TERRY COLUMN: Gridiron's separation weekend
This is a big weekend in Montana high school football.
Friday’s slate of games feature a handful of rivalry matchups, a rematch of a state title game and four other games between top 10 teams. While it may not be the deciding weekend of the season, it will certainly be one that creates some separation.
One of the state’s biggest games involves two of its best teams, as Polson heads to Butte Central for the first game in a brutally tough closing stretch of the season. Polson, which has all but clinched a playoff spot with a 2-0 start in conference play, could use a big win against the Maroons ahead of games against top-ranked Columbia Falls and Central A-leading Havre.
Columbia Falls has what’s always the biggest game on its schedule this week, a matchup with defending state champ Whitefish, who has gotten the best of the Wildcats the last two seasons. A win in the rivalry game would certainly be important ahead of the matchup with Polson next week for the Northwestern A title.
Also in Class A, Sidney plays Billings Central in a matchup of top-five teams atop the Eastern conference and Havre plays Belgrade in the first of two games that will likely decide the Central.
Flathead and Glacier have big games on their schedule too, though for different reasons.
Flathead sits in a tie for eighth place in Class AA entering a game at fellow 2-4 team Butte. Even with the rough start to the season, a win this week would keep the Braves in the hunt for the postseason. After a week off, it’s a good opportunity to move further towards .500 with a few winnable games still left on the schedule.
Glacier also needs to get itself back on track, despite its state-best 6-0 start to the season. A week after giving up 62 points in a win, the Wolfpack would like to keep the scoring more in check as it enters a closing stretch of four straight games at Legends Stadium.
Glacier could also get some separation at the top of Class AA, with the state’s biggest game of the weekend kicking off in Billings between No. 1 Senior and No. 3 Bozeman in a rematch of last season’s state title game. The Wolfpack, which already has a win over Bozeman and doesn’t play the Broncs this regular season, would have an open path to the top playoff seed with a loss by Senior, needing only to win its last four games and not have to resort to potential tiebreakers.
Rivalry games between Helena High and Helena Capital, and Billings West and Billings Skyview could also boost the playoff and seeding hopes for both Kalispell teams.
The biggest game of the week in Class B was canceled, with Manhattan deciding not to travel to Laurel to play top-ranked Huntley Project. With a host of conference-deciding games next weekend, this week sets up more as a time to avoid upsets for the state’s top teams.
Bigfork hosts one-win Libby and Eureka plays at winless Troy in a Lincoln County dustup, both setting up their 7B title game next week.
Ronan plays at Missoula Loyola in a game that could vault the Chiefs to the top of the 6B, in what has turned into the best game in the class this weekend. Conrad and defending-champ Fairfield and Townsend and Jefferson (Boulder) play in the only other meetings of teams above .500 this season.
While not all of the games this weekend may be top-level slugfests, all of them are important. The playoff picture is tightening, and it’s this week that should start to bring it into focus.