Montana State XC

After running in the Live Locally 5K this morning as part of team LEADER (with Brandon Hansen), I was able to make it to Missoula just in time to catch AA and A teams duke it out for Montana State Cross Country superiority.

All our Lake County teams did an amazing job at this final meet of the season.We'll have all the details in this week's Leader, but here's a quick summary (from memory and limited to the coaches/parents I was able to catch up with):


- Mission's Paden Alexander took 5th place in Class B.
- Mission girls team placed 4th in Class B.
- Polson boys and girls were both 8th in the Class A team standings.
- Polson's Claudia Hewston ran her heart out to a third place individual finish.
- Her teammate, Tegan Bauer, was All-State as well, placing ninth.

And I know there were more incredible efforts out there on the course!

Here are a few photos from the Class A race:

Click on "Read More" to see the full gallery.

Ronan survives Mission scare

The visiting Ronan Chiefs got as much as they could handle from the host Mission Bulldogs on Friday night, but survived the scare, winning 34-12.

The game was much closer than the final score would indicate, as the Bulldogs twice had chances in the fourth quarter to tie the game up, but couldn't come up with the points to do so.

Ronan came out fast, going 80 yards in just three plays, capped off by a Jake Humphreys touchdown run for a quick 7-0 lead.

That's all the scoring there would be until close to halftime when the Chiefs punched it in again for a 14-0 edge.

The Bulldogs used a long kickoff return by Raymond Matt to set up good field position en route to a Dylan Evans 5-yard score to cut the deficit to 8.

Ronan immediately responded thanks to a ridiculous 95-yard touchdown run by Humphreys to retake the 14-point lead.

Mission kept plugging away, however, and their determination paid off when Dakota Gun Hammer bounced into the end zone from 5 yards out to get within 20-12.

In the fourth, the Bulldogs made a pair of stops on Ronan's run attack, but couldn't make a third, as Robbie Gauthier scored on a 2-yard run to boost the lead to 27-12. The Chiefs, after forcing a fumble, added insurance when Jake Skelton put the finishing touches on the victory with a touchdown run for the final points.

Ronan enters the playoffs next weekend with some momentum, while the Bulldogs hard-fought season came to an end.

Click on "Read More" to see the full gallery.

Florence eeks by Mission

BY BRANDON HANSEN

Talk about your epic battles. The Lady Bulldogs came to play. The Lady Falcons came to play. The crowd also came to play.

Florence came back from a 2-0 deficit to down the Mission Lady Bulldogs 3-2 on Thursday night, in a match that is certainly one of the most memorable of the season.

Mission took the first game 25-21, after jumping out to a 18-13 lead and never looking back. In the second game, the Lady Bulldogs broke a 14-14 tie with a 11-3 run to win it.

Florence bounced back in the third game, winning 25-11. However, Mission wasn't detered and came out to battle in the fourth game.

It was tied or within one point for nearly the entire game. Both squads saw plenty of switches in momentum and it was the Falcons that were able to come away with the 28-26 victory.

In the fifth game, Mission was trailing by only one point at 6-7, but Florence came away with the 15-11 win for the match.

Sara Nerby led the team with a whopping 20 kills and five blocks. Meanwhile on defense, Sydney Allard had 27 digs. Loren Erickson had 18 assists. Sarah Bowers also had 17 assists.

Florence defeats Mission, 25-21, 25-17, 11-25, 26-28, 11-15
Mission team stats
Kills - 39
Assists - 36
Digs - 112
Blocks - 11
Aces - 13

Individual stats
KILLS
Loren Erickson - 4
Sara Nerby - 20
Ashley - 5
Stephanie - 2
Jenn Larsson - 6
Rose Bear Don't Walk - 2

ASSISTS
Loren Erickson - 18
Sarah Bowers - 17

DIGS
Sydney Allard - 27
Stephanie Lewandowski - 21
Loren Erickson - 12
Ashley Courville - 18
Sara Nerby - 7
Jenn Larsson - 6
Rose Bear Don't Walk - 4
Sarah Bowers - 14
Lyssia McDonald - 10

BLOCKS
Loren Erickson - 3
Ashley Courville - 1
Sara Nerby - 5
Jenn Larsson - 2

ACES
Ashley Courville - 4
Sarah Bowers - 2
Sydney Allard - 2
Loren Erickson - 1
Sara Nerby - 2
Stephanie Lewandowski - 2

Here are photos from the game...

