Through three weeks, it has been an up-and-down season for Flathead Valley football teams. The only team in the region that seems to have found a consistent rhythm is Polson, which has jumped out to an unbeaten start and a top-five ranking in Class A.
After defeating Hamilton 14-3 on Sept. 10, Polson moved to 3-0, with all victories coming against non-conference foes. The Pirates kicked off the season by beating defending Class A champion Frenchtown 21-16 and then Corvallis 28-7.
Polson plays one more game against a Southwestern A opponent – Anaconda – before taking a bye week. Then the Pirates kick off their Northwestern A schedule against Columbia Falls on Oct. 1.
Libby owns the next best record in the conference at 2-1, with its only loss coming to Frenchtown, a 13-7 defeat on Sept. 3. After Libby is a trio of teams with 1-2 records, with each school’s victory coming against winless Browning.
Ronan beat Browning 28-14 on Aug. 27 but has lost both games since. Whitefish dropped Browning 27-6, while last week Columbia Falls blew past the Indians 45-12. But the Northwestern A schools have struggled against other opponents, including this past weekend, when Ronan fell to Butte Central 31-0 and Whitefish lost to Anaconda 33-0.
Whitefish has been without the services of star senior quarterback Mac Roche, who broke his foot in the first game of the season and is likely done for the year. In that first game against Havre, which Whitefish lost 66-21, Roche threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-37 passing before being injured.
But in Roche’s absence, junior Connor Donahue has stepped up. Senior running back Jeremy Nielson has also been helping carry the load for the offense.
In Class AA, Flathead and Glacier have shown flashes of brilliance followed by lapses. Flathead (0-3) has played better at times than its record suggests. For instance, the Braves piled up 48 points against Helena Capital, winner of three out of the last four Class AA titles. But the Braves also gave up 63 points in the loss.
Senior quarterback Mike VanArendonk, who missed much of last season, has been a major catalyst in the Braves’ increased offensive production. In the game against Capital, he threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns on 25-of-39 passing.
The previous week in the season opener, VanArendonk threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-39 passing in a 41-21 loss to Butte. But on Sept. 10, the Braves’ hot offense was cooled by Billings West, which came into Kalispell and beat the home team 27-6.
Glacier has experienced similar highs and lows during its 1-2 season. The Wolfpack came into the season with a new quarterback – Colter Hanson – and a group of younger players looking to replace the strong senior class that graduated last year.
In the season’s first game, Glacier fell to Billings Senior 29-13. But the following week, Glacier bounced back to upset defending Class AA champion CM Russell 31-21 in Great Falls. Looking to build on that momentous victory, the Wolfpack went up against Bozeman at home on Sept. 10.
But Bozeman proved to be too much, though Glacier can take solace in knowing that Bozeman has been too much for everybody this year. The Hawks are 3-0, led by senior quarterback Tanner Roderick, who racked up 339 total yards against Glacier. Roderick ran for 202 and threw for 137 yards in the 35-13 victory.
Bigfork, now in its second year of Class B play, has proven it’s capable of scoring in bunches through its first two games, putting up a combined 82 points. Against Missoula Loyola, Bigfork scored 34 points, but gave up 61 in the loss. But the Vikings put that loss behind them by following up with a 48-6 trouncing of Conrad, to bring their record to 1-1 on the season.