Prior to moving up to the Class B football ranks in 1968, Townsend produced four undefeated seasons as a Class C eight-man powerhouse, including a 33-game winning streak.

This week, Replays takes a look back on those undefeated teams – and the win streak – from the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s.

1941

The game was six-man Class C football, and after winning their first four games, the Townsend Bulldogs won the Four Rivers District championship with a 48-20 triumph over Whitehall. Scoring for Townsend were Buzz Brizbin on a touchdown pass from quarterback Bud Sautter, two TD runs each by Brizbin and Maurice Guffey, and a run to the house by Sautter.

Broadwater High (6-0) then climaxed its season, emerging victorious over Lodge Grass 65-24 in what the newspapers labeled the Southern Montana Championship. In their six games, the Bulldogs outscored the opposition 351-127.

Sautter, whose best game occurred in a 67-40 win over Manhattan when he threw six TD strikes, finished the season with 20 touchdown passes and 14 TD runs.

Sautter went on to play minor league baseball, as a catcher for the Great Falls Selectrics.

1956

In 1956, the Bulldogs went 6-0-1, the only blemish being a 6-6 tie with Class B Helena Cathedral in the season opener. The game was an 11-man contest.

Townsend then went unbeaten the rest of the way, culminating in a lopsided 45-0 victory over Three Forks to clinch the District 8 crown.

Howard White, Scoffield, Dave Doig and Pete Carson shared the scoring attack, with running backs Gary Mattson and Jim “The Fox” Van Meter rushing for large gains. Doing the heavy work on the interior lines, back when everyone played both ways, were Bill Deadmond, Steve Wogaman, Black, Richtmyer and Pat Delger.

The Townsend Star noted that because the other schools in the Southern Division were six-man teams, “no provisions were made by the Montana High School Board for inter-division play.”

1957

Townsend opened the 1957 season on an auspicious note, when the Bulldogs blew a 25-6 halftime lead over Whitehall, losing 26-25.

Then Townsend, under new head coach Casey Keltz, ran the table the rest of the season, including a 20-7 win in the rematch against Whitehall for the District 8 and Four Rivers conference championship.

The Bulldogs advanced to the Western Division finals, in Darby against the defending champions. Since all the other districts played six-man, the game was billed as the “unofficial” 1957 Class C championship.

After a scoreless first quarter, Townsend (8-1) reached paydirt three times in the second period, on a strike from Mattson to Red Davey, Doig’s 25-yard run, and a jaunt by Van Meter.

Mattson’s TD in the third frame put the game on ice, as the Bulldogs claimed a 25-9 victory. The Townsend Star lauded the defensive play of Bill Lavender, Delger and Norman Bruce.

A junior end for Townsend back then was Don Lewis. The grandfather of present-day wide receiver Andy Newman, he has witnessed every game his alma mater has played over the last two seasons.

“We had a great team, and the (current) Bulldogs have a great team when they all play together,” said Lewis, 68. “My grandson is a hell of a ballplayer, but I think what impresses me most about him is his spirituality.

“He’s got the team kneeling for a prayer before every game. And if a teammate or an opponent gets hurts, everyone takes a knee until the injured player is off the field,” Lewis said.

1958

The Bulldogs won their first six in a row, before clinching the district title with a 14-6 win over the Trojans. The winning scores came on a 75-yard kickoff return TD by Dennis Miller, and a Brad White to Duane Lavender scoring strike.

Next came a 26-0 whitewashing of Superior for the Western Division championship, capping an undefeated 9-0 season. Quarterback Pete Carson and Miller each reached the end zone twice, and the defense was anchored by Pat Delger, Bruce, Allan Damuth, Lewis and Lavender.

The newly formed eight-man Eastern District was captured by Wibaux, but no arrangements were made to contest a state Class C championship.

Carson is the great uncle of current Bulldog fullback/linebacker Raddlee Turcotte. His nephew, Mike Turcotte, who also played for Townsend (1987-89), became an All-American at Montana Tech.

1959

Despite losing most of its starters, Townsend compiled another perfect record, going 8-0. The Bulldogs copped their fourth straight District 8 crown, 29-7 over Belgrade, followed by their third successive Four Rivers conference title, a 13-7 victory over Twin Bridges.

Against the Falcons, Etzwiler ran for the first score, and Wogaman passed to White for the winning touchdown.

The offense that year was led by White, Rich Etzwiler, Max Iverson, Mike Kieckbush and Steve Wogaman; while the defense was anchored by Norm and Andy Bruce, Bill Strong, Bill Deadmond, Evan Stiner and Terry Harris.

Townsend was then scheduled to travel to Hot Springs to vie for the Western Divisional crown, but the game was canceled after a blizzard dumped 20 inches of snow and closed the pass.

1960

Townsend entered the 1960 season riding a 28-game winning streak. After opening with a forfeit over Clyde Park, the Bulldogs suffered their first loss in three years, 27-0 to Helena Cathedral.

But since the Greenies were Class B and it was an 11-man game, the defeat was not counted as a blemish on the streak.

Townsend then rang up four more wins, before falling to Belgrade 45-0 in the District 8 finals. The streak ended at 33 consecutive victories. From 1956-60, Townsend went 36-3-1.

A few of the Bulldogs’ (5-2) top players from 1960 were Etzwiler, Howard White, Harris, Bob Lundborg, Terry Plummer, Frank Grover, Pete Nash, Andy Bruce and Joe Ulmer.

1964

Coach Keltz, who went on to a successful career at Western Montana College, guided his Townsend gridders to the school’s fourth undefeated season, with a spotless 10-0 mark.

The ’64 Bulldogs won the District 8 title, and then advanced to the Western Division chipper with a 23-19 come-from-behind victory over Twin Bridges. Reaching the end zone for the Bulldogs were Cecil Hunsaker, Mike Hargrove and Dan Wooley.

Keltz lauded the defensive work of Wooley, Hargrove, Mike Ragen and Hunsaker, as well as center Chuck Smith and QB Jerry Waling on offense.

The Bulldogs then garnered their fifth Western championship, beating Superior 28-7, behind the offensive attack of Waling, Hunsaker, Ragen and Harry Buckingham. Bob Thompson and Wooley were singled out for their defensive efforts.

By now, the statewide Class C ranks were divided into four divisions – North, South, East and West. There was still no format to contest a state championship game, but in effect Townsend had reached the final four.