Playing lights out football
Chiefs overcome Bulldogs, electrical problems to get big homecoming win
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RONAN — The Chiefs made it a homecoming to remember Friday with a blowout 50-26 win over the visiting Whitefish Bulldogs.
A strong running attack, coupled with three passing touchdowns by the Chiefs, was more than enough to take care of Whitefish as the Ronan offense outgained the Bulldogs by 211 yards.
“We are getting there. We are not hitting on all cylinders on everything yet, but we are getting closer,” Ronan head coach Jim Benn said about the win. “I really feel good about what we have been doing with our running game. We want to be able to get 300 yards per game minimum.”
A brief opening-quarter delay after the stadium’s lights and scoreboard went dark did nothing to slow down the Chiefs as they finished the game with 310 yards on the ground, led by Chris Clary’s 119 yards on 15 carries. Joining Clary in triple digits was Lucas Black, who finished the contest with 116 yards on 16 totes.
Despite the big running game, it should be known that Ronan is in no way a one-dimensional team. The Chiefs balanced out their attack with 113 yards through the air and three passing scores.
“We passed the ball exceptionally well against Whitefish,” Benn said. “We want to throw the ball five or six times a game, and when you come away with three touchdowns out of that it is huge.”
Dalton Molzhon led the Ronan receiving corps with 68 yards on two catches while Clary added a 21-yard touchdown reception. Black caught a touchdown pass from 6 yards out and Marcus Hungerford caught one pass for 18 yards.
Chief quarterback Robbie Gauthier finished the game 5-6 for 133 yards, three touchdowns and was only picked off once.
“The kids are really coming together on offense and it really helps to have a group of receivers where any one of them can catch the ball,” Benn said.
The Chiefs’ passing attack didn’t look so great in the opening moments of the game as Gauthier threw an interception on Ronan’s first play from scrimmage in the opening quarter. A battle for field position ensued until Ronan was able to get on the scoreboard first with a 10-yard touchdown run by Dallas Jore with 5:47 to go in the first quarter. A 2-point conversion try came up short and the Chiefs led 6-0.
The Bulldogs took what would turn out to be their only lead of the game midway through the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Jeremy Nielson. The PAT kick by Connor Ellis gave Whitefish a 7-6 lead.
Ronan regained the lead less than a minute later on a fourth-down, 38-yard pass from Gauthier to Molzhon. Jore ran in a 2-point conversion and Ronan led 14-7.
Ronan got the ball back with 3:31 to go in the half as Chris Drebes stripped the ball from a Bulldog runner and the Chiefs needed just two plays to find the end zone. A long pass from Gauthier to Molzhon set up a 9-yard touchdown run by Gauthier with 3:07 to play in the half. Gauthier found Jore with a 2-point conversion pass and Ronan led 22-7.
Whitefish was able to cut into the lead with a 1-yard scoring run by Nielson with 25.6 seconds to play in the half but Ronan continued to lead at the break, 22-13.
Cole McArthur set the tone for the second half by sacking Bulldog quarterback Connor Donahue for a 10-yard loss early in the third quarter. The sack helped force a Bulldog punt, which was returned 60 yards for a touchdown by Hungerford.
“That punt return was a huge play for us. We did a good job of getting kids in the right position and it worked out well for us,” Benn said. “We weren’t struggling at that point, but we needed something to get us going. It did a great job of taking the pressure off of our offense.”
Black ran in a 2-point conversion and Ronan led 30-13.
Whitefish answered just a few plays later with a 65-yard run by Nielson to cut the lead to 30-19. It was Clary who helped put the Bulldogs away over the next few minutes, coming up with a fumble recovery, an interception and 25-yard touchdown reception.
After a bad snap by the Bulldogs was scooped up by Clary, Gauthier found Clary in the open field with a pass moments later. With just a single defender between him and the end zone, Clary lowered his shoulder and ran over the Bulldog defender for the score. Gauthier found McArthur with a 2-point conversion pass and Ronan led 38-19 heading into the fourth quarter.
Ronan added two more touchdowns in the final period on a 5-yard pass from Gauthier to Black and a 4-yard run by Clary as the Chiefs rolled to a 24-point win.
“In this conference, two wins pretty much gets you into the playoffs so opening conference with a win is huge,” Benn said. “With one win already, we are well on our way. It also really takes the pressure off. Now, we have two weeks to prepare for Libby, and that is really exciting for us as coaches. Libby is going to be a big game for us. Being 2-0 would really take all of the pressure off of us.”
The Chiefs will play an exhibition game against the Flathead junior varsity squad at 7 p.m. Saturday before returning to conference play in Libby Oct. 8.
Summary
Whitefish 26, Ronan 50
Whitefish 0 13 6 7–26
Ronan 6 16 16 12–50
R - Marcus Hungerford 12 run (pass failed)
W - Jeremy Nielson 1 run (Connor Ellis kick)
R - Dalton Molzhon 38 pass from Robbie Gauthier (Dallas Jore run)
R - Gauthier 9 run (Jore pass from Gauthier)
W - Nielson 1 run (kick failed)
R - Hungerford 60 punt return (Lucas Black run)
W - Nielson 65 run (pass failed)
R - Chris Clary 25 pass from Gauthier (Cole McArthur pass from Gauthier)
R - Black 6 pass from Gauthier (run failed)
R - Clary 4 run (run failed)
W - Gage Vasquez 15 pass from Connor Donahue (Ellis kick)
