In a week where games involving ranked teams went mostly true to form, one moderately surprising result stands out as a statement game.
The moniker “Butte tough” rang true once more this past Friday night, when the unranked Bulldogs KO’d No. 3 Helena early on the way to a 34-20 thumping in which they led 27-nil in the third quarter. With the win, Butte (2-1) jumps into Class AA’s fourth slot in the third 406mtsports.com high school football rankings of the season.
Helena (2-1), which has designs on contending for the state title, slips to No. 5. Missoula Sentinel remains on top after a COVID-19 bye and Billings West (2-1) stays put at No. 2 after routing previous No. 5 Bozeman Gallatin 42-14.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the state’s rankings remain relatively static. Class A stays exactly the same after all five teams earned strong wins, leaving Hamilton (3-0) perched at the summit and defending champion Laurel (2-0) engineering a full-throttle chase at No. 2. No. 3 Billings Central (2-0), No. 4 Whitefish (3-0) and No. 5 two-points-a-minute Polson (3-0) all kept rolling as well.
Upcoming game of the week, assuming COVID-19 doesn’t stick its talons any deeper into sports schedules: New No. 3 Kalispell Glacier (3-0) puts its unbeaten mark on the line at defending champ Missoula Sentinel (2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday night.
The rankings:
Class AA
- Missoula Sentinel (2-0)
- Billings West (2-1)
- Glacier (3-0)
- Butte (2-1)
- Helena (2-1)
Class A
- Hamilton (3-0)
- Laurel (2-0)
- Billings Central (2-0)
- Whitefish (3-0)
- Polson (3-0)
Class B
- Florence-Carlton (2-0)
- Fairfield (2-0)
- Townsend (2-0)
- Columbus (2-0)
- Bigfork (1-0)
- Eureka (2-1)