Click on "Read More" to see the full gallery.

Football: Bulldogs defeat Wardens

The Mission Bulldogs won their second straight game with a 28-12 victory over Deer Lodge on Friday. Dakota Gunhammer ran for four touchdowns and the Bulldogs used a 22-point second half to lockdown the Wardens.

Gunhammer had a big 43-yard run in the second quarter to get Mission on the scoreboard first. Deer Lodge would tie it up before halftime with an 18-yard touchdown pass.

Im the second half, Gunhammer ripped off a 17-yard run to give Mission the lead again and then would score two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to give the Bulldogs a comfortable lead.

Mission improved their record to 3-4.

Mission - 0 - 6 - 8 - 14 - 28
Deer Lodge - 0 - 6 - 0 - 6 - 12

Mission – Dakota Gunhammer 43 run (kick failed)
Deer Lodge – Brett Witt 18 pass from Ethan Johnston (kick failed)
Mission – Gunhammer 17 run (Gunhammer run)
Mission – Gunhammer 4 run (Gunhammer run)
Mission – Gunhammer 6 run (run failed)
Deer Lodge – Reno Ward 4 run (run failed)

Vball: Mission breaks down Deer Lodge

Mission avenged a loss to Deer Lodge earlier in the season with a 3-1 victory over the Lady Wardens on Saturday night. The Lady Bulldogs won the first two games, before Deer Lodge outlasted them in the third. Mission kept their composure in the fourth game and won 25-17, 25-18, 23-25 and 25-20.

Sara Nerby led the team with 12 kills while Stephanie Lewandowski had 23 digs and Loren Erickson had 19 assists.

Mission defeats Deer Lodge, 25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20
Kills: Deer Lodge 26 (Michelle Christnacht 10), Mission 40 (Sara Nerby 12). Blocks: Deer Lodge 39 (Christnacht 11), Mission 1 (Ashley Courville). Digs: Deer Lodge 62 (Annie Lombardi 16), Mission 99 (Stephanie Lewandowski 23). Assists: Deer Lodge 26 (Ivy Duncan 12), Mission 33 (Loren Erickson 19). Aces: Deer Lodge 6 (Natalie Griffin 2), Mission 8 (Sarah Bowers 3, Sydney Allard 3).

Click on "Read More" to see the full gallery.

Mission gets Homecoming win

Mission got the run game going against Troy and won their second game of the season, a 23-12 victory over the Trojans for Homecoming.

While Troy took the early lead on a 47-yard fumble return, the Bulldogs would score 23 unanswered points. Josh Durglo would get Mission on the board first with a 20-yard touchdown run. Then the Bulldogs took the 14-6 halftime lead on a Dylan Evans touchdown run.

Evans would score again after the half on another one-yard run, followed by a safety by the Bulldogs defense.

Troy scored in the fourth quarter but couldn't overcome the deficit. Mission is now 2-4 on the season.

MISSION 23, TROY 12
Troy - 6 - 0 - 0 - 6 - 12
Mission - 0 - 14 - 10 - 0 - 23

Troy - Cody Orr 47-yard fumble return (kick failed)
Mission - Austin Durglo 20-yard run (kick failed)
Mission - Dylan Evans 1-yard run (Durglo run)
Mission - Evans 1-yard run (Durglo kick)
Mission - Safety, quarterback tackled in end zone
Troy - Andrew Haggerty 36-yard pass from Dave Hickman (run failed)

Here are photos from the game...

Click on "Read More" to see the full gallery.

Vball: Mission falls to Thompson Falls

The Lady Bulldogs won the first game, and took the second into extra points but couldn't overcome non-conference foe Thompson Falls on Thursday night and fell 3-1.

Mission won the first game 25-19, but the Lady Bluehawks eeked out a 29-27 victory in the second. In the third game, Thompson Falls seized the momentum with a 25-20 victory and finished things off in the fourth game with a 25-14 win.

The Lady Bulldogs got 11 kills, 18 assists and four aces from junior Loren Erickson. Senior Ashley Courville had 19 digs.

