MT High School Football Rankings - Week 1

[VimSince03]

Class AA

1. Billings Senior
2. Kalispell Glacier
3. Helena High
4. Helena Capital
5. Bozeman
6. Missoula Sentinel
7. Billings West
8. Kalispell Flathead
9. Billings Skyview
10. Great Falls High

Senior is loaded...enough said. Glacier has a lot of star-power returning and their program simply reloads with talent. Helena High is a senior laden squad with some very good players at key positions and they will surprise some people on offense. Capital has the best offensive line in AA (led by juniors Conor Quick and Carson Shuman) and one of the best linebackers in Marcus Welnel. Bozeman could actually go from the #1 team in 2015 to the "surprise" team of 2016 (Bozeman usually never surprises anyone because they are always good but this year they have a lot of unknowns). Sentinel has a good offensive backfield with Mitch Roberts at QB and Conner Crawford at RB (and they also have a large offensive line). Billings West is led by the Deming twins (but if one of them were to go down, it may be a tough season). Flathead has a very good QB in Bridger Johnson but they lost a really good RB from last year in Josh McCracken. Skyview has a big offensive line led by Dawson Berg & Drew Keierleber and a defense led by MLB Ryan Davis. This team may surprise some people as well. Great Falls High may have the best QB in the state in junior Kevin Boes and one of the better receivers in the state in senior Kody Torgerson.

Game of the Week: Kalispell Glacier at Helena High (rated at #2 and #3 on my list, both teams think they deserve to be in the discussion as the top team...good time to prove it with a victory here)

Class A

1. Dillon
2. Laurel
3. Billings Central
4. Polson
5. Columbia Falls
6. Belgrade
7. Butte Central
8. Miles City
9. Whitefish
10. Sidney

Dillon graduated a good amount of seniors from their state title team in 2015 (Kyle Finch, Nate Simkins, Payton LeFrentz) but they return possibly the best player in the state in Troy Andersen, an All-State RB/LB in RJ Fitzgerald and a good core of seniors that have played together for a while now. Laurel is my #2 team as they return all-everything player Casey Cole and some talented two-way players (Chance Lawrence, Zane Jarecke, etc.). Billings Central is my #3 team because I trust the program and they return talent (WR/OLB Peyton Hanser is a great kid to start with). Polson has the talent to be the best team in the state, being led by Tanner Wilson (QB/S) and Matthew Rensvold (TE/MLB). Columbia Falls is a senior laden team that also has plenty of talent (Zach Baker (OT), Trevor Hoerner (WR/MLB), Sean Miller (WR/DB)) but the time is now to prove it. Belgrade graduated Derek Marks but return a slew of solid seniors in William Blewitt (OL/MLB), Trey Mounts (WR/DB), and Hayden Van Winkle (RB/OLB). Butte Central has graduated some college level athletes over the past two years but they still have a solid group heading into 2016 led by QB Tanner Kump, RB Blake Burton, and WR/S Nate McGree. Miles City was depleted by graduation last year but they do return a few really talented athletes in Jacob Morris (RB/WR/DB/LB), Tyler Burk (WR/S), and Reilly Conley (OL/DL/LB). Like Miles City, Whitefish was hit very hard by graduation but return some veterans who should be able to lead a stout defensive front seven in three year starter Travis Catina (OL/MLB) and Patrick McGeady (OL/DL). Sidney graduated some very good players last year but return the athletic WR/S Michael McGinnis and OL/DL Brenly Steinbeisser.

Game of the Week: Butte Central at Belgrade (rated at 7th and 6th on my preseason list, one of these teams can make a statement with a big win here)

Class B

1. Fairfield
2. Missoula Loyola
3. Big Fork
4. Huntley Project
5. Baker
6. Conrad
7. Manhattan
8. Cut Bank
9. Anaconda
10tie. Malta
10tie. Eureka

Fairfield is still the #1 team in my mind. They don't have the offensive line they had last year but Chandler Allen (TE/WR/RB/LB/DE) and Cantor Coverdell (WR/LB/DB) are as good as it gets in Class B. Missoula Loyola returns a ton of players and they also get a few from Missoula Hellgate (WR/DB's Brady Needles and Caden Sant). They won't be the biggest team but they have athletes everywhere. Big Fork will go as far as Matthew Farrier (RB) carries them. He is one of the best backs in the state and they need to ride him all season. Huntley Project lost studs Michael Jobman and Dallas Mack but return a talented offensive/defensive lineman in junior Trey Copeland and a really good young running back in junior Lane Sumner. Baker will be right in the mix once again but the season will depend on Luke Gonsioroski's health and how well he can bounce back. Overall, Baker has an established program than can always produce good, sound players at each position. It also helps that they got one of the fastest players in the state (Cleet Wrzesinki) from Ennis to transfer to them. Conrad is a team that not a lot of people are talking about but they have 13 seniors (big amount for Class B) and they all have experience, led by All-State linebacker Hunter Mycke. Manhattan graduated Alec Nehring, Caleb Neth, and Chase Barta but return a solid trio of WR/CB Cole McCloud, QB Kobe Grossman, and OL/DL Kellan Stevenson. Cut Bank might have the biggest team in Class B. On the offensive line, they have two kids over 260 (Center Justin Pfeifer and OT Blaine Jansen). Peter Hamilton lines up at FB and is a load at 240. They will definitely be in the mix with Fairfield and Conrad by going right at you with the run game. Anaconda is another team that has some good talent in critical areas (QB, RB, OL) with Braxton Hill (QB/LB), Chase Reisnauer (RB/LB), Kynan Kellegher (OL/DL), and Kayne Bryant (OL/DL). I think they are going to be really good but they need to prove it in a tough conference. Now for #10, I could've thrown a lot of teams in here but Class B is all about the divide between the good programs and the poor programs. Malta always believes they are going to win every game. They return a very good RB/LB in junior Trace Simonson, senior OL/DL Cody Werk, and senior WR/S Ostin Welch. They should win the 2B over Glasgow (who will be better this year). Eureka was a team that was supposed to be competitive last year but injuries derailed their season. They return a big offensive line, a good quarterback, a good running back. If they stay healthy, they have the talent to be one of the best teams in the state.

