Season on the line tonight for Wampus Cats

CLARK FORK — The playoffs essentially start tonight for the Clark Fork football team, which will look to extend its season with a big home win over Kootenai.

The Wampus Cats (5-3, 2-1 NSL) must beat the Warriors (5-3, 3-0 NSL) or their season comes to an end. The Cats have scored 176 points during a three game win streak, and head coach Brian Arthun said it’s nice to be playing a meaningful game this late in the year.

“It’s basically a playoff game for us, win or go home,” said Arthun of tonight’s showdown. “The team has worked very hard to put themselves into this position, and it’s nice to see all the hard work pay off.”

Kootenai won 52-6 in the first meeting between the league rivals, but Arthun believes his team has made some big strides since then. A win tonight would force a Kansas City tie-breaker at a neutral site on Monday for the lone 1A Division II playoff berth.

The key to beating the Warriors will be shutting down their power running game, and limiting turnovers and blown assignments, which in eight man football often lead to touchdowns.

Offensively, the Cats will lean on seniors Axel Anderson, Zack Klein and Joey Hazinsky, who have carried the scoring load all season. Brandan Bowen, Nyk Jones and Zach Nesbitt have also shown flashes of offense when their number is called.

“On offense we are going to try to get the ball to our playmakers in space and let them make plays,” said Arthun, who hopes his undersized defense can hold up. “The key will be playing low and being disciplined each play to hold up our gap responsibilities against a bigger offensive front.”

Kickoff for Senior Night is 7 p.m. in Clark Fork.