Dogs' Moses, Cats' Johnston are Northwest A MVPs

Nov. 26—Semifinalist Whitefish and league champion Columbia Falls all landed five All-State selections for Class A, in voting by Northwest A coaches released on Wednesday.

The rivals that sit 9 miles apart split the Northwest A Most Valuable Player awards: Columbia Falls junior quarterback Banyan Johnston got it on offense and Whitefish senior outside linebacker Cole Moses was honored on defense.

Johnston threw for 2,396 yards and 26 touchdowns with 12 interceptions for the Wildcats; he was joined on the All-State list by teammates Easton Brooks, Daniel Contreras, Jory Hill and Trip Ross.

Ross was first-team all-league at inside linebacker — he had 123 tackles — for the Wildcats; Brooks was first-team at receiver, Contreras on the defensive line, Hill at cornerback and Johnston at QB.

Brooks had 34 catches for 524 yards and six TDs this season, and Hill had 32 for 159 and three more scores.

Wildcat O-lineman Landon Quimby was also first-team all-Northwest A.

Besides Moses, Whitefish saw receiver/corner Vlad Shestak named All-State as well as tight end/linebacker Aaron Anderson, defensive lineman Creed Scott and O-lineman Sam Akey.

In addition to his work on defense, Moses rushed for a league-best 916 yards. He was all-Northwest A at running back as well as linebacker. Shestak had 37 catches for 584 yards for Whitefish.

Offensive lineman Leo Bungener was also first-team all-league for the Bulldogs, who lost to eventual champion Frenchtown 23-20 in the semifinals.

Bigfork had two All-State picks and Libby and Polson, one each.

For the Vikings, running back/linebacker Treker Hickey and O-lineman Holland Jantzen were honored. Hickey ran for 827 yards and nine touchdowns.

Libby's Tristan Andersen, first-team at safety, was honored; he was also a second-team pick at quarterback along with Whitefish's Luke Dalen.

Polson had three first-team all-Northwest picks, led by All-State selection Holden Emerson at tight end/safety. Brody Bulette on the offensive line and D-lineman Cody Haggard were also all-league.

Emerson had 31 catches for 352 yards and five scores.

The complete honors list follows.

All-Northwest A

First Team Offense

QB: Banyan Johnston, jr. Columbia Falls*

RB: Cole Moses, sr. Whitefish*

RB: Treker Hickey, sr. Bigfork*

WR: Vlad Shestak, jr. Whitefish*

WR: Easton Brooks, sr. Columbia Falls*

TE: Holden Emerson, sr. Polson*

TE: Aaron Anderson, sr. Whitefish*

OL: Sam Akey, sr. Whitefish*

OL: Holland Jantzen, sr. Bigfork*

OL: Brody Bulette, sr. Polson

OL: Landon Quimby, sr. Columbia Falls

OL: Leo Bungener, so. Whitefish

MVP: Banyan Johnston, Columbia Falls

First Team Defense

DL: Creed Scott, sr. Whitefish*

DL: Cody Haggard, sr. Polson

DL: Daniel Contreras, jr. Columbia Falls*

DL: Lincoln Ledingham, jr. Bigfork

ILB: Trip Ross, jr. Columbia Falls*

ILB: Aaron Anderson, sr. Whitefish

OLB: Treker Hickey, sr. Bigfork

OLB: Cole Moses, sr. Whitefish*

CB: Vlad Shestak, jr. Whitefish

CB: Jory Hill, jr. Columbia Falls*

S: Tristan Andersen, sr. Libby*

S: Holden Emerson, sr. Polson

MVP: Cole Moses, Whitefish

*-denotes All-State selection.

Second Team Offense

QB: Luke Dalen, jr., Whitefish; Tristan Andersen, sr., Libby.

RB: Tayden West, sr., Bigfork; Trip Ross, jr., Columbia Falls.

WR: Jory Hill, jr., Columbia Falls; Branson Holzer, sr., Libby; Daniel Contreras, jr., Columbia Falls.

OL: Tristan Anderson, jr., Columbia Falls; Creed Scott, sr., Whitefish; Kaden Kaber, sr., Columbia Falls; Anderson Barille, sr., Whitefish; Walker Willis, sr., Bigfork.

Second Team Defense

DL: Sam Akey, sr., Whitefish; Jayke Thew, jr., Whitefish; Tristan Anderson, jr., Columbia Falls.

ILB: Ian Thom, sr., Libby; Sam Nissen, sr., Whitefish.

OLB: Jordan Harmon, sr., Whitefish; Kyler Voermans, so., Columbia Falls.

CB: Ollie Buzzell, sr., Bigfork; Easton Brooks, sr., Columbia Falls.

S: Hayden Strandberg, jr., Columbia Falls; Sam Rainford, jr., Whitefish; Tamret Savik, sr., Bigfork.

Honorable Mention

Cooper Akey, S, sr., Whitefish; Dexter Anderson, DL, jr., Bigfork; Layton Burland, OLB, jr., Ronan; Jaxson Cadwell, ILB, so., Columbia Falls; Dane Carleson, ILB, sr., Bigfork; Quinn Kerr, K, jr., Bigfork; Gabe Kosters, OLB, sr., Libby; Isaac Lamere, WR, sr., Libby; Boe Miles, CB, sr., Libby; Gabe Plevel, OLB, sr., Columbia Falls; Austin Savik, WR, sr., Bigfork; Cooper Wayman, OL, so., Ronan.