Few schools in western Montana can claim to have warmed our hearts like the Superior football team, which won its first state championship with a 28-21 win over Wibaux last Saturday. The Bobcats rallied from a two-touchdown deficit in the final quarter to cap a perfect 12-0 season, and cap a fine season in general for area prep teams.
Superior, which blew away the competition by an average of 38 points per game through its first 11 outings, was in for a surprise at wind-blown Wibaux. But what's a championship run without a little adversity?
The Bobcats struggled through the first three quarters before finding their stride. Aside from the wind, six turnovers played as much a part as anything in giving Superior fits. The miscues were uncharacteristic of the Bobcats, who committed just 10 turnovers leading up to the final kickoff. When the Longhorns cashed in on the mistakes, and took a 21-6 lead, it was another shock to the system.
“We came in expecting to win,” said Superior junior Eric Steinebach, who scored the tying and game-winning TDs late in the fourth quarter, “but then they went up and we came back. It just makes it more thrilling knowing we came back on a team that's so great like (Wibaux). We came back and beat them. It was amazing.”
The championship was a long haul for the Bobcats and their coaching staff, both in the literal and figurative sense. Superior head coach Dan Lucier has been at the school for 22 seasons and after last weekend's 1,300-mile bus ride to Wibaux and back, he finally got his just reward. In the end, though, Lucier deflected most of the praise to his players, particularly those who played their last game.
“I really have to lift the seniors up, because this is a senior outfit,” Lucier said. “The seniors, they're the heart and the soul of this football team and they just kept fighting.”
A few other teams that kept fighting last Saturday were the Custer County Cowboys and the Huntley Project Red Devils, who both wound up winning titles. Miles City avenged its only loss of the season by beating Billings Central for the Class A crown. Miles City borrowed the rights to Title Town, Mont., from Highwood (see Prep Notebook) that night as the Cowboys returned from Billings with their trophy and the Superior Bobcats stayed there before heading back home.
Huntley Project produced one of the top stories of the year by winning the Class B championship just a few months after its school was leveled by fire. The Red Devils earned a championship berth by beating Eureka, one of western Montana's best teams, the week before. Frenchtown (Class A) and Loyola Sacred Heart (Class B) also made it one step away from championship Saturday.
Volleyball
Bozeman hosted a different championship setting last weekend, but none of its finalists were from the West.
The all-class state volleyball tournament celebrated its fifth year of existence, but Billings Senior stole the show. The Broncs made history by winning their fourth consecutive Class AA championship. Only one other AA team has done that. Missoula Sentinel brought home hardware as the third-place team, marking the first time since March of 2002 - the last time volleyball was played in the winter - that a Missoula team earned a trophy.
The Libby volleyball squad also took third in a tough Class A field. The Loggers reached the undefeated match before losing to eventual champion Lewistown and runner-up Miles City in the consolation bracket.
Soccer
Staying with Libby, goal keeper Lewis Brossman helped guide the Loggers to their first state championship in boys' soccer. Brossman made several key saves, including one during the shoot-out portion of the State A final, as the Loggers beat Billings Central 2-1 in extended play.
The Whitefish girls were runners-up for a second consecutive season. The Bulldogs dropped a 4-1 decision to host Billings Central on Nov. 1. Whitefish has now played for the title in each of the last four seasons.
None of the Class AA teams from this side of the divide placed at state, but it is worth noting that Hellgate had fine seasons for both its boys' and girls' programs. The girls' team, led by veteran coach Geoff Birnbaum, won its first-ever regular-season title before bowing out at state.
Cross country
Missoula hosted the all-class state cross country meet back in October and many of the most successful squads that day came from this region. The Hamilton boys' and girls' teams probably had the best day for any one program in the area.
The Hamilton boys won the Class A title by beating the likes of Columbia Falls and Dillon. Both the Broncs and Wildcats had two runners each place in the top 10. Whitefish senior Drew Coco won the individual title for the boys, his first win at the state level.
The Whitefish girls claimed their second consecutive Class A title. The Bulldogs had three runners place in the top 10, led by sophomore Jackie Cassidy, the individual runner-up. The Hamilton girls were third in the team race behind Lewistown.
The Darby boys earned their school its first state Class B title. That team win was highlighted by two of their own, senior Matt Stout and junior Heather Demorest, winning the boys' and girls' individual crowns.
The Hellgate boys were runners-up in a strong Class AA field, which ended in a team sweep for Bozeman. Hellgate's girls and Thompson Falls' girls just missed finishing in the top three, but the Drummond girls didn't. The Trojans took third in Class C to earn state hardware for the first time ever.
Golf
Kalispell Glacier senior Larry Iverson III won his second straight Class AA boys' title, while his team was runner-up to Billings West after the two programs were co-champs a year ago. State golf was the first sport to close out the fall, yet wintery weather postponed the AA event twice, before eventually finishing on Oct. 14-15.
The Whitefish boys dominated the field to capture the State A golf title at Polson Bay Golf Course. The Bulldogs, who placed three golfers in the top four, gave coach Terry Nelson the 20th state boys' or girls' title in his career.
Whitefish finished second in the girls' competition, halting its two-year reign there, while Polson was third. The Pirates' Julia DiGiallonardo and the Bulldogs' Breanna Cameron finished tied for second on the individual leaderboard.
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