Bozeman Hawks Hold Top Spot in Montana Mint AA Football Power Rankings
We are five weeks into the Montana AA season and things are starting to take shape.
#1 Bozeman Hawks (5-0)
The Hawks had a scare against Senior High. The next two weeks don’t get any easier. Blake Counts and the Braves come to town in a battle of two of the best backs in the AA.
#2 Billings West Golden Bears (4-1)
The Golden Bears rolled crosstown rival Skyview last week. This week the challenge is a little stiffer with Butte, but I expect West’s potent offense to light up the scoreboard early and often.
#3 Helena High Bengals (4-1)
Capital gave the Bengals all they could handle and damn near sprung the upset last week. Now the Bison come to town in what I believe is the game of the week in the AA.
#4 Great Falls High Bison (4-1)
See above. Expect a battle in Helena. If GFH’s defense can control Helena’s big offensive line I think the Bison head down I-15 victorious.
#5 Flathead Braves (4-1)
The Braves relied heavily on the ground game in order to top crosstown rival, Glacier last week. Flathead had over 350 yards rushing on the night. They’ll face an even stiffer defense in Bozeman this week, not to mention an even better offense. Advantage has to go to the Hawks at home, right?
#6 Billings Senior Broncs (3-2)
They gave Bozeman all they could handle, but the Broncs simply aren’t the same team without the likes of Gabe Sulser. They’re good, but not back-to-back good. This week the Broncs head to the Garden City to tangle with the Big Sky Eagles in what looks like a game of clashing styles. I look for Senior to use it’s speed to top the Eagles.
#7 Missoula Sentinel Spartans (2-3)
The Spartans have now lost three games by a combined 7 points and could very easily be undefeated. It’s amazing, but now they’re in a fight to secure a playoff spot. That’s no easy task on the road against a stingy Wolfpack squad.
#8 Missoula Big Sky Eagles (2-3)
I am continually impressed with the job Matt Johnson and staff do with the resources they have. This team looked like a solid candidate to go winless early in the season and they’ve only really been blown out of one game. These kids are as scrappy as it gets in the AA. If they control the ball against Senior they’re more than capable of pulling off the upset.
#9 Glacier High Wolfpack (1-4)
Both Glacier and Sentinel have been burned in close games. Both are better than their record suggests. My gut tells me both teams will be 2-4 when Friday evening draws to a close.
#10 Helena Capital Bruins (2-3)
They damn near upset the crosstown counterpart last week. They should be favored against a struggling CMR squad, but Bruin-Rustler games almost never end in blowouts. CMR is getting some injured studs back, so expect this to be a dog fight.
#11 Butte High Bulldogs (2-3)
Tommy Mellott carried the Bulldogs on the ground and through the air in a surprising overtime win over Sentinel. The task gets considerably harder on the road this week against the Golden Bears.
#12 Missoula Hellgate Knights (1-4)
Congrats to the Knights! That long losing streak is a thing of the past. Hellgate dominated early and often on defense and made an impressive goal line stand late in the game to preserve the victory. Now they take on the winless Skyview Falcons albeit on the road. Imagine if the Knights had finished off the Big Sky Eagles? And if they beat the Falcons we could be talking about a 3-3 Hellgate squad?! Still, a 2-4 Knight squad is something we haven’t seen for quite some time.
#13 CMR Rustlers (1-4)
Injuries have really hurt this once dominant program. According to the Great Falls Tribune, the Rustlers are due to get back a few key players from injury. We’ll see if it’s enough to get the ship righted and salvage a playoff spot.
#14 Billings Skyview Falcons (0-5)
The Golden Bears had their way with Skyview, but you better believe the Falcons are fired up for a showdown with Hellgate this week. This could actually be one of the better games on the schedule this week. Can Hellgate continue their upward swing or will it be the Falcons that end a losing streak of their own Friday night?
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About the Author
Minty Coach A proud native of Great Falls, Coach now resides in Missoula, however he's a Bobcat to the core.
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