TERRY COLUMN: Everyone likes a football poll

Everybody loves a poll, especially in football.

Whether it’s to validate an opinion on a certain team or to gauge the depth of the league, there’s all reasons why polls have thrived when it comes to football.

College football ran on them for years, relying on writers and coaches to choose a national champion.

While high school football has relied on a playoff system for a long time, the polls have served a purpose to measure one team against another until the playoffs begin.

The last few years, I’ve voted in the Associated Press prep football polls, and we’ve run the results every week in the paper.

For some reason, there isn’t an AP poll this year.

So, I made my own. Let’s call it the Daily Inter Lake prep power poll.

It won’t be all inclusive. I haven’t seen a single team play on the other side of the mountains. I haven’t seen most teams play on this side of the mountains.

However, it’s a poll. And everybody loves a poll.

Let’s start at the top, in Class AA.

First, I’ll break down how I rank teams. Record matters, of course, but so does which teams are on that record. A tough loss against a good team isn’t going to necessarily drop a team down. An undefeated record isn’t necessarily going to keep a team at No. 1, if another team had a tougher schedule.

There are no undefeated teams in Class AA, after Bozeman (6-1) beat then-undefeated Billings Senior (6-1) 20-19 last week.

The Hawks hold my top spot, due in part to that big win and wins against Glacier (5-2) and Flathead (5-2). Senior follows them in second, with its only blemish coming against the Hawks after a last-second field goal was blocked. The Broncs also have wins Helena Capital (5-2), Billings West (4-3) and Missoula Sentinel (4-3), their defense having held teams to a state low 6.3 points per game.

The hard part of ranking comes next, with four teams tied at 5-2 in the standings vying for the final three spots in the top five.

Helena High (5-2) has wins over both Glacier and Flathead, though it has struggled to score in its last two games, squeaking by one-win Billings Skyview before falling against Helena Capital. Capital had the big win last week, but fell to Glacier earlier in the season and faces Flathead this week.

Even with its recent issues, I’m ranking the Bengals at No. 3. Glacier slides in at No. 4, just ahead of Flathead, due to more marquee wins thus far, having topped Capital, Sentinel and Great Falls C.M. Russell (4-3).

Moving down to Class A, the cream of the crop has already begun to rise. Only two teams are still undefeated and a handful more have proven to be extremely good.

Dillon earned the top ranking with the best resume so far this year, starting 6-0 with wins over Whitefish (6-1) and Billings Central (5-1).

Miles City, which is also unbeaten, starting 7-0, isn’t at No. 2, however.

Whitefish has also looked special this season, losing to Dillon by just one point in Week 1 before taking a torch to the rest of its schedule. The Bulldogs have allowed just 34 points in their other six games, including a 44-12 victory over Havre (5-2). Whitefish slides in at the second spot just ahead of Billings Central, whose only blemish this season is also a loss to Dillon, by four points. The Rams beat out Eastern A rivals Miles City on strength of schedule to this point, though the two will play this week to decide it on the field.

The Cowboys are fourth, ahead of Havre, which has only dropped a pair of games, to Whitefish and Miles City, and likely won’t lose again before the playoffs in the slumping Central division.

Eastern powers Sidney (4-3) and Laurel (4-2) just missed the rankings, though both will likely make the playoffs with the new wildcard format in Class A.

Fairfield (6-0) tops my Class B rankings, sporting the state’s second best offense and best defense so far this season. Baker (6-0) comes in at second, having been nearly as dominant and posting a 22-20 win over Huntley Project (6-1), a team that comes in at third in my rankings because of wins over Malta (5-1) and 7B leaders Thompson Falls (4-3).

The state’s only other undefeated team, Manhattan (6-0) is fourth and Jefferson (Boulder) is fifth at 6-1 this season. Colstrip (6-1), Malta (5-1), Big Timber (6-1), Missoula Loyola (4-1) and Deer Lodge (4-2) round out the top 10.

I don’t rank Class C teams because there aren’t really any that we cover in the Northwest. However, the closest team to our coverage area, Hot Springs, has been among the strongest in 6-man this season and will have a good look at adding to its trophy case this season.

These rankings will be updated each of the last few weeks leading up to the playoffs, if not with as lengthy a writeup, though probably with plenty of changes.

After all, that’s one of the best things about a football poll. If it’s not right this week, it might be next week.

DIL Prep Power Polls

Class AA

1. Bozeman (6-1)

2. Senior (6-1)

3. Helena (5-2)

4. Glacier (5-2)

5. Flathead (5-2)

Just outside: Helena Capital (5-2)

Class A

1. Dillon (6-0)

2. Whitefish (6-1)

3. Billings Central (5-1)

4. Miles City (7-0)

5. Havre (5-2)

Just outside: Sidney (4-3), Laurel (4-2)

Class B

1. Fairfield (6-0)

2. Baker (6-0)

3. Huntley Project (6-1)

4. Manhattan (6-0)

5. Boulder (6-1)

6. Colstrip (6-1)

7. Malta (5-1)

8. Big Timber (6-1)

9. Loyola (4-1)

10. Deer Lodge (4-2)