Welcome back to another episode of the Interlake Sports Now! I'm Josh Dugan, and on this week's show, we'll run through the last fall sports update of the year and break down the Cat Griz football game that took place last weekend at Washington Grizzly Stadium was the talk of Montana, so I'm sure you've heard all about it, but I'm taking three takeaways from each team and look ahead to the Cats and Griz playoff action.

Do a little playoff outlook for each team's moving forward. So quick reminder for beginning all that fun stuff. Today's episode is brought …

Welcome back to another episode of the Interlake Sports Now! I'm Josh Dugan, and on this week's show, we'll run through the last fall sports update of the year and break down the Cat Griz football game that took place last weekend at Washington Grizzly Stadium was the talk of Montana, so I'm sure you've heard all about it, but I'm taking three takeaways from each team and look ahead to the Cats and Griz playoff action.

Do a little playoff outlook for each team's moving forward. So quick reminder for beginning all that fun stuff. Today's episode is brought to you by Nomad, one of the flatheads best manufacturer. Nomad is a longtime supporter of our local community and local sports scene, celebrating 20 years of building great careers and mission focused custom vehicles. Nomad, a Montana based company making a global impact.

Visit Nomad geeks.com for more info. That's dot Nomad geeks.com for more information. Let's get to our final fall sports update of the year. Pretty wild to think it's already that time. So this is our last prep football roundup, because that's the only sport we still have going in the state of Montana. Starting out with the Glacier Wolfpack, which fell on the road to the Bozeman Hawks 35 to 27 at Van Winkle Stadium last Friday night in the state A championship game.

Wolfpack head coach Grady Bennett had the following to say about the Hawks and a recap of the game by Fritz, neighbor of the Daily Interlake that was featured in Sunday's edition of The Interlake. So go check that out for the full recap. Well, first of all, it was just a fantastic class double eight state championship football game, which I thought it was going to be, Glacier coach Grady Bennett said.

Bozeman prove what kind of team they are and congratulations to coach Levi West and his kids. They're outstanding. They're really, really good. Bennett want Bennett went on to give credit to this year's Wolfpack squad, saying the following. Well, I'm proud of our kids. They battled, man. I mean, they battled. That's all you can ask. I asked them to leave it out on the field and they did.

Bozeman just made a few more plays and we did them. Then we did. And that's what championship games come down to. Well said coach, usually those championship playoff kind of battles come down to who can make just a few more plays. And the Hawks made just a few more on the day. Glacier running back and Montana Grizzlies commit Kash Kokichi did make his presence felt made quite a few plays on the day with three rushing touchdowns.

Bozeman quarterback Kellen Harris led the way for the hot spot for touchdown passes and another with his legs. The Wolfpack had a chance late, but Hawks linebacker Quade Nash had an interception with 41 seconds to go to seal the deal for Bozeman. Overall, congrats to the Bozeman Hawks on their state championship and major kudos to the Valley Zone, the Glacier Wolfpack.

This year's squad made the run to the state title game. A lot of seniors on that squad, so kudos to them on a great season. Might not have won the championship and had making that accomplishment on its own, and they were a fun, special team to watch. All season long. First play of the year for that team. Scored a on a trick play, make it all the way state title game.

So just a special season all around for the Wolfpack. The Hawks they finished the season at 12 zero while the Wolfpack were ten and to overall on the season under the class A state championship game, where Columbia Falls lost 36 to 35 to Dillon on the road in an overtime thriller that saw the Beavers win on a two point conversion by Keith Christiansen, things were not in at 28 apiece at the end of regulation, and Columbia Falls got the ball first in OT and Columbia Falls QB and Montana Grizzlies commit Cody Schweitzer ran for three yard touchdown, but the Beavers responded.

Kale Koenen had a touchdown and Christiansen captain off with that two point conversion for the win. Schweitzer put up monster numbers in the loss. He was 39 of 51 passing for 402 yards with four touchdown passes and the overtime rushing TD. Rarely do you see high school quarterbacks putting up those kind of numbers. Impressive stuff. Despite the loss, the Beavers ended the year at 11 and zero overall, while the Wildcats finished at nine and three.

Columbia Falls head coach Jackson Schweitzer had the following this in a recap by Chris Peterson of the Hungry Horse News quote to see them battle to the end was pretty awesome. This was a special team and a special place. It was true, true brotherhood. Well said by coach Jackson Schweitzer, whose team fell behind 28 to 14 to the Beavers before scoring twice in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.

