MT High School Football Rankings - Week 5

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VimSince03
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MT High School Football Rankings - Week 5

Post by VimSince03 » Mon Sep 19, 2016 10:01 am

Class AA

1. Billings Senior (4-0)
2. Kalispell Glacier (4-0)
3. Bozeman (3-1)
4. Billings West (3-1)
5. Missoula Big Sky (3-1)
6. Missoula Sentinel (2-2)
7. Helena High (2-2)
8. Great Falls High (1-3)
9. Helena Capital (1-3)
10. Kalispell Flathead (1-3)

Billings Senior continued their perfect record with a 40-0 win over Butte. The win was sloppy (yes a 40 point shutout can still be sloppy) for Senior standards but the score was never really in doubt as Senior held a 34-0 halftime lead. Gabe Sulser had 162 yards receiving on 10 catches with three total touchdowns. Nate Dick threw three touchdowns and ran for another. Senior travels to Helena Capital to take on a team that has the ability to control the clock with a good offensive line. Will Capital be able to score enough points? Check it out this Friday. Glacier also remained undefeated but it was a complete dog fight against a frisky Great Falls Bison squad. The Bison held a 20-3 lead early in the 4th quarter after another Bryce Vaughn touchdown scamper but then 8 minutes later the Wolpack held a 31-20 lead. That is just what this Glacier team is capable of. To cap it all, Tadan Gilman took a big hit running for a first down the drive after the Bison went up 20-3 and junior Brady Peiffer had to lead the comeback. After his first snap went over his head for a 15 yard loss, Peiffer was great and threw two touchdowns. After Glacier got to within 20-10, Great Falls went three and out and punted the ball to Jackson Pepe who returned it 91 yards for a touchdown. Just like that, Glacier was only down 20-17 with 5 minutes to go. After another Bison three and out, Peiffer found Patrick O'Connell in the back of the endzone for a 24-20 lead with 2:51 to play. Glacier picked off a Kevin Boes pass the next possession and returned it for a score to seal the victory. Great Falls QB Kevin Boes probably played his best game of his career (only a junior) but Glacier never quits. Glacier gets a week off with the Hellgate forfeit and Great Falls High welcomes a jekyll and hyde Helena High team for an important game for playoff seeding. Bozeman grinded out another win with a 31-21 win over Helena Capital. Bozeman jumped out to a 31-7 lead early in the third quarter but Capital kept fighting getting to within 10 with 3:52 to play. Bozeman QB Callahan O'Reilly scored four total touchdowns for the Hawks as his masterful senior season continues. Capital has had a tough opening schedule and it doesn't get any easier next week welcoming Billing Senior to town this Friday. Bozeman travels to Kalispell Flathead. Billings West got the forfeit win over Hellgate last week so they got a bye. Missoula Big Sky continued their hot start with a 41-12 thumping of Kalispell Flathead. Flathead receiver Seth Adolph got the Braves on the board first but then Big Sky rattled off 41 unanswered points with Big Sky QB Levi Janacaro running for 239 yards on 20 carries for five rushing touchdowns. The dual-threat QB is among the AA leaders in rushing and Big Sky had 388 yards rushing on the night. Big Sky will welcome Billings West to town for a battle of 3-1 teams. Flathead welcomes Bozeman. Missoula Sentinel at Helena High was a battle between two jekyll and hyde teams meaning you never know which one will show up. Both have talented rosters but both struggle with consistency. Sentinel was the team to show up last Friday night in Helena as the Spartans took down the Bengals 34-16. Sentinel QB Mitch Roberts put up 329 yards of total offense and Helena QB Kaleb Winterburn threw five interceptions. The turning point in the game was a first half goal-line stand by the Spartans after a Ryan Arntson catch in the endzone was overruled by the back judge after other officials signaled touchdown. Instead of kicking a field goal on 4th down, the Bengals went for it and a Winterburn pass to Derrick Olsen fell incomplete. The Spartans drove 96 yards on the ensuing possession to take a 14-9 lead into halftime. The Bengals offense put their defense in tough spots all night and if they want to be a contender, they have to clean it up on offense. Helena travels to a suddenly tough Great Falls High squad while Sentinel travel to the hapless Billings Skyview Falcons.

