews. Rausch has 819 yards and 12 TDs and Andrews has 708 yards and nine scores.

"Tim Rausch runs the ball hard," Polson coach Scott Wilson said. "He keeps his legs moving, has good speed, but his biggest asset is he's a hard runner and tough to bring down."

"Andrews, our tailback, has come on here in the latter part of the season and that's been a nice plus."

Pirate QB Vince DiGiallonardo has thrown for 558 yards and six TDs, but can also tuck the ball away.

"The thing I like best about him is he's also a running threat," Wilson said. "He always has that run-pass option and he makes good choices."

The Polson defense is spearheaded by inside linebackers Rausch and Brock Picard.

"They are both good, hard-nosed kids," Wilson said. "They kind of set the tempo."

They'll be trying to stop the Panthers' two main threats: running back Ryan Guenther and quarterback Talon Taylor. Guenther has rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and Taylor has thrown for 861. Belgrade also uses Matt Thibault at QB, where he has thrown for another 361 yards.

"The biggest thing I see in them is overall team speed, they're very quick," Wilson said.

Wilson said the Panthers also have strong special teams.

"That's something you have to keep contained," he said. "They put themselves in good position and have returned several kicks for touchdowns this season."

Wilson sees two keys for the Pirates.

"The biggest thing is going to be to control the line of scrimmage because our strength is to run the ball," he said. "The other one is to shut down their special teams and not give up big plays there."

Stat pack

Belgrade (6-4)

Points scored: 312 (31.2)

Points allowed: 211 (21.1)

Top rushers: Ryan Guenther 129-938 (7.3) 11 TDs, Matt Thibault 63-295 (4.7) 4 TDs.

Top passer: Talon Taylor 57-109-6 861 yards, 8 TDs; Matt Thibault 29-57-3 361 yards, 4 TDs.

Top receivers: Ty Diebold 16-227 3 TDs, Jesse Dickson 9-211 6 TDs.

Top defenders: Stephen McAdams 57 tackles; Clint Robinson 50 tackles, 2 sacks; Tucker Taylor 47 tackles.

Polson (7-1)

Points scored: 304 (38.0)

Points allowed: 148 (18.5)

Top rushers: Tim Rausch 78-819 (10.5) 12 TDs, Joe Andrews 74-708 (9.6) 9 TDs.

Top passer: Vince DiGiallonardo 35-65-5 558 yards 6 TDs.

Top receivers: Kyle Bagnell 11-214 1 TD.

Top defenders: Brock Picard 62 tackles; Tim Rausch 56 tackles, 4 sacks; Vince DiGiallonardo 28 tackles, 3 INTs.

- Bob Meseroll, Missoulian

Columbia Falls (7-3) at No. 5 Butte Central (7-2), 1 p.m.

At stake: The winner advances to the Class A semifinals next week against the Laurel-Frenchtown winner.

Columbia Falls reached the quarterfinals for a second straight season thanks to a 15-8 victory over Hamilton last weekend in Columbia Falls. The Wildcats, the Northwestern A runners-up, meet a rested Maroons squad. Butte Central won the Central A title and had a bye last week for the first round of the playoffs.

The Maroons enter Saturdays contest having won five games in a row. They're only losses were to top-ranked Billings Central in Week 2 and No. 3 Laurel in Week 4. Butte Central is making its ninth consecutive postseason appearance. It's last playoff win was in the quarterfinals against Hamilton in 2007.

Columbia Falls, under the direction of first-year head coach Bill Coleman, has won its last three games. The Wildcats trailed 8-0 in their opening-round playoff game before their defense recorded a safety and senior quarterback Mitchell Wassam threw two touchdown passes.

Wassam needs just 18 more yards to reach the 1,000 plateau for the season. He has 18 touchdown tosses, including 13 to junior Kaleb Johnson.

The Maroons are led by quarterback Andy Ritter, who has 1,183 yards passing and nearly 900 yards on the ground. Ritter and the rest of the offense are more inclined to keep the ball on the ground, where Central averages 188.6 yards per game.

This marks the fourth time these two schools have met on the football field. The Maroons lead the series 2-1, including wins in 2007 and 2008.

Stat pack

Columbia Falls (7-3)

Points scored: 241 (24.1 ppg)

Points allowed: 175 (17.5)

Top rushers: John Woody 163-835 yards (5.1 avg.), 2 TDs; Nate Thompson 88-437 (5.0), 1 TD; Chris King 35-124 (3.5), 2 TDs; Mitchell Wassam 51-120 (2.4), 3 TDs.

Top passer: Wassam 104-185-8 982 yards, 18 TDs.

Top receivers: Kaleb Johnson 34-688 (20.2), 13 TDs; Thompson 23-255 (11.1); Kyle Howell 6-118 (19.7), 3 TDs.

Top defenders: Howell 4 INTs; Wassam 2 INTs.

Butte Central (7-2)

Points scored: 302 (33.6 ppg)

Points allowed: 220 (24.4)

Top rushers: Andy Ritter 158-897 yards (5.7 avg.), 19 TDs; Jonathan Richards 85-323 (3.8), 11 TDs; AJ Acuna 42-264 (6.3), 1 TD; Kevin Cox 37-207 (5.6), 2 TDs.

Top passer: Ritter 117-183-9 1,183 yards, 8 TDs.

Top receivers: Richards 48-546 (11.4), 5 TDs; Phil Antonioli 42-472 (11.2), 2 TDs.

Top defenders: Antonioli 4 INTs; Jason Johnston 2 INTs; Richards 2 INTs.

- Nick Lockridge, Missoulian