Quarter-Final Football: Whitefish at East Helena Preview

For the second straight year, the Whitefish Bulldogs football team has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the MHSA Class A Playoffs.

This time around, the Dawgs will face the East Helena Vigilantes.

East Helena defeated Lewistown to earn the No. 1 seed out of the Central Division. The Vigilantes finished the regular season 7-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play.

As Friday night's matchup approaches, hear from a pair of Whitefish captains, Austin Alton and Sam Rainford, as they share their thoughts heading into the quarterfinal round.

These two programs have met on the football field before. Whitefish and East Helena faced each other in both 2021 and 2022, during the Vigilantes' first two seasons as a program. Friday night will mark another meeting between the Bulldogs and Vigilantes, this time with a trip to the Class A semifinals on the line.

Both teams have some similarities coming into Friday night's matchup. Both picked up wins over Dillon and Havre, and each team's only loss this season came against Columbia Falls.

There are also some interesting differences in how these two teams move the football. East Helena comes in averaging 275 rushing yards per game, led by Leo Longcake, who has been putting up 148.1 yards per game on the ground. The Vigilantes have shown they can be tough to slow down with their running attack.

Whitefish brings a more balanced offensive approach. The Dawgs average 212.4 rushing yards and 174.1 passing yards per game. Quarterback Luke Dalen has been a big part of that production, averaging 262 yards of total offense per game while contributing to both the passing and rushing attack.

With both teams averaging more than 375 yards of offense per game, Friday night's matchup could come down to which defense does a better job of slowing down the opposing offense.

It's the Whitefish Bulldogs taking on the East Helena Vigilantes in the quarterfinal round of the MHSA Class A Playoffs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night.

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