Co-AA Players of the Week in Week 4: Billings Senior WR Gabe Sulser (10 catches for 162 yards receiving, 4 total touchdowns (2 receiving touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown, 1 passing touchdown)); Missoula Big Sky QB Levi Janacaro (20 carries for 239 yards, 5 rushing touchdowns, 48 yards passing)

Game(s) of the Week: Billings Senior at Helena Capital (Capital continues the gauntlet against the best teams in AA but Senior knows they will have their hands full); Billings West at Missoula Big Sky (This game suddenly means a lot for playoff positioning as West and Big Sky are both 3-1 and are looking to jump into that top 4)

Class A

1. Dillon (3-0)
2. Billings Central (2-1)
3. Columbia Falls (4-0)
4. Polson (2-1)
5. Miles City (2-2)
6. Belgrade (2-2)
7. Laurel (2-1)
8. Lewistown (2-1)
9. Sidney (3-1)
10. Havre (3-1)

Teams in the conversation: Butte Central (2-2), Hamilton (2-2)

There are three teams who have separated themselves from the pack early in 2016 as Dillon, Billings Central, and Columbia Falls have been outstanding thus far. Polson had a chance to get in that conversation as they traveled to Dillon but it ended with a 38-6 Beavers win. Dillon racked up 238 rushing yards on offense and held a potent Polson offense to 255 total yards of offense and only six points. Dillon got on the board first with a 65 yard punt return from receiver Gabe Hupp. From there, Dillon scored 24 more points before Polson got on the board. Polson is still a good football team but Dillon is just on another level. Dillon travels to Hamilton this Friday while Polson travels to Frenchtown. Billings Central downed Frenchtown 46-0. Rams running back Ben Voss scored three consecutive rushing touchdowns to open the game and the Rams finished the game with 471 rushing yards. Billings Central travels to Hardin this Friday. Columbia Falls throttled Browning 56-0 and Dakota Bridwell racked up six more touchdown passes (three to Braxton Reiten) as the Wildcats record setting offense continued to impress. Columbia Falls will get the week off before heading to Dillon to get their shot at the best team in Class A. Miles City (after a tough loss to Havre last week) got a big win over a Belgrade squad that is hard to predict. Belgrade fumbled the opening kickoff and the Panthers never got right the rest of the night en route to a 40-21 loss to Miles City. Miles City QB Gabe Gundlach threw six touchdowns (five to Tyler Burke). Belgrade is a little banged up as they lost RB Hayden Van Winkle during the second quarter of the this game but they get a bye week before they start their conference slate against Lewistown. Miles City kicks off its Eastern A slate at Sidney this Friday. After a tough loss to Belgrade, Laurel got back on track with a 42-19 drubbing of Butte Central. Laurel QB Casey Cole led the way with 284 total yards of offense with four touchdowns. Laurel reeled off 42 unanswered points after Butte Central held a 7-0 first quarter lead after a Tanner Kump 26 yard touchdown pass to Nate McGree. Casey Cole is a tough kid to stop once he gets in a rhythm and Laurel needed a good win to wipe away the bad Belgrade loss the prior week. Laurel travels to Glendive to start their Eastern A part of their schedule. Butte Central welcomes Stevensville. Sophomore Lewistown QB Mitch Norslien accounted for all five of the Golden Eagle's touchdowns last Friday night en route to a 36-29 win over Glendive. Norslien's last score was a 2 yard run that got Lewistown the lead for good. The Golden Eagles open up their conference slate by welcoming Livingston to town this Friday. Havre came into its game against Sidney 3-0 with a good win over Miles City last week. However, the Sidney Eagles exposed the chinks in the Blue Ponie's armor with a 28-7 win. Jase Stokes was held out of the endzone for a second consecutive week as teams are figuring out if you stop Stokes, you take away a big part of Havre's football team. Sidney got big contributions from QB Alec Lovegren and RB Dawson McGlothlin in the victory. Havre dropped all the way to 10th in the polls despite a win against 5th ranked Miles City basically because they lost to Sidney, who lost to Lewistown, who lost to Miles City 21-0. Despite its 1 point loss to Havre, Miles City badly beat Belgrade who beat Laurel. The margin of victory puts Havre lower in the rankings. However, Havre can get back on track in the next two weeks with games against conference doormats Browning and Livingston before they take on Belgrade on October 7th. Sidney welcomes Miles City to town in a big Week 5 matchup.

