Soccer titles to be decided in Whitefish, Libby
The state title quest in Class A soccer comes to a conclusion today with a pair of cutthroat reunions in Whitefish and Libby.
In Whitefish, the Bulldogs (10-3-1) are chasing their third title in four years but have to get by their recent antagonist, Billings Central (11-1-1). They play today at 1 p.m. at Smith Fields behind the North Valley Hospital on Columbia Avenue.
On the girls end, undefeated Libby (13-0-0) hosts undefeated Billings Central (13-0-0) at 11 a.m. at home in a rematch of last year's semifinal game that fell in Billings' favor, 3-2. The Rams went on to win their first state championship.
This time around, Libby has the homefield advantage and is trying to earn its first state title in the program's 11-year history.
For that to happen, the Loggers will have to solve the Rams' defense, which has allowed only one goal this season. Then again, Billings Central didn't have to contend with Libby's one-two punch of Anna Valentine and Jaime Gilden, who have a combined 37 goals between them. Valentine, a senior, has 16 goals on the season while Gilden, a junior, has 21.
"They're definitely a great combination," second-year Libby coach Matt Warner said.
"It's going to be a great game. Libby is ready and I know Billings will be ready, too," he added.
THE STORYLINE between Whitefish and Billings Central also dates back to last year's playoffs. The Bulldogs rolled into Billings with a 43-game win streak and back-to-back state titles. But Billings Central played the spoiler and snapped the streak with a 3-2 upset.
The after-effect for Whitefish was not pretty - falling from the top often isn't - and when both teams met again on the pitch earlier this season, it wasn't the same old Bulldogs. The Rams won easily, 4-1, and surged through the season losing only once.
The story could have ended there, and it almost looked like it would as Whitefish fell behind in Northwestern A and appeared destined to miss the playoffs for the first time in years.
Then, as head coach O'Brien Byrd puts it, "the guys really started to understand, this is it."
In the final weeks of the season, Whitefish clawed up the standings from near the bottom and won out.
"As the season progresses you improve naturally, but the mental fortitude, the heart, the character, was still a big question," said Byrd, in his seventh year at the helm. "Every season is unique and this season in particular has been special... It's everything you could possibly hope for in high school athletics."
Whitefish remains one of the most successful soccer programs in the state having won three state titles this decade.
Not that Billings Central can be scared off that easily. The past two seasons the Rams have eliminated the defending champs at the time - Whitefish and Libby, who they beat 2-1 last week.
"What I hope Billings Central does is study that game tape of the beginning of the year like crazy, because (Whitefish is) truly, in every sense of the word, a new team," Byrd said.
"I've been in awe of this season because of that. We went from such low-level attitude, low- level soccer, to the highest level, and to the best attitude. It went from strangers playing together who could care less about being there, to being like brothers."
Reporter Dillon Tabish can be reached at 758-4463, or by e-mail at dtabish@dailyinterlake.com.