Exciting football season halfway done

It seems like the high school football season just got started a few weeks ago and the truth is, it did. But, as quickly as the season has gone, it's still hard to believe that the season is more than halfway over.

Yet, for some teams along the Hi-Line, things are just starting to get interesting. The Havre High football team, which is led by first-year head coach Mark Samson, is now getting into the heart of its conference schedule and they aren't the only team with big games on the horizon. Chinook, Chester/J-I, Box Elder, North Star and Big Sandy are all playoff contenders and along with Havre, will be fighting to ensure they each playing when November rolls around.

It's an exciting time to be a high school fan in this area and with that in mind, here are some things to watch out for and look forward to as summer turns to fall and the football games get even more meaningful.

Crash Course

Last season the Chinook Sugarbeeters came seemingly out of nowhere not only to win the Northern C, but also to play for the Class C 8-Man state championship. The Beeters may have lost the state championship game on a cold, wet day in Wibaux last November, but now that game is looking like the start to a great run of football, not the end of one.

What head coach Scott Friede has done in his first two seasons as head coach of the Beeters is simply incredible. Last season, he took a team that was underestimated and overlooked, to the doorstep of a state championship. And now, in his second season, his Beeters might be even better.

Despite losing a number of key players from last season's team, the Beeters appear to be better than ever, on both sides of the ball. Thanks to the stellar play of quarterback Ian McIntosh and the running of Derek Bell and Tate Niederegger, the Beeters have rolled offensively, averaging 53 points per game. And even more impressively, the defense has given up just 18 points in four games, which works out to an average of 4.5 per game.

For an 8-man team or an 11-man team for that matter, those numbers are outstanding and that is quite possibly the biggest reason why Friede's team looks to be a state title contender once again this season.

But, if the Beeters want to win the Northern C, they will first need to go through conference rival Chester/J-I, another 4-0 team that has its eye on the Northern C crown. Much like the Beeters, who are beating opponents by an average of 48.5 points per game, the Hawks have been just as dominant winning by an average of 45.5 points per game.

At this point, Chinook and C/J-I are two of just six 8-Man teams undefeated in the state of Montana and two weeks from now, they will meet at famed Hoon Field in Chinook, where the Beeters have won nine straight, for one of most highly anticipated games the Hi-Line has seen in a long time.

Of course both teams will have challenges in the coming weeks, but as good as each team has been, it would be surprising if either lost before the big showdown, which could very well be the game that decides the Northern C championship.

History in sight

It's no secret that the Box Elder Bears (5-0) are putting together a historic season in Class C Six-Man football. The Bears are undefeated and easily disposing of their fellow North division opponents. And even though it's a virtual certainty that the Bears will make the playoffs at this point, a win over Heart Butte Saturday in Box Elder would put the team into the postseason, without question, for the first time in nearly two decades.

But, fortunately for Bears' fans, the Box Elder football team is looking for much more than than a postseason appearance — they want championships. And if the Bears can topple Heart Butte tonight as well as Augusta in a couple weeks, the stage will be set for a battle between Box Elder and highly-touted as well as unbeaten Denton-Geyser-Stanford for the North Division title.

Just a few short years ago, the Box Elder players would have given anything to play in a football game of that magnitude and no matter what happens between now and the end of the season, it's safe to say, Bears' football is a force to be reckoned with.

Ponies getting ready to run

It's been four years since the Blue Ponies have finished the season with a winning record or with a Central A conference championship. But this season, it looks like there is a strong chance that both of those streaks come to an end.

Sitting at 3-2 and with Livingston coming into Blue Pony Stadium Friday night for homecoming, Havre should improve to 4-2 before paying a visit to arch rival Belgrade in what could be the game that decides Central A.

Havre has struggled mightily against Belgrade in previous years, but with a running game that showed signs of life against Browning, as well as a defense that appears capable of holding up against the run, it could be Havre's time to come out on top. And with four very winnable games left on the docket, a Central A title and a 7-2 record are well within their reach, especially if Havre keeps taking care of the ball as well as it has the last two games, when the Ponies turned it over just once.

Regardless of what teams or where, there is going to be some exciting gridiron action in the coming days and weeks as teams jockey for playoff berths and top seeds, so whatever you do, don't miss it.