Co-A Players of the Week in Week 4: Columbia Falls QB Dakota Bridwell (274 yards passing, 6 passing touchdowns); Miles City WR Tyle Burke (5 receiving touchdowns, 150+ yards of receiving)

Game(s) of the Week: Miles City at Sidney (This game will be big for Eastern A playoff implications as I think Sidney, Miles City, and Laurel are all pretty evenly matched as they battle for the #2 seed behind Billings Central)

Class B

1. Fairfield (3-0)
2. Missoula Loyola (3-0)
3. Bigfork (4-0)
4. Huntley Project (4-0)
5. Whitehall (4-0)
6. Baker (2-1)
7. Jefferson (3-1)
8. Forsyth (4-0)
9. Colstrip (4-0)
10. Conrad (2-1)

Teams in the conversation: Anaconda (1-3), Cut Bank (2-1), Eureka (3-1), Glasgow (2-2), Malta (1-2), Manhattan (3-1), Shelby (3-0), Shepherd (3-1), Townsend (1-2)

The Game of the Week in Week 4 was Huntley Project traveling to Baker and it didn't disappoint. But first, Fairfield won its 15th straight football game dating back to the beginning of last year by defeating Townsend 28-13 on the road. However, it was not easy for the Eagles. After jumping out to a 14-0 lead, Townsend punched in a score to make it 14-7 at halftime. After Fairfield QB Luke Batson punched in a 1 yard run in the third, Townsend again responded in the 4th quarter with a Jaden Graveley touchdown pass to Tyson Racht to make it 21-13. But Fairfield RB Griffen Lee closed the door with a 10 yard run to seal it for the Eagles. The Allen brothers of Fairfield (Chandler and Dawson) had two sacks and two interceptions, respectively, to pace the Eagles defense. Fairfield travels to Rocky Boy this Friday and the Eagles will get to rest some of its stars before they start a three game stretch of Cut Bank, Conrad, and Shelby. Missoula Loyola made quick work of Troy with a 64-0 win last Saturday. Nearly everyone contributed for the Rams with ATH Jacob Byrne starting the scoring with runs of 58 and 4 en route to a 35 point first period. Loyola played a ton of their young guys in this game and Troy has been outscored 226-0 this season in four games. Loyola will welcome a better opponent this Friday as Deer Lodge comes to town trying to get back on track after a tough loss to Whitehall. Big Fork got four passing touchdowns from QB Augie Emslie en route to a 41-0 win over St. Ignatius. WR Logan Taylor and RB Matt Farrier each caught two touchdown passes from Emslie in an easy win for the Vikings. Bigfork welcomes Thompson Falls to town this Friday. Okay finally we get to talk about Huntley and Baker. This game was the definition of a back and forth affair against two evenly matched teams. Baker was up 14-7 at halftime thanks in part to two Cleet Wrzesinski runs Huntley tied it in the third after a Lane Sumner run but then Wrzesinski scored his third rushing touchdown of the night on a 63 yard run in the 4th quarter to put Baker up 22-14. Late in the 4th, HP QB Tylan Croy scored on a 7 yard run and tossed a 2-point conversion to WR Keenan Reynolds to force overtime. After Sumner put Huntley up 29-22 in the first OT on a 1 yard plunge, Baker scored right away on a 15 yard Luke Gonsioroski run. However, Huntley stuffed the Spartans on the ensuing 2-point conversion to escape Baker with a 29-28 victory. This was a huge win for Huntley Project in terms of winning the 3B conference as I believe these two teams are the best in that conference over Forsyth, Shepherd, and Colstrip. Huntley Project will have to prove itself once again this Friday as they welcome undefeated Forsyth to town. Baker will travel to Lodge Grass. Whitehall continued to impress with a 32-6 route of Deer Lodge. Whitehall QB Braden Larsen accounted for four total touchdowns on 349 yards passing as he continues his masterful senior season. His favorite receiver was Wyatt Alexander who hauled in touchdown catches of 51 and 50 in the opening frame. Deer Lodge couldn't get anything going all night. Whitehall will get its toughest test of the season as they travel to conference foe Jefferson in a big 5B showdown. Forsyth knew they had a tough road test against a tough Shepherd team but they escaped with a 26-22 road conference win. Nathan Weber paced the Dogies accounting for three touchdowns with the last one being the game winner on a 20 yard pass from Caleb Knoshe. Shepherd had their chances in this one but just couldn't close it out. Forsyth will travel to Huntley Project this Friday while Shepherd welcomes Colstrip which will likely be a must-win game for Shepherd if they want to stay afloat in the 3B title race. Jefferson got back on track with a 62-24 beatdown of 1B Choteau. Jefferson RB Nate Brunett ran in three touchdowns along with three from Garrett Siller as the Panthers got some momentum back before their 5B clash with undefeated Whitehall this Friday. Conrad destroyed Rocky Boy 67-0 as the Cowboys were up 37-0 after the 1st quarter. Conrad will welcome undefeated Shelby to town this Saturday in a 1B clash of two competitive teams. There was one game in here that took everyone by surprise and that was Anaconda's upset of the previously ranked Manhattan Tigers. I talked in the preseason about how good I thought Anaconda could be but they fell flat their first three contests. Anaconda QB Braxton Hill put the team on his back and accounted for four total touchdowns (three rushing, one passing) with the last one tying the game at 26 in the 3OT before the game-winning extra point. It was a back and forth contest all night and Anaconda finally showed some resiliency on both sides of the ball. Manhattan had their chances in this one as they fumbled inside the 1 yard line in the 1st overtime but Anaconda missed a 35 yard field goal to force a second overtime. A big win for Anaconda and a bad loss for Manhattan which really hurts them in the 5B race as Whitehall, Jefferson, and Townsend are all tough to beat this year. In other team news, Cut Bank and Eureka each got blowout wins to improve their records and 2B's Glasgow and Malta earned homecoming victories over Big Timber and Roundup, respectively.

