Superior, the only western Montana team to reach a championship game, has certainly been impressive, but the Bobcats are loaded with experience and talent.
Watch Nick's Notes.
In Class A, Frenchtown put together a very nice season with a very young team. With just two senior starters, reaching the state semifinals was a great accomplishment. But the real surprise would have been if the Broncs had managed to upset more experienced Miles City.
In Class B, Loyola Sacred Heart had an outstanding, undefeated regular season. But, again, the Rams were deep, physical and athletic, so reaching the state semis before falling to Fairfield probably doesn't qualify as a stunner.
Loyola's fellow Class B member Eureka, however, put together two outstanding games to reach the semifinal round before falling 53-6 to top-ranked Huntley Project.
And in both their first-round and quarterfinal matchup, it could be said that the Lions were the underdogs.
Eureka managed to edge Florence 21-14 before thumping Conrad, 32-14, to reach the semis.
“I don't think we were the favored team in either of those games,” Eureka coach Ed Newell said. “Nobody likes the season to end the way it did, but I'm so happy with this group, how hard they played.”
Even more exciting for Newell is that he's getting most of the pieces back for next season.
Leading rusher Dalton Williams is graduating, but all the other skill positions will have returning starters in 2009.
Chief among those is Chad Price, who rushed for 1,356 yards for the Lions. Also returning will be quarterback Colin Gillard, both receivers - Alex Lesowski and Andrew Sanders - and tight end Bryan Price.
“We're pretty excited,” Newell said. “Our goal is to get bigger and stronger in preparation for next year. (Reaching the semis) should motivate the kids to get in the weight room.”
Newell, who just finished his ninth season in Eureka, said playing Huntley Project was a necessary but painful experience for his team.
“I think it opened their eyes to what it takes to get to the next level,” the coach said. “Our kids always fought hard, but Huntley was just more physical, and that's probably because they spent a little more time in the weight room.”
Huntley, which lost its school to an arson fire Sept. 18, has pulled together, and Newell said he thinks that may be part of its success as well.
“I'm sure it's a big part of it,” he said. “They've had a lot of things going against them; it has to be a motivating factor.
“But they're just a great football team. In fact, in nearly 20 years they might be the best team I've coached against. They are just so fundamentally sound. There are just no weaknesses.”
That said, Newell couldn't offer enough good things about his first group of Lions to reach the state semifinals.
“I couldn't be more proud of a group of kids in my life,” he said. “We had our final team meeting yesterday, and I told them to keep their heads up. We only lost two games this year - to Loyola and Huntley Project - you've got to take some pride from that.”
Numbers game
The Montana High School Association has released its fall enrollment numbers.
It's something a few western Montana schools have been monitoring with interest, particularly because of how the numbers can impact the athletic programs.
Bigfork, currently a Class A school with an enrollment of 312, is possibly eyeing a move to Class B. And the school is small enough to warrant consideration.
Right now, MHSA bylaws state that enrollment numbers are as follows: Class AA (826 students or more); Class A (340-825); Class B (120-339); Class C (1-119).
Another area high school that would possibly consider dropping down is Class B Seeley-Swan, which had 110 students enrolled this fall.
The Blackhawks were unable to field a football team in District 6-B this fall, and a move to Class C 8-man could make things easier.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Columbia Falls, which technically qualifies to be a Class AA school with 830 students.
But with enrollment already declining at the school, it's not clear if the MHSA would force the school to move up a classification.
The bylaws do state that “any school that exceeds the maximum enrollment levels by no more than 10 percent may remain at the lower classification for two years.”
Columbia Falls has been above the minimum enrollment number for nearly three years, but the recent opening of Kaispell Glacier High School has drawn students from throughout the Flathead - away from schools like Columbia Falls and Whitefish.
To view all of the enrollment numbers for this fall, go to www.mhsa.org.
Clash of the titans
There's little doubt who the best two teams in Class AA football were this autumn.
The ongoing rivalry between top-ranked and unbeaten Helena Capital and No. 2 Billings West gets another shot of adrenaline Friday when they meet at 7 p.m. at Vigilante Stadium in Helena for the state title.
Capital and West played for the state championship in 2005 and '06. The Golden Bears won in '05, while the Bruins won the following year.
Capital, the state champion the last two seasons, beat West 22-21 earlier this season after the Bears had built a 21-0 lead.
And the revenge factor is weighing heavy on the minds of Billings West players.
“That's right, Capital. We've been waiting for that one for a while,” Bears quarterback Jace Muri was quoted in the Helena Independent Record. “We're all ready for it.”
Honorable mention
A few former western Montana soccer players are getting props at their respective college programs.
The North Idaho College women are 12-5-2 and will compete in the National Junior College Athletic Assocation national tournament in Chandler, Ariz., starting Thursday.
Former Missoula Sentinel standout Lauren Linford is the team's second-leading scorer, and she tallied two goals in a 3-1 victory over Johnson County Community College in the district championship game.
Linford's former Sentinel teammate, Lindsey Jette, also plays on the team, as does former Columbia Falls prep star Sarah Franck.
Two other former Spartans, Lane Hamilton and Charlie Wellert, play on the men's team, which finished the year 11-2-4, along with former Corvallis standout Nick Hara.
At Whitworth University in Spokane, three former Sentinel standouts helped lead the men's team to its second straight Northwest Conference crown.
Bryan Olson, Travis Jette and Joey Mattina and the rest of their teammates fell to Augsburg College in the second round of the NCAA Division III men's soccer tournament Nov. 13 in Spokane.
Olson was recently named to the ESPN the Magazine's academic all-District 8 college Division I men's soccer team.
Wind it up
Winter sports are getting under way. The first day of practice for wrestling and swimming is Thursday. Boys' and girls' basketball teams can begin practicing Monday, Nov. 24.
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