by Scott Sacry
The Montana high school state football playoffs begin this week, and three Bitterroot Valley schools qualified for the postseason: Darby in 8-Man, Florence in Class B, and Hamilton in Class A.
Darby finished the regular season with an 8-1 record and is the #7 ranked 8-Man team in the 406 MT Sports rankings. Darby’s lone loss came on Oct. 2, when they lost 26-56 to #3 Superior.
Darby hosts a playoff game for the first time in nearly 30 years. Darby earned the two seed from the West and hosts #9 Chinook (7-2), the third seed from the North, on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m.
“We are feeling great going into the playoffs,” said John Steiner, Darby’s head football coach. “The guys are playing with a lot of confidence. I think we really match up well against Chinook and have a definite speed advantage. Our linemen match up very well, but they do have some bigger skill position players. The North and East have big physical football players, so we are going to have to be on our game. But I feel like we are the more dynamic team with more speed, which should give us the edge. And they have to drive six hours to play us at our place, but in the playoffs every team is good. I’m excited for this challenge for our team.”
The winner of the Darby/Chinook game plays the winner of the Scobey/Sheridan game. For reference, Scobey is the #1 ranked 8-man team in Montana.
Florence finished the regular season with a 7-1 record, and are the #2 ranked Class B team in the 406 MT Sports poll. Florence lost to Three Forks (currently ranked #5) in the first game of the season on August 28. They then rolled off seven straight victories, including wins over #3 Manhattan, #4 Fairfield, and #7 Thompson Falls.
Florence is the West’s #1 seed heading into the Class B state playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, Florence hosts the Columbus Cougars on Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. Columbus is the South’s #4 seed and is 4-4 on the season.
The winner of the Florence/Columbus game plays the winner of the Malta/Baker game in the second round. The other #1 seed in Florence’s side of the bracket is the South’s #1 seed Manhattan.
Hamilton finished the regular season with a 7-1 record and are the #4 ranked Class A team in the 406 MT Sports rankings. Hamilton’s only loss of the season was a 28-29 loss to Whitefish on Sept. 4. Hamilton is the #1 seed from the Southwest and gets a first round bye in the Class A state playoffs. In the second round, Hamilton hosts the winner of the Billings Central/Laurel game on Friday, Nov. 7. East Helena is the other #1 seed in Hamilton’s side of the bracket.
Bitterroot football scores (Oct. 23)
Broncs befuddle Blue Devils
The Hamilton football team made the short trip north to Corvallis on Friday, Oct. 23, in an all-Bitterroot battle between the Broncs and the Blue Devils. On a wet and cold night, Hamilton had the hot hand and ran out to a 36-0 halftime lead. Corvallis was able to get on the scoreboard in the third quarter, but Hamilton had already done the damage, and the Broncs cruised to a 46-8 victory.
For Hamilton, RB Jude Widmer ran the ball six times for 69 yards and scored two touchdowns. WR Easton Hollis had three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown. QB Cooper Weston completed 9 of 14 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Hamilton’s defense was impressive as they held Corvallis to 132 total yards and scored twice. First, Cooper Weston scooped up a fumble and rumbled 35 yards for a touchdown, then Hamilton’s defense forced a safety. On special teams, Hamilton’s Josh Pfister returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown, and he also kicked a 28-yard field goal.
For Corvallis, Ayden Spencer scored a 64-yard touchdown on a pass from Branson Bucholz.
It was the final regular season game for both schools. Corvallis finished the season with a 3-5 record and missed the state playoffs, while Hamilton finished the season 7-1 and is the Southwest’s #1 seed in the Class A state playoffs (see above story).
Falcons route Rams
The Florence football team battled rival Missoula Loyola in Missoula on Friday, Oct. 23. Florence wasted little time asserting their dominance, as they scored 27 second-quarter points and led 33-0 at halftime. The Falcons continued to roll in the second half and won 53-0.
For Florence, Jake Schneiter completed 5 of 9 passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns, and he also ran the ball eight times for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Christian Englund ran the ball four times for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Layton Stubb ran the ball 15 times for 96 yards and had a 31-yard touchdown reception. Florence also got touchdowns from Brady Castillo, Jonathan Williams, and Robert Cooper Schroeder.
For Florence’s defense, Englund led with 10 total tackles and Schneiter had nine total tackles.
Florence finished the season with a 7-1 record and is the West’s #1 seed in the state playoffs (see above story).
Tigers humble Horsemen
The Darby football team hosted Plains on Friday, Oct. 23, in their final regular season game. Darby continued their strong play and won 59-12.
Individually for Darby, Jordan Browning had a 40-yard TD pass, and Oliver Long had a 40-yard TD reception and a 10-yard TD pass. Abe Atkins had a 10-yard TD reception, Colter Bennett returned a fumble for a touchdown, Marco Biesiot had a 20-yard TD run and also had two sacks, Reagan Christopherson had eight total tackles, Jaden Bailey had a 10-yard rushing TD and eight total tackles, Billy Moore returned a kickoff 50 yards for a touchdown, Hayes Likes had a 10-yard TD run, Weston Rouse had a 30-yard TD pass, and Ben Hoffman had a 30-yard TD reception.
Darby now has a 6-1 record and turns their attention to the postseason, where they host Chinook in their first home playoff game in 30 years on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 1 p.m. (see above story).
Yellowjackets bested by Broncs
The Stevensville football team traveled to Frenchtown on Friday, Oct. 23, for their final game of the season. The Yellowjackets fought hard but were unable to stop Frenchtown’s running attack or generate enough offense to stay with the defending state champion, and Stevensville lost 0-42. Stevensville finished the season with a 2-6 record and looks to use the off-season to continue to build their program.
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