B Player of the Week in Week 4: Whitehall QB Braden Larsen (349 yards passing, 4 total touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing))

Game(s) of the Week: Forsyth at Huntley Project (battle of 3B unbeateans); Whitehall at Jefferson (time for Whitehall to prove their undefeated record isn't a joke as they take on Jefferson on the road); Shelby at Conrad (Shelby is undefeated but Conrad will be their stiffest test thus far)

Class C (8-man)

1. Ennis (4-0)
2. Wibaux (4-0)
3. Fairview (4-0)
4. Belt (4-0)
5. Harlowton (4-0)
6. Charlo (3-1)
7. DGS (3-1)
8. Victor (3-1)
9. Arlee (3-1)
10 (tie). Scobey (3-1)
10 (tie). Great Falls Central (4-0)

Teams in the conversation: Broadus (2-2), Cascade (3-1), Darby (2-2), Flint Creek (2-2), Lone Peak (2-2), Park City (3-1), Shields Valley (2-2), Twin Bridges (2-2)

The Ennis vs. DGS matchup was supposed to be a big time conference matchup between two undefeated teams. Instead, Ennis sprinted out to a 38-0 lead after quarter one en route to a 54-8 victory. Ennis RB's Jake Knack and Corbin Wood had multiple touchdown runs in the first quarter and the route was on from there. Ennis travels to Shields Valley this Friday while DGS welcomes Park City to town this Saturday for a battle between two 3-1 teams. Wibaux trounced Plentywood 50-6. Wibaux gets a week off before an October 1st showdown with rival Fairview. Fairview throttled Broadus 52-7, getting contributions across the board including 133 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns from TE Pat Hardy. Fairview will travel to Plentywood this Friday for a conference matchup. Belt vs. Cascade was another supposedly big game last week but it was another dud as Belt won 49-16. Belt QB Harry Green accounted for seven touchdowns as the Huskies made themselves the favorites to win the 8-man Northern C conference (Simms and Great Falls Central would be the only two teams left who have a shot at beating Belt). Belt travels to Centerville this Saturday. The Harlowton Engineers are off to an impressive 4-0 start after another blowout victory, this one against Shields Valley 48-8. Harlowton QB Keelan Taber accounted for five total touchdowns (2 passing, 3 rushing). Harlowton travels to Gardiner this Saturday. The final "supposed" big-game matchup of Week 4 was a conference showdown between Charlo and Victor...and again it ended in a blowout with Charlo winning 40-12. Charlo jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead off of three rushing touchdowns from RB Jared Doty and a Landers Smith touchdown pass. Victor came out tough in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 28-12 after two Colt Neville runs but then Landers Smith and Jared Doty shut the door with two late touchdowns. A huge win for Charlo, who has now won three straight after an opening week 2-point loss to Fairivew. Victor will welcome Plains to town this Friday and Charlo will travel deep into the Bitterroot for a showdown with Darby. Arlee responded to a tough loss to Charlo to beat Darby 46-14 last Friday. They will travel to Clark Fork for another big Western C game this Friday. Scobey whooped Manadree, ND, 76-0 last Friday night. Scobey was up 60-0 at halftime. RB Riley Linder had four touchdown runs in the first half. Scobey welcomes Culbertson to town this Friday. In the highest scoring game (maybe ever) in Class C football, Great Falls Central beat Chester-Joplin-Inverness 82-74. Let's just put it this way, a lot of kids scored touchdowns. I'll leave it at that. Great Falls Central will travel to Fort Benton. Something to note, Twin Bridges got back it's stud RB/LB Wesley Harshbarger so look for them to make some noise in the Western C from here on out. They had a tough start with losses to Flint Creek and Victor but have now posted back to back wins against Darby and Clark Fork and they still have Arlee and Charlo on their schedule.

