Doc Holiday

10:00am - 2:00pm
Email
Now Playing: Matt Koziol Feat. Brittany Kennell - Dancing In The Dark
Listen Live

    Search

    Defense Prevails as Whitefish Football Outlasts Eureka

    Monday, September 22, 2025 at 1:16 PM

    By Cole Havens X @C_Havens22

    Cole Moses and Cooper Akey Combined Tackle. Whitefish Football vs. Eureka. Photo © Brittany Brown.

    The Whitefish Bulldog Football team was back in action Friday night as they played host to Eureka for their final non-conference game of the season.

    Vlad Shestak had a pick-6, the Whitefish defense forced four turnovers and the Dawgs grinded out a hard fought 14-7 victory, on the night.

    The Lions would miss a Field Goal on their opening drive of the game. Both teams would possess the ball a couple of times in the 1st quarter and the game was tied 0-0 after one quarter of play.

    The Dawgs would get things going late in the 1st half. Following a Sam Rainford interception, the Dawgs would set themselves up nicely in plus territory and capped things off with a Luke Dalen 1 yard Touchdown Run.

    Lincoln County would score their only TD of the game, a 5 yard touchdown pass from Rogan Lytle to Emmit McKim right before the half, tying the game up 7-7 at the intermission.

    At halftime, Whitefish held a special ceremony honoring the 20215 State Championship Football team.

    The 2nd half was a defensive slugfest. Nether teams could muster up anything offensively.

    Eureka would miss another Field Goal, on their first drive of the 3rd quarter.

    This game was all about field position and early in the 4th, the Dawgs capitalized. After a punt that set up Eureka deep on their side of the field, the Dawgs defense came alive. Vlad "Big Play" Shestak roamed the backfield like a center fielder and picked-off the quarterback, running the rock back 33 yards for his third pick-6 in the last two games. That TD proved to be the game winning score.

    After some time, the Dawgs clung onto that 14-7 lead late into the waning minutes. On the Lions last drive of the game, Whitefish had one more stellar play in store.

    With under a minute on the clock, Eureka had the football on the Whitefish 30. Lytle, Eureka's QB, dropped back and let it loose. He was hit as he threw. Initially he had a man open but Jordan Harmon showed great recovery to intercept the pass and seal the Dawgs victory.

    Full game audio replay, video highlights and photos below:

    16 of 26

    More Galleries

    WF FB @ Corvallis '25
    WF VB V. Libby
    WF FB V. Hamilton
    Whitefish Football vs. Eureka. Photo © Brittany Brown.
    Luke Dalen Pass.

    Share

    To go along with Shestak's Pick-6 and Harmon's game sealing INT, Sam Rainford also had an interception and the Dawgs force one fumble during the contest.

    The Dawgs accounted for just over 100 yards of total offense while Eureka had about 200 yards of offense (majority of that coming on their last drive).

    E- 0  7  0  0  7

    W- 0 7  0  7  14

    Whitefish passing:

    Dalen- 6/16, 42 yds, 1 int

    Eureka passing:

    7/18, 70 yds, 1 td, 2int

    Whitefish receiving:

    Shestak- 3 for 34

    Moses- 1 for 6

    Thew - 1 for 3

    Harmon- 1 for 0

    Whitefish Rushing:

    Moses- 14 for 58

    Dalen- 10 for 5, 1 td

    Barker- 1 for 2 

    Harmon- 1 for 1

    W- Dalen 1 yd run, Orme  kick

    E- McKin 5 yd td, brown pat

    W- Shestak- 35 yd int ret, Orme kick

    With the win, Whitefish improves to 2-1 on the season. Eureka falls to 2-1.

    Up Next: It's homecoming week for the Whitefish Bulldogs as they open conference play on Friday the 26th. Their first conference game of the season will see them match up with Ronan. Kick-off at 7pm.

    Listen to every Bulldog Football game, this season, on 102.7FM and 1240 AM Oultaw Country. You can also listen live on 1027outlaw.com as well as the 1027 Outlaw App.

    Share

    More from Flathead Valley Sports

    KHNK-FM Recently Played