AA Football Tidbits – Playoff Round 2
And then there were 8! The quarter-finalists are set and as per usual, it’s the usual suspects. Aside from Missoula Sentinel, and Butte of late, we have the same cast of characters we normally see come this time of year. The Helena’s, Glacier, Bozeman, West and Senior are no strangers to postseason football. Will one of these notoriously football-rich schools take home the AA title or will it go to someone who hasn’t been there for awhile? Stay tuned; only three more weeks of high school football left!
Quarterfinal Match-ups…
Senior @ Sentinel
Helena High @ Bozeman
Capital @ West
Glacier @ Butte
Minty’s Predicted Winners…
Sentinel
Bozeman
West
Butte
Last Week: 5-2, Overall: 54-17
What To Watch For…
- Game of the Week: Glacier @ Butte – The Bulldogs are fresh off a first round bye, while the Wolfpack prevailed in a back and forth affair against Great Falls High last week in the Electric City. I’ve mentioned it previously on here and it’s worth noting again: Glacier has the horses to compete with anyone in the state; they just don’t have Tommy Mellott on their side. The Wolfpack can make things interesting with their beefy offensive and defensive fronts along with the likes of Drew Deck (Sr.,WR) and Jake Rendina (So., RB), but they’ll need to bottle up Mellott to have a shot in this one. Sentinel has been the only team to really make the Bulldogs sweat this year and that tilt came on the road in Missoula. We’ll see if Glacier can hang tough in the rowdiest atmosphere of all in the AA: Naranche Stadium and the Mining City’s loudest and proudest.
- Upset Special(s):
- Capital – The Bruins are no stranger to postseason football. They’re also no stranger to trading punches with the best teams in the state and that’s exactly what they’ll need to do this Friday if they have any chance at knocking of the West High Golden Bears. Seeing as it’s their home game, the Bears have the edge, but the Bruins are as gritty and well-coached as any team in the state. Expect a battle at Daylis!
Minty Tidbits…
- Enrollment numbers at each of the 15 AA schools is anything but even; some are near 2,000 students while others are closer to 1,000. Do enrollment numbers matter in the grand scheme of things? Let’s take a look at each of the AA schools still alive in the playoffs versus those teams that have been eliminated (numbers based on 2017-2018 data):
- Still alive –
- Bozeman – 2167
- Billings Senior – 1923
- Billings West – 1815
- Helena High – 1523
- Glacier – 1368
- Capital – 1367
- Sentinel – 1243
- Butte – 1210
- Eliminated –
- Billings Skyview – 1616
- Flathead – 1529
- GFH – 1464
- CMR – 1421
- Hellgate – 1186
- Big Sky – 1135
- Belgrade – 900
- Still alive –
- Speaking of enrollment numbers; how about this gap between the highest Class C enrollment and the lowest?
- Highest – Arlee, 8-man (122), 2-7 record this season
- Lowest – Willow Creek (8), co-op w/ 11-man Three Forks, 0-8 record this season
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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