And they had a chance in overtime. They did their job. It just came down to the Beavers make it one more play. Similar similar to what coach Grady Bennett said about the state title game. State title games usually come down to just who can make one more play. So heck of a game for the Wildcats. I did have a chance to cover that team quite a bit the last two years.

They had a really strong core. The basketball team had a lot of the same name, so you get that camaraderie group of guys who playing together, a group of girls, young athletes who come up playing this sport together. It's special and it's not hard to tell when you can see it. It's rare, but when it happens, it happens in Columbia Falls definitely had that special core group over the last few years, and I'm sure moving forward don't keep that camaraderie going with the Wildcats.

So overall, congrats to Dylan on the title. A major aspect to Columbia Falls. The coaching staff and athletes for their march to the state title game and fight until the very end. Before we move on to my takeaways from the Cat Griz game and look at where the Montana schools land in the FCS playoff bracket, let's get to our poster Player of the week, generously sponsored by your friends at Clark Auto Group here in Kalispell, featuring three local stores, Clark Nissan, Clark Honda and Mountain Auto and Marine, home of the 2999 oil change and the friendliest staff in town.

Join us at Clark Nissan for our holiday coat scarf and glove drive and help spread the warmth in our community. Starting December 1st and through December 22nd, drop off your new or gently worn coats, hats and scarves to Clark Nissan on Highway 93 South in Kalispell. For more information, call (400) 661-2124 four. That's 466121244. Let's brighten this holiday season with acts of kindness.

All right, let's dive right in to that poster player of the week. This week's post Player of the week is Cole Johnson of the state runner up Glacier Wolfpack. Johnson made an impact on both sides of the ball for the Wolfpack this season. He was tied for the team lead in tackles in the state title game with eight stops, and he caught a pass for 33 yards the week prior, Johnson came up Clutch in Glacier semifinal win over Gallatin with a game sealing interception in the end zone to punch the Wolfpack ticket to the state title game.

So congratulations to the Wolfpack senior on this poster player of the week nod and thank you as always to Clark Auto Group for their support. Make sure you get out to Clark Nissan between December 1st and December 22nd to drop off your new or gently worn coats, hats and scarves to help give back to the local community. We appreciate it.

All right, on to the college football talk talk of the town of Montana. I already said at the brawl the Wildcat Griz game. Montana made a statement 37 to 7 win the game back categories bragging rights and lock up their first big Sky Championship for them since 2009. So it's been quite some time. Grizzlies back on top grade as they finish hot down the stretch.

An FCS playoff committee rewarded them with the second seed and a first round playoff bye. Montana will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs as long as they're playing up until the championship game, which is neutral site in Frisco, Texas. The Grizz will host the winner of Lafayette and Delaware in the second round. Montana State meanwhile, after falling Idaho and Montana down the stretch, wound up as a sixth seed.

Like most of the year, people thought it was the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and Montana State destined for those one and two seeds ended up being the other Montana school. That's just how the cookie crumbles. College sports Bracketology whether it's March Madness, November Madness, but the NCAA football, college football, you never really know what's going to happen until it's all said and done.

So Montana State got the sixth seed in the FCS playoff seedings. They still got a first round bye and a home matchup in the second round versus the winner of Drake and North Dakota State. Ain't that a reward for a well played season for Montana State? A potential home matchup? First, the North Dakota State Bison, who, despite a down year, are still a power in the FCS and a team you do not want to meet in the playoffs.

That would be a special game. Montana State, North Dakota State in Bozeman. That home home winning streak on the line for the cats that's shaping up to be an epic one. And that could lead up to a brawl. The wild rematch. So we're looking at a special FCS playoffs, especially here in the Treasure State. A lot of fun going on Idaho and Sacramento State also made it from the big Sky conference next week.

We're going to have a more in-depth playoff prediction on the show for both teams, and check out this week's big Sky now. Check it out on my Twitter J digging 406 link in the bio there or look it up on YouTube. All the major podcasting stuff. We're going to break down the categories game the rest of the big Sky playoff teams moving forward.

What the big Sky now media panel from Hagedorn affiliates around the northwest. So that's always fun. But for now, let's get to those brawl the wild takeaway starting with the Grizz. So early on in the season. My first takeaway from this game is early on I kept saying Coach Houck is out here playing poker with the Grays.