Game of the Week: Florence/Carlton at Manhattan (could've put a few games here but I like this matchup because I want to see how good Manhattan is and visa versa with Florence/Carlton who could surprise this year.)

Class C (8-man)

1. Ennis
2. Wibaux
3. Twin Bridges
4. Fairview
5. Chinook
6. Denton-Geyser Stanford (DGS)
7. Flint Creek
8. Victor
9. Broadus
10. Arlee

Ennis brings back nearly everyone from last year with seniors Jake Knack (RB/DE), Gavin McKitrick (WR/LB), Ty Morgan (OL/DL), and junior Tanner Wood (QB/S). They will be tough to beat. Wibaux will have one of the bigger teams in 8-man (surprised?). They are led by RB/LB Shawn Schaefferkoetter, FB/DE Angus Lund, and a senior led offensive line all over 200 lbs. (big for Class C). Twin Bridges lost some speed due to graduation but return All-State performers in QB/S Chace Guinnane and RB/LB Wesley Harshbarger. Harshbarger will miss the first three weeks still recovering from a broken foot during track season but should be good to go mid-season. Fairview returns Pat Hardy (TE/LB), Tanner Reynolds (QB/S) and Taryn Candee (RB/LB) and will again be tough. Chinook may drop off a bit from last years state championship squad but they still bring back some talent with RB/LB Tate Niederegger leading the way. DGS will begin their 8-man campaign in 2016 and they should make an impact right away. They did lose three really good players off of last years team but return Rhet Woodhall (RB/LB), Kordell Carpenter (QB/DB), and a slew of players with game experience. Flint Creek should make a push in 2016 with returners Mark Estes (QB/S) and Gabe Byrne (RB/LB) leading the way. Victor also returns all-state talent in Colt Neville (TE/LB) and Jesse Pearson (QB/LB) so they should be in the mix. Broadus returns Jay Randall (OL/DL) and Garrett Greslin (WR/LB) among others to a squad that went 5-4 last year. Arlee lost a ton of talent off of their 2015 runner-up squad but they do return WR/DB Tyler Tanner and a few others to make up a competitive team once again.

Game of the Week: Charlo at Fairview (Charlo is a fringe team that I thought about putting in the top 10 and Fairview is a perennial power. This game is important because it will show me how good both teams are and will make things a little more clear to start the season. To add another storyline, this is a re-match game on the same field Charlo beat Fairiew on last year in the quarterfinals. Fairview wants redemption.)

Class C (6-man)

1. Hot Springs
2. Savage
3. Jordan
4. Bridger
5. Westby-Grenora
6. Roy-Winifred
7. Terry
8. Custer-Hysham
9. Winnett-Grass Range
10. Geraldine-Highwood

Trevor Paro (RB/LB), Kane Lawson (RB/LB) and Blaine Carr (TE/LB) make up a talented core of seniors that should lead Hot Springs all season. In total, they have 8 letter winners returning. Athlete Bryar Lang and running back Clay Sheehan retun for Savage as they look to advance to a state title game in 2016. The Mustangs lost some speed but do return athletes Jon Saylor and Tyrone Hageman. The Scouts return three Zentner's who will be running all over the field in 2016. The Thunder return WR/DB Daulton Holecek and WR/LB Brian Field to a competitive squad year in and year out since they put together a football program. Roy-Winifred return four seniors led by Braden Vrion who should push for a playoff run this year. Terry returns two good athletes in Justin Kinn (RB/LB) and Shad Mack (RB/LB). Custer-Hysham is low on numbers but have proven performers in Matlock Morrison and Shay Adler. Winnett-Grass Range started a bunch of freshman last year and was still competitive. They all return and I think this is the team that could surprise in 2016. Geraldine-Highwood returns athlete Louis Aaron to an annually competitive squad.

Game of the Week: Bridger at Westby-Grenora (I think Bridger is going to be really good and I'm kind of on the fringe with Westby-Grenora so out of all the games, this is the one that should show me who is for real between the two teams.)

[Helcat72]

Glacier beat Helena High like a rented mule! 35 -7 The Bengals played a real gritty game on defense, but was no match for the passing of Tadan Gilman.

[ruralcat]

Baker supposedly also got a transfer in Angus Lund from Wibaux. A little more talent thrown into an already talented team. They should be good.

[91catAlum]

Glacier beat Helena High like a rented mule! 35 -7 The Bengals played a real gritty game on defense, but was no match for the passing of Tadan Gilman.

I listened to some on the radio, sounded like Glaciers defense just stoned HHS all night. The lone HHS TD drive in the 2nd half included about 40 penalty yards against Glacier. And HHS has a ton of returning talent and speed on offense. Glaciers D must be awesome.

[VimSince03]

Baker supposedly also got a transfer in Angus Lund from Wibaux. A little more talent thrown into an already talented team. They should be good.

Yeah I just heard that last night. Angus is from Wibaux.