HELENA — The Class AA high school football season will be more than halfway over by the end of Friday night.
This will be the third week of conference play, and already, teams are starting to separate themselves in each division. Bozeman Gallatin, Billings West and Bozeman High are the undefeated teams in the Eastern AA, while Kalispell Glacier, Missoula Big Sky and Missoula Sentinel have yet to lose in the Western AA.
Glacier and Big Sky have each looked particularly dominant. The same goes for West and Gallatin, although the Raptors will be tested by crosstown rival Bozeman on Friday night.
That’s one of two crosstown matchups this week in Class AA football and here’s a look ahead to every game in Week 5 of the 2025 season.
Bozeman High (3-1, 2-0) at No. 2 Bozeman Gallatin (4-0, 2-0) Friday, 7 p.m.
The Raptors got their first win in this crosstown rivalry last season, in overtime. Hunter Chandler’s team will be looking for a second straight win over the Hawks, in a matchup that will pit one of Class AA’s best offenses against one of the best defenses.
Led by dynamic quarterback Van Shockley, the Hawks lead Class AA in scoring at 44.75 points per game. Bozeman scored 70 last week, with Shockley accounting for seven total touchdowns against Great Falls High.
Through four games, the junior quarterback leads Class AA in passing yards (1,111) and passing touchdowns (13), in addition to completing 64.5 percent of his passes. Shockley also has 179 rushing yards, fourth among Class AA QBs, as well as seven rushing touchdowns, second only to Glacier running back Asher Knopik.
Yet, the Gallatin defense leads the Eastern AA in fewest points allowed (33). The Raptors also have two Montana State commitments playing both ways in Carter Dahlke (QB/WR/DB) and Bobby Gutzman (WR/DB), who just committed to Montana State this week.
The Raptors aren’t quite as explosive as Bozeman. Yet, they are scoring 36.5 points per game and averaging 384 total yards, including 180 on the ground.
Helena High (2-2, 1-1) at Helena Capital (1-3, 0-2) Friday, 7 p.m.
Over the past two weeks, Capital, the defending state champions, has been outscored 94-6 at the hands of Kalispell Glacier and Missoula Big Sky.
Yet, after a tough trip to Kalispell, the Bruins, who lost 56-0 to the Wolfpack in 2023, before turning things around to take second in the Western AA, will hope to spark another turnaround with a crosstown win over Helena High.
The Bruins hold a three-game winning streak over the Bengals dating back to 2022, which includes a 40-21 triumph last season.
Capital will need a big outing from Brit Linder, a Montana State commitment, on both sides of the ball. He’s second in Class AA with just under 400 rushing yards this season. Peyton Lorenz will pace the Bengals. He’s got 288 rushing yards this season (6th in AA) and had 231 total yards in the win over Flathead.
The Bengals lost starting quarterback Reece Silvonen for the season due to injury, so the running game will be even more important for the Bengals. CJ Danforth took over in his absence against Flathead. Defense will be key, too. Auston Rowe has been a spark on that side of the ball for HHS, with four interceptions this season, all coming in Helena’s two home games.
No. 1 Kalispell Glacier (4-0, 2-0) at Missoula Hellgate (1-3, 1-1) Friday, 7 p.m.
After a four-point win over No. 3 Billings West in the first game of the season, the Wolfpack have won each of their last three games by at least 41 points. Jackson Presley has seven touchdowns passes and zero interceptions, the only regular starter in Class AA who can stay that.
Knopick leads Class AA with 118.5 rushing yards per game. As a team, Glacier averages 413 yards per game and is scoring 43.5, but is allowing just 9.25 points per game.
Hellgate is one of the five teams in the Western AA with at least one conference win. The Knights boast Parker Link and Evan Pryon, two Montana Grizzly commitments, plus QB Vince Paffhausen, who is averaging 200 total yards per game (34 rushing).
Great Falls CMR (2-2, 1-1) at No. 3 Billings West (3-1, 2-0) Friday, 7 p.m.
