Playoff Action: Here are Your Montana High School Football Brackets
The Montana high school football playoffs begin this weekend, with each team hoping to win to advance to the next round and ultimately win the state title. Here are the matchups for this upcoming week.
Class AA.
Both the #1 and #2 seeds get byes in the first week, giving them an extra week of practice before their first postseason game. In the east, those two teams are Gallatin (#1) and Billings West (#2), with their western counterparts being Helena Capital (#1) and Glacier (#2). #3 in the east, Great Falls, will be hosting the #6 seed in the west, Butte.
The #3 west seed went to Missoula Big Sky, and they’ll welcome in the Senior Broncs for their first-round matchup. That leaves #4 in the west, Helena, to host #5 out of the east, CMR, and the Bozeman Hawks as the #4 eastern seed will host #5 west Missoula Sentinel.
Class A.
Just like in AA, the top two seeds from the east and west get a week of rest, those teams being (#1) Central and (#2) Laurel in the east, and (#1) Frenchtown and (#2) Beaverhead County out of the west.
#3 Fergus from the east will be hosting their divisional rival in Custer County who got the #6 seed in the east, and on the other end of the state #3 Columbia Falls will be looking to move on with a win against #6 Corvallis in the west.
The 4-5 matchup in the east is Whitefish (#4) hosting Bigfork (#5), and the western side of the state will see (#5) East Helena traveling to (#4) Havre in their first-round matchup.
Class B.
No bye weeks for Class B, as the 4 divisions each send their top 4. The east will face up against the south, where we’ll see #1 in the east Red Lodge take on #4 in the south Broadwater.
#2 from the east, Huntley Project, will take on the southern #3 seed Three Forks. Joliet, #3 in the east, will be traveling to Jefferson as they hope to take down the #2 seed from the south, and #4 Baker will look to fight hard as the underdogs against the #1 southern team of Manhattan.
On the north/west side of the bracket, we’ll see #1 Malta (north) take on Thompson Falls from the #4 west seed. Glasgow secured the #2 spot from the north, and they’ll host #3 Lincoln County out of the west.
#3 north Conrad will be traveling to Missoula to take on #2 Loyola, and the #4 north Fairfield will be heading to Florence to take on the #1 seed from the west.
8-Man Class C.
Class C shares its format with Class B, meaning no weeks off for the top seeds. Northern #1 Belt will be hosting #4 St. Regis out of the west, with the #2 north Fort Benton hosting #3 west St. Ignatius.
Choteau claimed the #3 spot in the north, and they’ll be heading to Seeley-Swan to take on the #2 team out of the west. The final northern team, #4 Chinook, will be headed to Missoula to take on Valley Chrisitan who took home the #1 western seed.
On the south/east side of the state, we’ll have #1 Manhattan Christian out of the south taking on #4 Scobey out of the east. #2 south Drummond will be welcoming #3 Circle from the east. Ennis will be the #3 seed from the south, and they'll head into Culbertson for their first matchup against the #2 seed from the east.
Finally, #4 south Sheridan will be heading to #1 east Fairview as the underdog, hoping to move on to the next round.
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Gallery Credit: Stacker