TERRY COLUMN: Early look at gridiron power balance
A third of the way into the high school football season, we’re beginning to see an outline of what the season may look like.
It’s not final. There’s still upsets and comebacks on the horizon. Many teams are just two games into the season. At this point last season, Glacier was 1-2 and Billings West 0-3, both on the way to the playoffs. Whitefish, a week removed from a loss to Dillon, looked impressive but had questions. The Bulldogs romped through the rest of the season on the way to their first state title in 36 years.
Things will change, with roster shifts, injuries and other unforeseen circumstances.
That in mind, after a few games have been played some of the preseason shine is starting to wear off, leaving a glimmer of what we might see.
Enough of a glimmer to release the first rankings of the season.
In Class AA, four teams look to be separating from the field.
Billings Senior (3-0), which entered the season as a the state title favorite after returning most of its team from a runner-up performance last year, is steamrolling its competition, scoring more than 100 points more than they’ve given up this season.
Glacier (3-0) also looks a favorite, even with a more workmanlike win last weekend. The Wolfpack also has wins over Bozeman (2-1) and Helena High (2-1), who each have easily carried their other contests this season.
The breakdown of the conference looks in that order this early in the season, with Bozeman and Helena jockeying for the third position. The fifth best team this week is Billings West (2-1), which has a pair of quality wins over Helena Capital (1-2) and Great Falls C.M. Russell (1-2).
This week sees Glacier face an intriguing Great Falls team that fell just outside the top five, and a marquee matchup between Bozeman and Capital.
As usual, Dillon (3-0) looks at the head of Class A, with a state title rematch win over Whitefish and a gutsy win against the always tough Billings Central (1-1).
A pair of Northwest teams are close behind, Columbia Falls (3-0) and Polson (2-0) each getting off to fantastic starts to the season. Polson will get to test that start with a game against Dillon on Friday, while the Wildcats will face Dillon after a bye week at the end of the month.
Havre, which opened the season with a win at Whitefish, has one of the best run games and defenses in the state but has been limited with what it can do offensively.
Billings Central (1-1) takes up the last spot, earning a big win over Belgrade (2-1), which just missed the list after big wins over Butte Central (2-1) and Laurel (1-1).
There are 12 unbeaten teams in Class B, though there haven’t been a whole lot of top tier matchups yet this season.
Defending champ Fairfield (2-0) and runner up Huntley Project (2-0) still look to be at the top of the class, with a bunch of question marks behind them.
There have been a ton of blowouts early this season in Class B, making it harder to read which teams are strong and which have faced weak schedules.
Missoula Loyola (2-0), Colstrip (3-0) and Manhattan (3-0) have piled up points and all allowed fewer than 19 points this season. Forsyth (3-0) has been similarly strong but picked up all three of its wins against teams that combined for seven wins all of last season.
Bigfork (3-0) has scored more points than any other team in the class and all but two other teams in 11-player action in the state. It however, has also given up more points the last two weeks, even with an impressive win over Conrad (1-1).
Whitehall (3-0) has a powerful offense, but hasn’t been tested. Shelby (2-0), picked up a big win over a Eureka (2-1) team that just missed the list and Shepherd (3-0) beat out Deer Lodge (3-0) for the last spot.
The class begins to whittle down its top teams this week, beginning with a conference clash between undefeated Huntley Project and Baker (2-0). Forsyth will play Shepherd and Whitehall will play Deer Lodge in other matchups of unbeaten teams that should help clear up the Class B picture.
Daily Inter Lake Prep Power Rankings
Through Sept. 9
Class AA
Team (Record)
1. Billings Senior (3-0)
2. Glacier (3-0)
3. Helena High (2-1)
4. Bozeman (2-1)
5. Billings West (2-1)
Class A
Team (Record)
1. Dillon (2-0)
2. Columbia Falls (3-0)
3. Polson (2-0)
4. Havre (3-0)
5. Billings Central (1-1)
Class B
Team (Record)
1. Fairfield (2-0)
2. Huntley Project (3-0)
3. Missoula Loyola (2-0)
4. Colstrip (3-0)
5. Manhattan (3-0)
6. Forsyth (3-0)
7. Bigfork (3-0)
8. Whitehall (3-0)
9. Shelby (2-0)
10. Shepherd (3-0)