Loggers lose 35-14 to Whitefish, close season on late-game rally
Defeated, muddied and teary-eyed, the Libby Logger senior football players walked hand-in-hand for the final 200 yards of their high school football careers, washed by the cool mist in the night air and the applause from the home stands and their opponent.
The seven young men marched stride for stride, end zone to end zone, sniffling as they carried on Libby’s Senior Walk tradition.
This wasn’t how the Loggers imagined going out, with a 35-14 loss on Senior Night to the playoff-bound Whitefish Bulldogs. After the game, after the heartfelt messages of thanks to the seniors from the underclassmen and coaches, the players wondered what just happened to their last chance.
Maybe it was nerves, knowing they would never wear pads again, senior running back Nic Robertson said.
Maybe it was a bit of sadness, realizing this was the last time they would all compete together as brothers, senior lineman Tarasik Krisanov said.
Head Coach Neil Fuller wondered what could have been had the team avoided discipline issues.
Whatever fogged the hearts and heads of these young men, it made for a seriously slow Logger start.
Senior Whitefish running back Calub Thilmony opened the scoring with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter on an effortless one-yard touchdown run.
Two plays later Thilmony ran for pay dirt again when he intercepted senior Logger quarterback Jared Winslow on an out route. Holding was called on the return, but Whitefish made it 14-0 three plays later.
The romp was on with 8:10 left in the second quarter when sophomore Bulldog quarterback Luke May connected with Sean Foley on a 24-yard touchdown to make it 21-0.
The Logger defense earned a third-and-goal from the 19-yard line late in the second quarter, only to fall for a screen left for another score.
A running clock was initiated with 15.1 seconds remaining in the first half when Foley caught a five-yard slant to make it 35-0.
It was a shellshocked Logger team that walked into the locker room at half. They did not have to go out like this. There were 24 minutes of football left to be played. A win may be out of the question, but the Loggers could finish with pride.
Robertson opened the second half with a 12-yard run. Winslow followed with a Fran Trakenton-caliber escape act, running 30 yards behind the line of scrimmage before scrambling ahead for highlight-reel worthy gain of one yard. The drive would stall, but the Loggers showed life.
Libby caught a break midway through the fourth quarter when the Whitefish longsnapper sailed one over the punter’s head and the Loggers claimed possession at the Whitefish four-yard line. Robertson scored on the following play and Winslow eluded three defenders on the two-point attempt before passing to Isaak Jones to make it 35-8 with 6:01 left in the game.
With nothing to lose, the Loggers went for an onside kick. The Loggers had practiced a few variations of the play during the week, and hard work paid off when Robertson poked the ball to the left after senior Skyler Higareda faked a kick in the same direction. The ball popped into a Whitefish player’s chest nanoseconds before Higareda did the same, forcing an Earth-shaking fumble. Braydan Thom recovered, and Libby was back in action.
Jones caught a 33-yard fade down the left sideline on first down, and two plays later, Robertson jumped over diving arm tackles to make it 35-14 with 5:49 to go.
The music stopped when Whitefish recovered the onside kick. The improbable comeback was not to be, but now the seniors would be able to say they went out fighting.
For the second season in a row, the Loggers (1-8) will not go to the playoffs.
“Forget the record,” Fuller told his players after the game. “I’ve been around a long time, and I can honestly say you are one of the most enjoyable groups I’ve had the privilege to coach.”