There's a mystery at quarterback. We didn't know what was going on. Was it like was it McDowell? I mean you lost happened. I was very critical of this coaching staff and their lack of continuity on offense. And I'll be the first to admit I was wrong. They had a method to their madness all along, and I think one thing I repeated on this show throughout the ups and the downs early in the season, Coach Houck has a few tricks on his sleeve.

Kind of has that Bill Belichick Nick Saban mindset where he's going to tell you as little as he needs to tell you, heading up to the game. He wants to keep his game plan on lock down, and they deserve a lot of credit because they pulled this out of nowhere. Nobody expected this team to turn around and win a big Sky championship.

But like myself and most of Grizz Nation, Grizz fans, Montana sports fans that any of you lost, whether you're a bobcat or a grizzly, and everyone was looking at Montana like they were dead in the water. And then all of a sudden this coaching staff and these players really put it together. So they got big Scott, championship for all the while, bragging rights.

And for the first time since that's for the first time since 2009. So overall, just want to give this coaching staff and players credit. Oh man, I was wrong. And it just felt like Coach Houck, despite, lack of continuity earlier in the season, they were saving it for when it mattered most, the stretch run of a playoff team.

So they went out and they beat every single one. They beat Idaho, they beat Montana State, and they beat SAC State. So at the end of the day, you might lose to any you might not have your full deck of cards. They were holding a couple of tricks till later. It was for a reason. Number two, Clifton McDaniel deserves to have his name in the conversation for big Sky Offensive Player of the year, the former Central Arkansas, Bear and Louisiana region Cajun and played some community college.

Ball is a flat out playmaker at the quarterback position, according to his profile on the Grizzlies football website. McDaniels a senior, but he has an extra year of eligibility, so he should be back in the driver's seat again next year for the University of Montana. And if he is the Grizz are poised to cement themselves as a top tier big Sky power after a few years of Montana State and SAC State running the show.

So takeaway number two Clifton McDaniel is the real deal and having him back sets the Grizzlies up for success moving into next year as well. Of course let's focus on the playoff spot. He played out of his mind in that brawl the wild. And he deserves a lot of credit for helping this team turn their season around. Number three takeaway this is more of a stat just to show how dominant the Chris defense has been down the stretch.

But over the last four games, they shut out Northern Colorado held SAC State to a touchdown, Portland State scored ten points, and they closed out the season by holding a Montana state offense. It has been flat out prolific the last few years to a touchdown, so in those games, the Grizzlies have outscored their opponents in that. Excuse me.

Let's see. Yeah that was a Montana state team. Excuse me I wanted to add a little context here. Had put up 102 points in their prior two games heading into the brawl the Wild. So they were wrong. So that's four games total for this Grizz defense. The stat I was leading up to 24 points allowed total in four games, two of those being playoff teams.

The Grizzlies defense has been absolutely dominant. You can't say enough about it. And a lot of credit to first year defensive coordinator Ronnie Bradford. On getting this thing locked down and on point after the any you because they have flat out looked like the best unit in the country. All right let's move on to the Bobcats Montana State taking it takeaway number one.

They fell into the same trap they did in the loss to Idaho early in the year Montana State heading up the ball. The wild I was thinking this was their game to lose. And throughout this season we just saw the same pattern. When Montana's seed struggled, it was a lot of the other team controlling time of possession, making the Bobcats play from behind and making them a little.

I don't want to say one dimensional, but the Bobcats could not throw the football early in the game. And the ball the wild stood out to me most. Their lack of aggressiveness at three passes in the first half, zero completions, so obviously zero yards passing. It's almost impossible to win a football game like that. And it's dominance. The rushing attack been at some point you have to throw the curve balls in there to keep the defense honest.

We never saw that from Montana State. I'm interested to see how they approach things moving forward in the playoffs, but I just felt like they let the moment get to them. They fell into the same trap they did against Idaho and they just did not play their game. Number two Montana State. This was my biggest takeaway from the game.

That stood out more than anything. They dropped the ball by knocking shock chambers involved in the game plan. Chambers first first touch of the game came with five seconds to play in the first half and a result, and it resulted in a sack for a 14 yard loss that ended up giving the Grizzlies a chance to tack on a late field goal to close out the half and make it 20 to nothing.

