Whitefish Bulldogs: A motivated team with a determined head coach
WHITEFISH, Mont. — The Whitefish High School Bulldogs have been playing football for a very long time. However, not much was said about them until they played and won the 1979 Class A State Football Championship. The game, which everyone in the town attended, was led by head coach Bob Raeth. Made up of a tough bunch, the Bulldogs beat their opponent, Powell County, 14-7.
On the Bulldog team were mean senior linemen, fearless defensemen and other talented players. One of the notable players on the 1979 team was safety and guard Ryan Zinke. He stood at 6-foot-4 and weighed 210 pounds. Zinke later played at the University of Oregon before joining the military and is now a state senator. Other notable players include quarterback Eric Smith, standout receiver Frank Wright, Bart DePratu and junior slot Shawn Havens.
Unfortunately, the team lost the 1980 and 1986 championships to Glasgow 22-19 and 27-0, respectively. They also lost the championship 22-12 to Sidney in 1987 and 2001 to Fergus 12-9.
Fortunately, the Bulldogs had a reason to celebrate on Nov. 22, 2015, when they smashed the Dillion Beavers 17-13 to win the football state championship. This Class A title was their first in 36 years, and head coach Chad Ross led them. Unseating the two-time defending champions was a victory worth celebrating. The Whitefish Bulldogs didn鈥檛 disappoint their fans, who made the five-hour trip to the frozen field at Beaverhead County in four buses to watch their first title game appearance in fourteen years.
The team was made up of notable seniors like Chris Park, Luke May, Jed Nagler and Brian Fauntleroy.
鈥淲e talked about how we鈥檝e had a great season and we鈥檒l always remember it,鈥� Coach Ross at the time. 鈥淏ut if we win this game, the community will remember it forever.鈥�
Ross coaches the Whitefish Bulldogs football team with Ryan Boyle, Brett Bollweg and Aric Harris as assistant coaches.
Ross is the proud father of four smart children, who, at some point, played football while going ahead to achieve incredible feats in other areas of their lives. Two of his children were named All-State athletes. Chaffin, who has a degree in chemical engineering, is a footballer with the Colorado School of Mines. Meanwhile, Cailyn, his daughter, played volleyball at New Jersey鈥檚 Kean University.
His youngest son, Camren, got into West Point鈥檚 U.S. Military Academy in New York in April 2021. Before realizing this dream, he was a 4.0 student, the captain of the wrestling team and an All-State football player. Ross fondly remembers the very young Camren wanting to be a dragon. Camren was first drawn to the military in grade school and has found himself following in his grandfather鈥檚 footsteps. The late Jerry Ross did three tours in Vietnam and also played football with the MSU Bobcats.
Defensive end Camren Ross was one of the Whitefish鈥檚 stout defenders, alongside players like safety Bodie Smith and cornerback Jaxsen Schlauch.
The Whitefish Bulldogs football team started the 2021-22 season with a 7-0 record but lost their last three games. However, they ended the season with a 7-3 record, their best record since 2015. The playoff game, held on Whitefish鈥檚 Memorial Field against Frenchtown鈥檚 Broncs, marked the last game for 15 Whitefish Bulldogs鈥� senior players.
Unshaken, Coach Ross is sure that the players who will return for next season will be very successful just as the outgoing seniors were. Meanwhile, the Bulldog fans are looking forward to showing up massively at another championship finals.
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