Flathead Valley football on display
In a region of the state lauded for its tourist destinations, football hasn’t been one of the reasons many Montanans come to visit.
The Northwest has been derided all season for hosting a pair of conferences chock-full of teams with losing records. Credit, if extended, is often handed out only with a caveat.
With three games in the Flathead Valley this weekend, Northwest football is on display with a rare chance to show its muscle to the rest of the state. Glacier, Whitefish and Bigfork have an opportunity to show that despite a few poor records, the cream of the crop in the region can hang with any team in the state.
A win for each would not only put them one game from playing for a state title, but would guarantee at least one more week of football on home soil.
For Bigfork, its chance comes against the one team it has had the most trouble against in the postseason.
Since moving back down to Class B in 2009 and winning the state championship in 2010, Bigfork has faced Malta twice in the playoffs, losing each time. The Mustangs ended the Vikings hopes of a repeat in 2011, unceremoniously thumping them 42-0 in Bigfork. A year later, Malta won again 23-13, this time along the Hi-Line. The Mustangs made it to the state title game each time, finishing second.
Bigfork (8-1) enters Saturday’s game as a favorite over Malta (6-3), though respect hasn’t come automatically with the Vikings sterling record. Because of conference affiliation, Bigfork has played just two teams with a winning record this season, depressing the Vikings in the polls all season. While they finished the regular season ranked fifth in Class B, Bigfork was ranked 10th for most of the year and struggled to earn statewide respect after an early-season loss at Choteau.
That shouldn’t matter if the Vikings continue their torrid attack on opposing defenses. Since the early loss, Bigfork has shown its strength this season, winning games on average roughly 46-4, including a 44-7 demolishing of Deer Lodge last week in the first round of the playoffs.
Whitefish may have been the least respected power team in the state this season, unranked all season despite clearing through the Northwestern A and losing at No. 1 Belgrade by one point in overtime. Instead, power conference Eastern A saw three of its teams regularly in the five-team poll.
The Bulldogs (7-2) have their chance to make a name for themselves this week against Miles City (7-2), a traditional juggernaut from the Eastern A that finished the season ranked No. 5. The Cowboys have won more Class A state championships than any other school at nine, the last coming in 2010.
Whitefish, which hasn’t played an Eastern A school since the 2001 playoffs, has a chance to shock the state
on Saturday with its talented young team. The Bulldogs have been their best against playoff teams this year, winning three of four matchups with only a narrow loss on the road. One of those teams, Havre, took the Cowboys to overtime last week.
Glacier too has a point to prove this week. While widely considered the top team in the state this season, the support hasn’t been unanimous. The Wolfpack has played one of the easiest schedules in Class AA this season and has had to venture across the Continental Divide just three times.
While still at the comfortable confines of Legends Stadium, Glacier takes on a team in Billings West that beat the Wolfpack 45-16 in the only postseason meeting between the two teams. A win would put Glacier back into the state semifinals for the fourth straight year, a nearly unprecedented run of success in Class AA.
A win for each would prop the region back up as one of the toughest in the state, and prove that the trip to the Northwest won’t only be for the scenery and a formality.
Most of all, it would set up a monster weekend of semifinal games in the Flathead Valley. And that’s something we can all root for.