The Central Montana Sports Round-Up With Karl Koontz

Week #2 Central Montana High School Football Playoff Preview

Week #1 of the 2024 Montana high school playoffs is in the books, and championship candidates have been paired in half in all the school classifications across the Treasure State. The biggest thing revealed in round #1 was that some conferences are clearly stronger than others this year. As the quarterfinals approach this weekend the contenders and pretenders will show themselves in 20 different high stakes throughout the landscape. KMON will be on hand for playoff action with live play-by-play and scoring updates across the landscape of Montana football over the next three weekends until all five kings are crowned.

Class AA Football

Class AA was a tale of East versus West and in the four contests last weekend the west emerged as the dominant forces. Helena High upended CMR 34-12, ending the Rustlers season as they posted a 4-6 record when all was said and done. Great Falls High moved the ball against Butte, but couldn’t get it in the end zone as the Bulldogs pulled off the upset in Memorial Stadium by a final margin of 21-17. Missoula Sentinel handled Bozeman 42-19 and Missoula Big Sky dispatched Billings Senior 34-13. Four teams had byes in the opening set of games, and this weekend Helena travels to Gallatin, Glacier hosts Butte, Sentinel and Capital square off in the Queen City and Big Sky goes to Billings to battle West. Those game are all set for Friday night at 7:00 pm.

Class A Football

In the Class A duels, nearby teams Havre and Lewistown both stayed alive as the Blue Ponies eased past East Helena 42-19 and Fergus County High bested Miles City 37-7. Havre faces a tough test Saturday when they travel across the mountains to joust with the Frenchtown Broncs. Lewistown has an even longer trip to the southwest where they will meet perennial powerhouse Dillon as they nurture their championship hopes. Lewistown won it all two years hence and Dillon is defending their title from last year. Other games in that division feature Columbia Fall at Laurel and Whitefish at Billings Central. All the Class A games this round are on Saturday, but start times vary. Check out the MHSA web site for more details.

Class B/C/6 Man/8 Man Football

All four Class B quarters will tee it up at 1:00 pm and Saturday. The top team from the Northern Division has been Malta all year, and the Mustangs will put it on the line against Three Forks. Boulder travels to Florence on that side of the bracket. Florence is the two-time defending champs in that classification. Fighting for a spot in the other semifinals will be Eureka and Manhattan, who will play down south in Gallatin County while Red Lodge plays at home against Missoula Loyola in the other matchup. A couple other teams from these parts qualified for the postseason, but were eliminated in the first round. Conrad fell to Loyola 21-12 , and Fairfield had the misfortune of opening against Florence, tumbling 56-20 to end their campaign.

Among the larger schools in the area teams haven’t fared so well, but Golden Triangle fans have plenty of options if they’re interested in taking a game this weekend. The Northern C owned the south, going 4-0 in the first stanza, so there a several nearby teams to route for. On one side of the bracket, northerners Fort Benton handled Mission 32-6, and Choteau upset Seeley Swan 41-28. #1 ranked Fairview whipped Sheridan 70-21 and Scobey shocked Manhattan Christian 26-18. That sets up games Choteau @ Fairview and Scobey on one side of the bracket. The other 8-Man teams from around here that won were Belt, ranked #2 in the state, and Chinook. Belt rolled over St. Regis/Mullan 57-6, and Chinook, a four seed that knocked off the #1 out of the west, Valley Christian 40-24. Culbertson chopped up Ennis 42-6 and Flint Creek doubled up on Circle 28-14. This side of the bracket pits Chinook at Flint Creek (Philipsburg) as Belt will play at home against Culbertson. This is the third playoff meeting between Belt and Culbertson in the past four years. All the 8-man game are set for Saturday at 1:00 pm.

In the 6-man tournament, which includes five divisions, local kids have done great. In the first round Bridger took out Power-Dutton-Brady 59-18, Lincoln raced past Savage 66-33, CJI blasted Jordan 60-20 and Centerville conquered Shields Valley 51-12 to advance on the top half of the bracket. On the bottom half, Box Elder, beat Absarokee 67-24, DGSG eclipsed West Yellowstone 64-22, and Hot Springs bolted to a 78-51 win over Custer-Hysham-Melstone, and Highwood blanked Bainville 52-0. So five of the six area teams moved on! Saturday at 1:00 pm the next round games will include Bridger @ Lincoln. A huge area game will see CJI travel to Centerville for a rematch of the season opener which saw the Hawks squeak out a 65-63 win. That game could be an instant classic. Box Elder will entertain DGSG a little ways north; the Bears of Box Elder are ranked #1 in the state, a position once held by the Bearcats of Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine. The Mountaineers of Highwood are the travelling champs so far this fall. Last week they loaded up for a long journey east to tackle Bainville; that win earned them a trip the other direction, where they will meet hot Springs in the west. The two round trips total almost 1,300 miles.

Game Of The Week

KMON’s game of the Week this weekend will be the Culbertson @ Belt contest. Chris Kelly and Karl Koontz will call the game live from Remington Field. Culbertson is the #2 from the east and Belt the Northern Champs. Belt has played in the past two state title games and hopes to keep their championship dreams alive against the Cowboys. Pregame is schedule for 12:50 and kick-off will take place at 1:00 pm. Tune in for all the fun on KMON: 560 AM, on our website and on our app.