Weekend Sports Capsules
FOOTBALL
Libby (0-1) at Frenchtown (1-0)
Friday, Sept. 4, 7 p.m.
Libby Notes: The Loggers play another tough opponent this week with a trip to Frenchtown. Coach Neil Fuller knows his team will have a huge battle on its hands. “They may be the favorite to win it all this year,” Fuller said. “Frenchtown is always big and physical and this is a traditional Frenchtown team. We will need to score four or five touchdowns to beat them.” Fuller said a key to the game will be to put together effective drives and take advantage of scoring opportunities. Libby scored twice last week on long TD passes from Kelly May to Kody Berget.
Frenchtown Notes: The Broncs feature a senior-heavy roster. “They don’t throw much but they throw effectively,” Fuller said of Frenchtown. “It’s a simple offense but they don’t make mistakes.” Last week, the Broncs rolled over Polson with a 42-point shutout. J.D. Undem ran for 220 yards and three TDs in the win. Frenchtown’s defense came up big with five interceptions while holding the Pirate defense to a mere 69 total yards.
Last Year: Frenchtown escaped Libby with a 34-32 victory. The Loggers scored in the final minute to pull to within two points but the Broncs held on when a two-point conversion pass failed. The two teams combined for 886 yards of total offense.
Last Week: Timberlake, Idaho 42, Libby 14; Frenchtown 42, Polson 0.
Next Week: Sept. 11, Corvallis at Libby, 7 p.m.
Darby (0-0) at Troy (0-0)
Friday, Sept. 4, 5 p.m.
Darby Notes: The Tigers head into the season with hopes of putting together some wins. The program has won only one game over the past two seasons under coach Nathan Olson. Darby’s top player is 6-foot, 155-pound senior Tyler Bergren, who was an honorable selection pick in District 6B last season. Bergren has a couple of targets in Ben Robbins and Matt Converse.
Troy Notes: Troy opens the season with a new quarterback in Mike Ormiston but expect the Trojans to establish its running game with smash-mouth back Jake Alexander. With Aaron Palmer now gone, Alexander will draw more attention from opposing defenses. But it appears he has a good line up front with Chris Hoffman, Dillon Curry, Cullen Metz and Tom Roeder – four players that average 214 pounds.
Last Year: The Trojans opened the season with a 27-6 victory over Darby. Penalties were somewhat of a problem but Troy controlled the second half and pulled away. Palmer rushed for two TDs and threw for another, and Jesse Day had three picks.
Last Week: Both teams were idle.
Next Week: Sept. 11, Troy at Mission, 7 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Libby is idle
Libby Notes: The Lady Loggers’ varsity squad will not see action this weekend. Libby will head to Anaconda’s Tip-Off Tournament on Sept. 11. A match against Polson that was originally scheduled for Sept. 1 was pushed back to Oct. 22.
Last Week: The team is coming off a 6-2 performance at the Whitefish Starter Tournament. Libby outscored the opposition 194-155 in those eight games, an average margin-of-victory of 4.9 points.
Next Week: Sept. 11, Libby at Anaconda Tournament.
Troy (0-0) at Eureka (0-0)
Friday, Sept. 4, 4:15 p.m.
Troy Notes: The Lady Trojans are a confident group after taking first place in last weekend’s Mission Tournament. Coach Sandra Jansma hopes to see the team come together to perform well as a unit – a task the Trojans accomplished in their victories. Kristin Parks had a good tournament at the net with eight blocks and Ashley Paasch put together exceptional numbers serving and hitting.
Eureka Notes: Eureka opened its season with an appearance in the Whitefish Starter Tournament. Regulation matches were not played. The Lions split their eight games, which included a 2-0 sweep over Bigfork, 1-1 splits with Columbia Falls and Ronan and a 2-0 sweep at the hands of Whitefish. Coach Rhonda Hammond’s team returns exceptional talent, primarily all-state outside hitter Carly Hammond. Taylor Holder, all-conference pick a year ago, is also back.
Last Year: In the match at Troy, the Lady Lions took a 25-19, 25-6, 25-8 win. The Lady Trojans played competitively at times but overall struggled with errors in the loss.
Last Week: Troy went 3-1 in pool play at the Mission Tournament with wins over Seeley-Swan, Superior and Plains and a loss to Mission. In the medal rounds, Troy defeated Superior and Mission. The matches were not regulation and not included on the team’s overall record. On Thursday, Troy was scheduled to play host to Mission in a match that occurred after presstime.
