HELENA — As we enter the second week of conference play in Class AA football, contenders have started to separate themselves, although marquee matchups remain in both conferences.
Since the 406 MT Sports high school rankings were released after Week 1, there has not been a matchup of ranked teams this season, although current No. 1 Kalispell Glacier defeated No. 3 Billings West in Week 1 in Billings.
That trend of non-ranked matchups will continue for at least another week. However, there are key games on both sides of the state and here is a guide to Week 4 of Montana Class AA high school football.
Butte High (1-2, 0-1) at No. 4 Missoula Big Sky (3-0, 1-0) Thursday, 7 p.m.
The Eagles and Bulldogs will help kick off the week with an important conference matchup for both teams, which had completely different outcomes a week ago.
Big Sky defeated Helena Capital, the defending state champ, on the road 38-0, beating the Bruins in Helena for the first time in 30 years. Butte, on the other hand, was defeated at home by top-ranked Glacier 42-0.
The Eagles have been dominant defensively through three games, allowing just nine points. Junior quarterback Eli Kasberg has also proven to be one of the most dynamic passers in the state. He is leading Class AA with nine touchdown passes and is second in completion percentage (63.3). Kasberg also has 172 rushing yards (57 per game), which is more than anyone on the Butte roster.
Butte’s offense does have a playmaker of its own, though, as Hudson Luedtke leads Class AA in receptions (25) and is also third in receiving yards (283).
Belgrade (0-2, 0-1) at Billings Skyview (0-3, 0-1) Thursday, 7 p.m.
One team will get its first win Thursday night in Billings as the Falcons host the Panthers.
Both teams have come close to getting a win this season. Belgrade was competitive in Week 2 against Capital. Skyview had a third-quarter lead on Helena High in Week 1.
Jackson Carter of Skyview leads Class AA in receiving yards (309). Jaxon Zagata is sixth in passing with 590 yards. He has five touchdown passes, all of them to Carter, who is tied for the most in the classification.
Hudsen Rask leads the way for Belgrade, averaging 197 total yards per game. The Panthers also have Wesley Ehret, a Montana Grizzly commit, who has a kickoff return for a touchdown this season in addition to 51 receiving yards per game.
No. 2 Bozeman Gallatin (3-0, 1-0) at Great Falls CMR (2-1, 1-0) Friday, 7 p.m.
Gallatin and CMR are two of the most balanced teams in Class AA football. Both teams average over 150 yards rushing and passing.
CMR quarterback Caleb Taylor is averaging 206 passing yards per game to go along with six touchdowns and one interception. Donavin Scribner is also one of the top running backs in Class AA with 278 rushing yards.
Carter Dahlke has 319 yards from scrimmage for Gallatin, leading the way for an offense averaging 37 points per game. The defense has been stellar, too, leading the Eastern AA with just 8.6 points allowed per game.
Helena Capital (1-2, 0-1) at No. 1 Kalispell Glacier (3-0, 1-0) Friday, 7 p.m.
In a rematch of the 2024 Class AA state championship game, you have two teams playing on opposite ends of the spectrum.
The Bruins were shut out last week by Big Sky. Glacier, on the other hand, shut out Butte on the road. Glacier is allowing just over 10 points per game and is scoring 35 points per game, led by quarterback Jackson Presley, who has six touchdown passes compared to zero interceptions. Asher Knopik has also been one of Class AA’s most productive running backs with 335 yards and seven touchdowns (first in Class AA).
The only back who has rushed for more yards than Knopik will share the field with him Friday night in Kalispell, and that’s Capital running back Brit Linder who comes into Week 4 with 376 rushing yards.
Linder, the Montana State commit, will need to have a big night on the ground for the Bruins, who also need to tighten up on defense after allowing 28.6 points per game to start the season. Glacier boasts the fourth best scoring defense in Class AA.
Billings Senior (0-3, 0-1) at No. 3 Billings West (3-0, 1-0) Friday, 7 p.m.
A crosstown matchup will take place in Billings on Friday as Senior aims to upset third-ranked West for its first win of the season.
The Golden Bears are four points away from an unblemished record, but dominated Missoula Hellgate (56-14) and Great Falls High 38-6 last week in the Eastern AA opener.
Matt Ludwig, the Michigan commit, caught 12 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown against the Bison. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end is second in AA with 287 receiving yards. Ludwig also has four touchdown receptions so far this season.
Elias Bonner, three-star WR/DB, is 11th in Class AA in receiving yards. That makes two dangerous weapons for Colt Johnson, who is first in Class AA with 754 passing yards. Senior QB Severan Cellan leads the Broncs offense with 160 total yards per game. Senior is scoring 15 points per game this season, compared to a defense that allows 39.
No. 5 Missoula Sentinel (2-0, 1-0) at Missoula Hellgate (1-2, 1-0) Friday, 7 p.m.
There’s a crosstown matchup in the Western AA this week, too. It also happens to be a battle of 1-0 teams as all three teams from Missoula won last week.
Vince Paffhausen accounted for 330 total yards in a 24-17 win for Hellgate over Flathead last week with 134 coming the ground. Parker Link had five receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown.
That won’t be easy for the Knights to do this week against the Spartans, who have only allowed 30 points all season (seven in an overtime frame). Offensively, Sentinel boasts its own dual-threat quarterback in Rudy Hess, who has four total touchdowns, along with Kaden Thennis who is averaging 71 yards per game this season, including a weather-shortened game in Week 1.
Kalispell Flathead (1-1, 0-1) at Helena High (1-2, 0-1) Friday, 7 p.m.
Either the Braves or Bengals will leave Vigilante Stadium with a conference win Friday night after each team dropped its opener by a touchdown. Helena lost 31-24 in overtime against Sentinel, after losing a three-point lead in the second half.
Reece Silvonen has passed for 167 yards per game this season. He also has three touchdown passes, one of which went to his twin brother Gracen Silvonen, who has 21 receptions for 245 yards this season.
Flathead quarterback Eli Coopman has accounted for 558 yards the past two games. Of those, 246 of them have come on ground, with back-to-back games over 100 yards rushing, along with three touchdowns.
The Braves are seeking their first win in Helena since 2019. Helena’s defense, led by Peyton Lorenz and who had two sacks last week, will try to stop that from happening. Hemming in Coopman will be the key.
Great Falls High (0-2, 0-1) at Bozeman (2-1, 1-0) Friday, 7 p.m.
One week ahead of its own crosstown game with Gallatin, Bozeman will look to improve to 2-0 in the Eastern AA with Great Falls High coming to town.
Hawks QB Van Shockley is averaging 299 total yards per game. The junior is throwing for 245 yards per game but is also Bozeman’s leading rusher (53.7 yards per game).
Bozeman scored 42 points last week against Senior to open conference play. Great Falls High, which is averaging just 176 yards per game, was held to just six points for the second week in a row. The Bison do have weapons, though, led by Steele Harris, who has averaged 53.5 receiving yards the past two weeks.
For tips, email: chris.peterson@406mtsports.com or text/call: 406-475-4292.
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