Thompson Falls defeats Mission, 19-25, 29-27, 25-20, 25-14.
Kills - Thompson Falls 45 (Kelsey Fitchett 18, Hope Reid 18), Mission 41 (Loren Erickson 11). Blocks - Thompson Falls 23 (Reid 10), Mission 3 (Jenn Larsson 1, Ashley Courville 1, Erickson 1). Digs - Thompson Falls 90 (Logan Beckman 17), Mission 78 (Courville 19). Assists - Thompson Falls 40 (Allison Vaught 35), Mission 37 (Erickson 18). Aces - Thompson Falls 11 (Beckman 3), St. Ignatius 8 (Erickson 4).

VB: Mission downs Plains

Mission found themselves in another tight volleyball match and came away with the 3-1 non-conference victory over Plains on Tuesday night.

Jenn Larsson continued to anchor the attack and had a good night with 15 kills while Loren Erickson did everything with 18 digs, 16 assists and two blocks.

After two close matches that were Mission wins, 26-24, 25-23, Plains bounced back with a 25-11 win in the third game. The Lady Bulldogs finished things off though with a 25-19 victory.

Mission def. Plains, 26-24, 25-23, 11-25, 25-19.
Kills - Plains 32 (Kayla Revier 8), Mission 42 (Jenn Larsson 15). Blocks - Plains 9 (Revier 6), Mission 3 (Loren Erickson 2). Digs - Plains 26 (Kelsey Beagley 12), Mission 90 (Erickson 18). Assists - Plains 15 (Felicia Earhart 10), Mission 36 (Erickson 16, Sarah Bowers 16). Aces - Plains 10 (Diamond LaDeaux 6), Mission 5 (Bowers 2).

Mission-Florence Photos

Here are photos from the Mission-Florence game last night, photos taken by reporter Dylan Kitzan.

Click on the "Read More" to see the full gallery.

Cross Country at the Ronan Invitational

Lake County runners enjoyed the perfect fall day for a 5K. High school cross country teams from Arlee, Mission, Ronan and the Polson JV competed at the Silver Fox Golf Course in Pablo this afternoon. Taking on teams from Missoula to Kalispell, our local runners ran hard and were right in the mix!

Here are some photos from the event:

Photos by Ali Bronsdon

Mission-Ronan Volleyball Photos

Mission picked up the 3-0 victory (25-18, 25-16, 25-13) over their valley rival Ronan on Thursday night thanks to a balanced attack by the Lady Bulldogs. Sara Nerby and Jenn Larsson both had six kills in the contest as both teams squared off for the first time as district opponents.

Ronan was strong at the net and Bethany Coleman collected three blocks in the matchup. Courtney Clairmont also anchored the Maidens defense with 14 digs. 

Stephanie Lewandowski had nine digs for Mission.

Mission def. Ronan, 25-18, 25-16, 25-13
Kills - Ronan 8 (Ashleigh Lynch 2, Alaina Madsen 2), Mission 24 (Sara Nerby 6, Jenn Larsson 6).
Blocks - Ronan 4 (Bethany Coleman 3), Mission 1 (Nerby).
Digs - Ronan 38 (Courtney Clairmont 14), Mission 36 (Stephanie Lewandowski 9).
Assists - Mission 21 (Loren Erickson 13).
Aces - Ronan 6, Mission 7 (Erickson 3).

Here are some photos from the match, taken by reporter Dylan Kitzan.

Click on the "Read More" to see the full gallery.

Mission Volleyball vs. Eureka

Cassidy Morgan had 13 kills and Jenna Peterson added four blocks as Eureka defeated Mission 3-1 (25-22, 26-24, 20-25, 25-23) on Saturday night.

Sara Nerby had 10 kills while Sydney Allard had 12 digs for the Lady Bulldogs. Loren Erickson had 17 assists. 

Kills - Mission 41 (Sara Nerby 10). Blocks - Mission 7 (Loren Erickson 3). Digs - Mission 64 (Sydney Allard 12). Assists - Mission 34 (Erickson 17). Aces - Mission 7 (Nerby 3) 

Here are photos from the match...

Click on the "Read More" to see the full gallery.