Leading the half time. Chambers has been a monster this year for the Bobcats. He's coming off a performance with five first half touchdowns against Eastern Washington, five touchdowns in the first half and then in the biggest regular season game of the year versus the Grays. He had one first half touch. I just don't understand how the Bobcats coaching staff didn't get him more involved.

A lot of respect for Coach Brant Vegan. I've gone on and on about that lethal rushing attack and how it's poetry in motion at times, but I just don't understand how the Bobcats coaching staff didn't get Shawn Chambers more involved. Maybe there's a lingering injury, something they're not discussing, trying to keep them healthy for the postseason. But you got to think chambers coming into that game with 14 rushing touchdowns and nine passing touchdowns has to be more involved in offensive game plan, because I think as great as Tommy Miller is and he is great.

He's an elite quarterback at the FCS level. What made that Bobcats offense so unique the last two seasons is that Thunder and Lightning approach the dual quarterback system, which you've said it before on the show, it's a kind of a joke around the big Sky conference. All the Montana State football fans have heard this one, but they say if you have two quarterbacks, then you don't have a quarterback.

It's not the case for the Bobcats. They have two great quarterbacks and we only saw them a lot on Saturday, and it just felt like they were missing that extra piece. Who takes them to the next gear. That's what chambers is. So we'll see heading into the playoffs. It's got to get chambers more involved. You got to think he's going to be back in action.

So we'll definitely keep an eye on that as we do our playoff prediction next week. Montana State number three final takeaway if it's a hot take I briefly mentioned it earlier, but I think they let the moment get to them on the road. The Bobcats made so many uncharacteristic mistakes through that game. The noise of Washington Grizzly Stadium made an impact.

And earlier in the year, the same thing happened at the Kibby Dome, where despite a late push and that one, the Bobcats just did not look like the same team, they didn't look like that Bozeman based powerhouse. We've come to expect where you're in and you're out. The last few seasons in big Sky play, the Bobcats have been flat out pretty much dominant.

So that being said, luckily for the Bobcats, they will have a first round home playoff matchup in round two. Excuse me? Their first game of the playoffs will be at home in round two, but they have the bye. They're going to have the opportunity to get back on track for going on the road in the postseason. If they can beat North Dakota State at home, momentum can be back on their side and they'll be feeling good against whoever they're going to play moving forward.

So they have the opportunity to get back on track. And worth mentioning. The Bobcats lost three games this year, and all three were against top ten teams in the country. In some of the toughest environments in the FCS, they lost at Washington Grizzly Stadium at the Kidney Dome in Idaho. Who's when it's when it's going. It's a wild place to play.

And the Sdsu Jackrabbits in Brookings. So those are three tough losses. You can learn from those. You can move forward and make adjustments and alter your game plan, knowing that you can have a road matchup down the road in the semifinals. If you want to make a deep playoff run, you got to make some adjustments. So that's my big takeaway there.

The moment might have gone to the Bobcats. That being said, those are three tough losses and three tough places to play. And maybe moving in the playoffs or just just enough to get around that, get over the hump. So that'll do it pretty much for this week's show. Before we wrap this thing up, I want to give a quick reminder.

Today's episode is brought to you by Nomad Ville, the Flatirons Best Manufacturer. Nomad is a longtime supporter of our community and the local sports scene, celebrating 20 years of building great careers and mission focused custom vehicles, Nomad is a Montana based company making a global impact. Visit Nomad jks.com for more info. That's Nomad geeks.com for more information. All right.

Thank you to everybody, as always for checking out the show. Next week we're going to have some playoff previews going for the Grizz and Bobcats and start gearing up for a little winter prep sports talk. It's that time of the year. Hard to believe talking about Turkey Day, Thanksgiving. Next thing you know, we'll be talking about the holidays and winter prep sports in the Treasure State.

So it all happened so quick. Flew through football season, but it was awesome to cover prep football in the state of Montana and all the fall sports. And it's been a pleasure covering the cats and Grizzlies here and looking forward to their playoff action. I will mention if you want some more in-depth coverage of the big Sky football, check out the Big Sky now on the Hagedorn Sports Network, available on YouTube and all major podcasting apps.

And like I always mentioned, check it out. Link in my bio on my Twitter at Jay Doogan 406. All right. Thanks as always, y'all. I'm Josh Dugan and I'm out.