C 8-man Co-Players of the Week in Week 4: Belt QB Harry Green (7 total touchdowns (4 passing, 3 rushing)); Chinook RB Tate Niederegger (300+ yards rushing, 5 touchdowns)

Game(s) of the Week: Park City at Denton-Geyser-Standford (both teams are 3-1 and both look to get a leg up on second place in the Southern C conference)

Class C (6-man)

1. Hot Springs (4-0)
2. Bridger (4-0)
3. Geraldine-Highwood (4-0)
4. White Sulphur Springs (4-0)
5. Jordan (2-1)
6. Richey-Lambert (3-1)
7. Bainville (3-1)
8. Westby-Grenora (3-1)
9. Savage (2-1)
10. Big Sandy (3-0)

Teams in the conversation: West Yellowstone (3-0), Grass Range-Winnett (2-2)

Hot Springs won by a lot of points once again (almost a weekly occurence) by beating Sheridan 55-0. They have now outscored their first four opponents 237-7. To allow only seven points is hard to do in one quarter of 6-man football, let alone a game. The Savage Heat don't really get any real competition until they finish the season with White Sulphur Springs and West Yellowstone. They travel to St. Regis this Friday. The Bridger Scouts shutout Roy-Winifred 60-0 last Friday. QB Colter Zentner accounted for four total touchdowns (3 rushing, 1 passing) in the blowout. Bridger travels to Northern Cheyenne this Friday. At least one of my Week 4 "Games of the Week" lived up to the billing as Jordan beat the previously undefeated Richey-Lambert Fusion 50-48 last Friday. It was a great game that was back and forth the whole way. Jordan will get another stiff road test as they travel to Savage this Friday. Richey-Lambert will welcome Alexander, ND. Geraldine-Highwood remained perfect by beating Augusta 46-12. They will travel to Box Elder this Saturday. White Sulphur Springs also remained perfect with a 66-15 trouncing of Noxon. WSS QB Jordan Barfuss threw three touchdown passes to pace his squad. WSS will welcome Sheridan this Sheridan this Friday. Bainville responded after a tough loss to Richey-Lambert by knocking off Ekalaka 64-19. Bainville QB Trustin Holcomb accounted for eight total touchdowns on offense. Bainville will welcome a 3-1 Westby-Grenora squad to town this Saturday in a big Eastern C conference showdown in 6-man. Speaking of Westby-Grenora, they destroyed Terry 60-12 last Saturday. Savage had the week off and it was much needed as they prepare to welcome a hot Jordan Mustang squad to town this Friday. Big Sandy enters the Top 10 with a 70-21 win over Heart Butte. Lauren and Weston Allderdice accounted for nine total touchdowns in this one for Big Sandy. They travel to Sunburst this Friday for a Northern C 6-man showdown. The biggest story-line in 6-man right now is the fact that five teams in the Eastern division (Richey-Lambert, Westby-Grenora, Bainville, Savage, and Jordan) are all one loss teams vying for four spots in the playoffs. One will not make it in which would be a shame because all five are deserving. Something to watch down the stretch.

C 6-man Player of the Week in Week 4: Bainville QB Trustin Holcomb (8 total touchdowns (5 passing, 3 rushing))

Game of the Week: Westby-Grenora at Bainville (huge game in the Eastern C 6-man conference)


"There's two times of year for me: Football season, and waiting for football season."

Bemiller49
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Re: MT High School Football Rankings - Week 5

Post by Bemiller49 » Mon Sep 26, 2016 10:12 am

Guess Shelby must be better than thought. And bigfork not as strong as thought.



catsack
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Re: MT High School Football Rankings - Week 5

Post by catsack » Sat Oct 01, 2016 9:39 pm

Bemiller49 wrote:Guess Shelby must be better than thought. And bigfork not as strong as thought.
Big Fork looked pretty strong against a team that gave Huntley all it could handle!



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VimSince03
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Re: MT High School Football Rankings - Week 5

Post by VimSince03 » Sat Oct 01, 2016 11:51 pm

catsack wrote:
Bemiller49 wrote:Guess Shelby must be better than thought. And bigfork not as strong as thought.
Big Fork looked pretty strong against a team that gave Huntley all it could handle!
Huntley was playing without three starters that game. Bigfork looked very impressive. Farrier has been good all year.


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Bemiller49
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Posts: 315
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Re: MT High School Football Rankings - Week 5

Post by Bemiller49 » Sun Oct 02, 2016 9:38 am

Bigfork had a good game. Farrier is turning out a great season. Malta is down this year and had some kids out with injuries, but regardless, Bigfork played impressively. My previous comment was the close wins against a couple teams that didn't play well last week. Not a huge knock against bigfork, they just aren't as good this year as they normally are. From what I can tell, there best players, except Farrier, are young. They will be really tough again in a couple years.



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