Next Week: Sept. 8, Troy at Bigfork, 4:15 p.m.; Sept. 10, Thompson Falls at Troy, 4:15 p.m.; Sept. 12, Troy vs. Florence at Eureka, noon.
BOYS SOCCER
Belgrade (2-0) at Libby (1-0)
Friday, Sept. 4, 4 p.m.
Livington vs. Libby (1-0) at Troy
Saturday, Sept. 5, Noon
Libby Notes: The Loggers had no problems in a 4-0 win over Stevensville. Nick Reny was involved in three of the four goals with two assists and a goal. Cree Maloney also opened the season with a pair of goals and Crawford Dinning found the net as well. The Loggers returned Lewis Brossman in net and he posted a shutout as Libby had an 11-3 advantage on shots.
Belgrade Notes: The Panthers got off to a good start with a pair of shutouts over Frenchtown and Loyola Sacred Heart. The task was a little tougher against Frenchtown with the first goal not occurring until the 68th minute. In the win over Sacred Heart, Belgrade scored all of its goals in the first half. Combined, Belgrade took 63 shots on goal.
Livingston Notes: Livingston – also known as Park High School – will want revenge on the Loggers after last year’s state playoffs. Libby eliminated Park in the opening round, 5-4, in overtime and then went on to win the state championship. This season, Livingston has defeated Loyola Sacred Heart, 6-0.
Last Year: Libby blanked Belgrade, 3-0, on goals by Levi Edwards-Myslicki, Kyle Berke and Cree Maloney. Livingston downed the Loggers, 4-1, with the lone LHS goal by Maloney.
Last Week: Libby opened the season with a 4-0 victory over Stevensville. Belgrade posted 3-0 shutouts over Frenchtown and Loyola Sacred Heart. Livingston defeated Loyola Sacred Heart, 6-0.
Next Week: Sept. 12, Libby at Columbia Falls, 11 a.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Belgrade (2-0) at Libby (1-0)
Friday, Sept. 4, 6 p.m.
Livington vs. Libby (1-0) at Troy
Saturday, Sept. 5, 10 a.m.
Belgrade Notes: The Lady Broncs opened with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Frenchtown. Sarah Wass scored in the 65th minute for the victory. The team then downed Loyola Sacred Heart, 5-0, with three goals from Annie Prickett. Julie Provance and Shelby Erdahl also scored. Belgrade will come at the Loggers with a capable offensive attack and an athletic defense.
Libby Notes: The Lady Loggers were disappointed to not be able to take the field last week at Stevensville. As a result, Libby will take the field for the first time on Friday against Belgrade while the opponent has two full games under their belt. Libby returns good experience in the lineup, including Anna Valentine – the top scorer in Class A last year.
Livingston Notes: Information on the Livingston girls not available.
Last Year: Belgrade defeated Libby, 3-1, with the lone Logger goal by Jaime Gilden. Libby beat Livingston, 1-0, on a shot by Anna Valentine.
Last Week: Libby did not play. Belgrade opened with a 1-0 win over Frenchtown and then blanked Loyola Sacred Heart, 5-0.
Next Week: Sept. 12, Libby at Columbia Falls, 1 p.m.
CROSS COUNTRY
Libby Invitational
Friday, Sept. 4 at J. Neils Park, Libby
Libby Notes: The young Logger harriers will put in their lone home appearance of the season at the Libby Invitational at J. Neils Park. LHS coach Rod Tempel expected around 10 schools for the event. For the boys, Libby’s William Lott was the top finisher in Bonners Ferry with a 36th-place finish. He could break 20 minutes by trimming 32 more seconds off that time. For the girls, Nikola Falk finished 11th among the field of 51 at Bonners.
Last Year: The Timberlake boys and Whitefish girls won team titles. For LHS, Ben Elliott was the top boy and Nicole Rios the top girl.
Last Week: Team scoring from the Bonners Ferry Invitational was not available.
Next Week: Sept. 12, Libby at Kalispell Invitational
GOLF
Libby at Browning Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 5, 9:30 a.m.
at East Glacier
Libby Notes: The Loggers head back to East Glacier this weekend after opening the season there last week. On the course, Zach Watson shot an 86 and Chris Campbell turned in a 93. No team scoring or individual placings were provided by tournament organizers. Taylor Barton had the top score for the girls with a 112.
Last Week: Libby’s five boys turned in an average score of 101. The girls do not have enough for a full team but their three girls averaged 131. Libby was scheduled to play Thursday at the Ronan Invitational in an event that occurred after presstime.
Next Week: Idle
— Compiled by Brad Fuqua,, The Western News