High School Football: Yellowstone County Teams Headed to Playoffs
Class C
Class C will see Custer-Hysham in the #2 seed from the South, as they finished the year 6-3 (5-1) with their sole divisional loss to Bridger (#1 South). They’ll welcome in the Hot Springs Savage Heat (#2 West) for their first-round matchup on Saturday 11/2, who also went 6-3 on the year.
The Rebels will look to continue to protect their home turf (being undefeated at home) and be practicing next Monday. Absarokee defeated Broadview-Lavina last week 32-27, ending their season.
Class B
In Class B the Huntley Project Red Devils managed to secure the #2 seed after beating Joliet 22-14 last week, leading to the 5-4 Red Devils jumping the 7-2 J Hawks in the standings. Huntley will look to prepare for the Three Forks Wolves (#3 South) who went 6-3 (2-3) on the year, including a loss to Columbus just a few weeks ago.
The winner of the contest will move on to face either Malta (#1 North) or Thompson Falls (#4 West). 2-8 (2-4) Shepherd was officially eliminated after losing 48-12 to Red Lodge (#1 East) last week.
Class A
Two of three Yellowstone County teams make it into the Class A playoffs, with Central and Laurel holding the 1 and 2 seed out of the East. They’ll each get a bye and await the results of the first round to see who they’ll face. Central completed their undefeated quest, going 9-0 (6-0) on the season and claiming the top spot out of the East. They’ll host the winner of Corvallis (#6 West) @ Columbia Falls (#3 West).
Laurel is entering the playoffs with momentum, winning their last two games and scoring 98 points between them both. They’ll get ready to take on the winner of Bigfork (#5 West) @ Whitefish (#4 West) On 11/9. Lockwood finished the season 2-7, just 2 spots out of the playoffs.
Class AA
Senior looks to make round 2 an all-Billings affair as they’ll head to Missoula to take on the Big Sky Eagles (#3 West) in their first-round matchup after beating out Skyview for the final, #6 spot in the West. Coming off of a close 34-27 loss to Bozeman (#6 East), the Broncs will look to tighten the reigns and trample the Eagles on Friday.
The winner will move on to face the 8-1 (6-1) West High Bears, whose sole loss on the year came from Gallatin (#1 East) two weeks ago. They’ll have a week to prepare after getting the first-round bye, as they look to make a run for the State Title. 1-8 (1-6) Skyview is eliminated as they couldn’t claim the #6 spot from Senior, finishing the year with a 56-0 loss to Gallatin.
Cats and Griz.
The Bobcats will be exiting their bye in Cheney on Saturday, 2:00 at the Red Sea of Eastern Washington. The Eagles are 2-6 (1-3) on the year, with one of those losses a 4th quarter thriller as they clambered back against the Griz, outsourcing them 28-14. Montana State remains undefeated, with their defense allowing only two games with more than 20 points from their opponents and boasting the #1 offense in the FCS with 4097 total yards.
The University of Montana will take on the Cal Poly Mustangs under the California sun at 3:00, with the Mustangs coming in hoping to put an end to their 3-game losing streak. The Griz may have finally stopped the growing anxiety about their defense after their shutout of Northern Colorado, but fans will continue to hold their breath and hope the adjustments will stick around against the 66th offense in the FCS.
Data courtesy of MaxPreps.
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