At the risk of jinxing the Polson Pirates, it’s worth pointing out they haven’t had a single point scored against them so far this season.
After a third-straight 40-points or more shutout victory last week, Polson still finds themselves only ranked fifth in the latest Class A high school football poll released today.
The Pirates will have a true test this week when they travel to Columbia Falls (2-1) for a conference matchup worth catching on Friday.
Dillon (3-0) edged out Miles City (4-0) for the top Class A ranking after handily beating previous No. 1 Billings Central 40-17. Laurel (4-0) is ranked third.
In Northwestern A, Polson ranks tops in most offensive and defensive statistical categories. The Pirates are leading in rushing average with roughly 246 yards-per-game and 14 TDs. On defense, the Pirates are pretty much flawless.
After putting up a school-record amount of points in a win over Hellgate last Friday, the Glacier Wolfpack climbed back into fourth place in the latest Class AA poll.
Glacier (3-1) routed the Knights 69-21 at Legends Stadium. The Wolfpack received 82 points and moved up from fifth place last week. Helena (4-0) received a unanimous first-place ranking, followed by Helena Capital (4-0) and Billings West (3-1).
The Wolfpack bumped up their offensive ranking to third in the league after last week’s massive scoring. Glacier is averaging 35.8 points-per-game. Billings Senior (3-1) is first with 41.8 ppg and Helena High is next with roughly 40 ppg.
Flathead’s offense is ranked seventh with 25.8 ppg. The Braves (2-2) fell to Helena last Friday on the road, 33-3.
On defense, Glacier is ranked sixth, allowing an average of 22.2 ppg. Flathead is 11th with 31 ppg. Helena Capital is first by a lot, holding teams to an average of 8.8 ppg. In four games, the Bruins have allowed only five TDs and three extra points.
Glacier heads to Bozeman this Friday to play the Hawks (0-4). Flathead hosts Missoula Sentinel (1-3) at 7 p.m. at Legends Stadium.
In Class B, new member Ronan is more than holding their own. The Chiefs (3-0) moved up to second place in the votes after a 51-19 win over previous No. 3 Townsend last week. Fairfield is still tops and Malta dropped to third. Bigfork (2-1) remains ranked ninth. The Vikings host Plains this week.
The Associated Press Top 10 Montana high school football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records, rating points and previous rankings:
Class AA
1. Helena (12) 4-0
2. Helena Capital 4-0
3. Billings West 3-1
4. Kalispell Glacier 3-1
5. Billings Senior 3-1
Others receiving votes: Butte 6.
Class A
1. Dillon (5) 3-0
2. Miles City (6) 4-0
3. Laurel (1) 4-0
4. Billings Central 3-1
5. Polson 3-0
Others receiving votes: Hardin 14, Sidney 7, Belgrade 6, Butte Central 6.
Class B
1. Fairfield (10) 3-0
2. Ronan (1) 3-0
3. Malta (1) 3-0
4. Baker 3-0
5. Manhattan 2-1
6. Missoula Loyola 3-0
7. Columbus 3-0
8. Townsend 2-1
9. Bigfork 2-1
10. Plentywood1Westby 3-0
Others receiving votes: Red Lodge/Belfry 9, Eureka 6.
Class C 8-Man
1. Chinook (8) 4-0
2. Fairview (1) 4-0
3. Wibaux 3-0
4. White Sulphur Springs (1) 4-0
5. Absarokee 3-0
6. Drummond 3-1
7. Ennis 3-0
8. Chester-Joplin-Inverness 3-0
T9.Superior 4-0
T9.Twin Bridges 2-1
Others receiving votes: Power-Dutton-Brady 17, Belt 11, Park City 2, Lincoln 1.
Class C 6-Man
1. Denton (9) 3-0
2. Savage 2-1
3. Hot Springs 3-0
4. Bridger 2-0
5. Alberton 3-0
6. Fromberg Roberts 2-0
7. Terry 3-0
8. Stanford Geyser 2-1
9. Big Sandy 2-1
10. Valier 2-0
Others receiving votes: Ekalaka 7, Hysham 7, Geraldine/Highwood 6, Lone Peak 4, Jordan 2, Richey-Lambert 1