George Ferguson Column: The Hi-Line is loaded with November football teams

If you're a fan of local high school football, and a handful of high school teams on the Hi-Line, and you're planning on attending the annual Cat-Griz game Nov. 21 in Bozeman, you might want to think twice about making hotel reservations in Bozeman just yet.

That's because that Saturday is also high school state championship day in Montana, and the Hi-Line could be very busy that day.

This weekend marks the halfway point in the high school football season, and already, the Hi-Line has three unbeaten teams, and conference leaders. Add to that, the Havre Blue Ponies, who start Central A play this weekend, and state championship Saturday could be one for the books when it comes to football around here.

In the Northern C, there's no question that Chester/J-I and Chinook are on a collision course to play for the conference championship. No one in the conference has come close to testing either team thus far, and if things keep going the way they're going, the Oct. 14 showdown between the Beeters and Hawks in Chinook will be for the conference championship, and a perfect season.

And while it's a long way off, and teams like Wibaux and Ennis might have something to say about it, there's a realistic chance that those two teams could meet again come Cat-Griz Saturday. Yes, the Beeters, who were the 2014 Class C runner-up, and the Hawks are that talented and are playing that well, so there's no way you can't call them both state championship contenders at this point in the season.

But while Chinook and C/J-I are traditional football powers, the team creating the most buzz on the Hi-Line so far is the Box Elder Bears. With a senior class that literally resurrected football in Box Elder three seasons ago, the Bears are now the team to beat in the Six-Man North Division. Box Elder has yet to play a game that didn't involve running the clock, and the Bears are beating teams by an average of 27 points per game. Included in the run was a dismantling of the defending state champion Geraldine/Highwood Rivals earlier this month.

It was just two years ago that the Box Elder basketball team won its first state championship in nearly two decades, and while basketball is still king in Box Elder, the Bears' football team, which missed out on the Six-Man playoffs by one win a year ago, is really serving notice so far this fall.

Like C/J-I and Chinook, there's a lot of season left for the Bears, who still have to play a non-conference game against Westby-Grenora, and who still has to take a road trip to powerhouse DGS. But with the way things are going right now, Box Elder is a real player in the Six-Man championship race, and for the first time in a long time, the Bears are no doubt going to be playing football in November.

Meanwhile, playing in November isn't anything new to the Havre Blue Ponies, and if they take care of business over the next four weeks, the Ponies will once again be in the Class A playoffs.

Things started a little rough with blowout losses to Whitefish and Miles City, and a scary one-point win against Hardin tucked in between. But, last Friday night's 26-21 win over then-unbeaten Sidney was a good sign that HHS is coming together, and with the entire Central A season still to play, Havre's statement win over the Eagles could be just the beginning of something very special.

The Ponies were the favorite to win the Central A at the start of the season, and they still are now. The conference as a whole has struggled to keep pace with the Eastern A and Southwest A, and even with the rough start to the season, the Blue Ponies look to be heads and shoulders above the rest of the league.

Of course, Havre still has to prove it on the field, and to win the league title outright, the Ponies will have to exercise some serious demons in Belgrade next month. But, if Havre does win on the Panthers' home field, they'll win the conference championship outright, and lock up a bye in the opening round of the playoffs, as well as an important home game in the second round.

And from there, anything can happen. The way the bracket sets up for the Class A playoffs, has the Central A champion playing on the road in the semifinals, if it advances that far, but a win in the semifinals would give the Central A winner the state title game on its home field. That's something that obviously hasn't happened in Havre since the magical 2004 season, and it's no doubt a goal of this 2015 Blue Pony team.

Ok, I admit, I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, and all of the local teams mentioned above have a lot of football left to play. That goes without saying. But there is a point. The point is, there are some really good football teams on the Hi-Line again this season. And when I say really good, I mean really good.

And usually, really good football teams play deep into November. So don't be surprised to see our really good local football teams doing just that, and don't be surprised if at least some of you miss the Cat-Griz game this year, because really good football teams make it to state championship games.

Either way, the next two months are going to be a whole lot of fun.