Five things to watch in local prep football

For some, high school football isn't just a sport - it's an obsession and that obsession is about to kick off again here in a few short weeks.

And no matter who you are or where you live, high school football starts in earnest soon and that means Friday night lights will once again be shining bright.

Whether you are a follower of the Havre Blue Ponies, Chinook Sugarbeeters or one of the many other teams along the Hi-Line, Friday nights are about to become consumed with football and that's exciting. With that in mind, here are five things to watch this high school football season.

Realignment again

First things first, local football fans will have to get used to some changes once again, although this season the new alignment is fairly minor. That is with one exception, which is the fact that Belgrade is moving up to Class AA, which leaves the Eastern A with just nine teams playing varsity football. Lockwood and East Helena will eventually play varsity football and will be part of the Southeast A. Havre will be part of the Northeast A along with Sidney, Glendive, Miles City and Lewistown.

For this season it just means that the Eastern A will have nine teams battling it out for six playoff spots and the Ponies will be among them. The others will be Billings Central, Laurel, Hardin, Livingston, Lewistown, Miles City, Sidney and Glendive. HHS won't play long-time rival Belgrade anymore and it will also play just eight games in the regular season.

Is Havre going to get back to the playoffs?

Havre has a long and storied tradition in Class A football. But that doesn't change the fact that the Ponies haven't made the postseason since 2016, something Ryan Gatch and company will be hoping to change this season. Despite going just 2-7 in 2018, there is plenty of optimism surrounding the Ponies, especially with the return of talented players such as Mason Dionne, Reese Bulkley, Kasee Henderson and Kellen Detrick.

The Eastern A will be tough again with Billings Central, Laurel, Sidney and Miles City all bringing back strong teams, but Havre, Glendive, Lewistown, Livingston and Hardin should all be in the mix for the final three spots and, in a league that's wide open, anything is possible.

Box Elder back in Six-Man

One of the most notable changes among local teams is Box Elder moving back to Six-Man football following a few years of playing Class C 8-Man. Yet, the Bears will have their hands full in the Six-Man North as Big Sandy should be tough again, along with Geraldine/Highwood and Denton-Geyser-Stanford. It wasn't that long ago that Box Elder played for the Six-Man state championship, but just getting to the playoffs would be a huge accomplishment for the Bears in 2019.

Can Chinook and Big Sandy keep building?

The 2017-18 school year was a good one for Chinook athletics as the Beeters made the playoffs in football as well as the state tournament in boys basketball. Now, second-year head coach Mike Jones will look to build on that momentum. His team defeated Chester-Joplin-Inverness in a play-in game to reach the playoffs a year ago and will look to make a return trip in 2019 led by key returners such as Toby Niederegger, J.T. Hauer and Sam Dumas.

Big Sandy is the only other local team that found the playoffs last season and while some key players have been lost to graduation, having Kade Strutz to carry the rock is no small thing as the Pioneers try to earn a third consecutive playoff berth

Can teams avoid forfeits?

While everyone can agree that high school football is beloved, all across America, we also can't deny that in parts of Montana, the game is in jeopardy due to a lack of numbers. After making the playoffs year after year, the North Star Knights had to forfeit multiple games last season, and they weren't the only local team as Box Elder and Rocky Boy did the same.

"Going into my athletic director's office and telling him we couldn't play, that was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do," North Star head coach Shawn Rettig said in an interview last season.

Hopefully, this year, Rettig won't have to make that choice. Football has always been a numbers game and in smaller schools across Montana, numbers are dwindling. So even though every fan has a rooting interest for their own team or school, cheer for those who keep getting high school kids out to play, because without them our Friday night's might never be the same.