In the last 10 quarters of football, the Billings West Golden Bears have only allowed six points. West allowed Missoula Hellgate to score 14 points in the first half of their game in Week 2. Since then, the Bears pitched a second-half shutout against the Knights, held Great Falls High to six points in the Eastern AA opener, then shut out Billings Senior last week in a 35-0 win.
Payton Cicero, third in Class AA in rushing yards with 351 (88 per game), has been a spark for the offense, along with quarterback Colt Johnson and Michigan commit Matt Ludwig, who was held without a reception last week.
Great Falls CMR has allowed just 64 points this season. The problem is that they have only scored 73 points and most of those have come in two games.
In two wins, the Rustlers have scored 66 points. In two losses, they have managed just seven.
No. 5 Missoula Sentinel (3-0, 2-0) at Butte (1-3, 0-2)
One thing that’s true about the Bulldogs, no one in Class AA has played a more difficult schedule.
Butte has already played No. 4 Missoula Big Sky (last week) as well as top-ranked Glacier and second-ranked Gallatin. Friday night, fifth-ranked Sentinel comes town with the Bulldogs still in search of their first conference win.
The Bulldogs offense is averaging just 210 yards per game. Sentinel’s offense is averaging even less. Kaden Thennis (277 rushing yards, 7th in Class AA) leads the way for the Spartans offense, however, the defense has been the driving force behind Sentinel’s success.
Sentinel has only allowed one team to score in double digits and is allowing just over 10 points per game.
No. 4 Missoula Big Sky (4-0, 2-0) at Kalispell Flathead (1-2, 0-2) Friday, 7 p.m.
Strong quarterback play and an elite defense are a strong recipe for success, which explains the success of Missoula Big Sky so far in 2025.
The Eagles have been flat-out dominant defensively. They shut out Capital in Week 3, but have held the rest of their opponents under 10, surrendering just 16 point total, four per game, so far.
Big Sky’s offense, led by junior quarterback Eli Kasberg, is averaging 36.7 points a game, with at least 38 points in three of four outings. Kasberg has been dynamic. He’s second in Class AA passing yards (903), second in TD passes (12) and first in completion percentage (65). Kasberg has the second-most rushing yards among quarterbacks (202) and 14 total touchdowns.
Flathead might only have one victory, but they possess one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in Class AA, too. Eli Coopman (320 rush yards) is fourth among all players in the classification in rushing, including two 100-yard games. Coopman is also throwing for 162 yards per game, but his play-making ability will be tested by the Big Sky defense, which has eight sacks and eight interceptions through four games. Kade Dunning has three sacks to pace the Eagles; Cai Marceau is the team leader with three interceptions.
Billings Skyview (1-3, 1-1) at Great Falls High (0-3, 0-2) Friday, 7 p.m.
Steele Harris had 140 rushing yards last week for Great Falls High, as well as four receptions for 100 yards, and two touchdowns in a 70-50 loss to Bozeman.
After leading 21-7 in Week 1 against Flathead, before the game was canceled due to weather, the Bison have played three teams with a combined record of 11-1.
That helps to explain why they haven’t won a game. Skyview grabbed a 24-21 win over Belgrade last week, matching last season’s win total. Just like Great Falls High, the Falcons are led by Jackson Carter, a wide receiver, who has 397 yards, the most in Class AA after four games. He also has five touchdown receptions.
Billings Senior (0-4, 0-2) at Belgrade (0-3, 0-1) Friday, 7 p.m.
The Panthers have been close to their first win this season on more than one occasion. They held the lead against Capital in Week 2 and had a shot to win in the fourth quarter, as well as a three-point loss last week.
QB Hudsen Rask is averaging 219 total yards per game for an offense that has scored 17 points per game over the last three weeks. The Broncs have been outscored by an average of 27 points per game this season.
For tips, email: chris.peterson@406mtsports.com or text/call: 406-475-4292.
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