HAMILTON — The fourth edition of the high school flag football state tournament begins Wednesday in the Bitterroot Valley.
Hosted by Hamilton, this year’s tournament will feature a variety of firsts for the sport in the Treasure State. For one, 21 teams will compete in the action; it’s the most teams the event has seen to date, beating last year’s 17-team event by four.
Perhaps more importantly, this year is the first the schools will be separated by classes. Three different state champions will be crowned Thursday.
“We’re really excited,” Hamilton head coach Mitchell Wassam told 406 MT Sports. “Getting to play in our home field, in front of our home fans, it’s a really cool thing.”
Wolfpack look to stay on top in Class AA
Kalispell Glacier enters as the three-time defending state champion. The Wolfpack have won their previous trophies when all classes competed in the same tournament, but Glacier will still enter this year’s AA field as the western 1-seed and the favorite. Butte will kick off the festivities Wednesday morning against the defending champions.
Billings Senior enters the AA bracket as the eastern 1-seed in its first year of competition. The Broncs will await the winner of Missoula Big Sky and Missoula Sentinel, as the two first-year programs will face off in a play-in game Tuesday night to determine who will advance to the postseason.
Among the rest of the AA field — Kalispell Flathead, Billings West and Skyview, Missoula Hellgate — Flathead is the only returning program. The Braves fell to Lockwood 19-0 in the first round of last year’s postseason.
Hosting Broncs look for first state title in Class A
Two of last year’s four state semifinalists come from Class A, and both will be hungry to arrive at the state title game.
Hamilton, who lost to Huntley Project 18-13 in last year’s semifinals, beat East Helena to secure the western conference championship and enter the state tournament as a 1-seed. Lockwood, the eastern 2-seed, lost to Glacier 18-0 last year to end its campaign.
The two sides will face off in the opening round of the Class A tournament Wednesday. On the other side of the bracket, East Helena and Hardin will face off Wednesday morning for a chance to play eastern 1-seed Glendive. The Red Devils fell in the first round of last year’s playoffs to Three Forks 47-0.
Because there are just five “A” programs competing in flag football, every participating member of the class will have a shot at a state title.
Classes B and C combine for 8-team bracket
The Class B/C tournament will feature the top six programs from B and the top two from C. The two “C” representatives are Hays-Lodge Pole and Hobson, facing off against Wolf Point and Poplar, respectively. Wolf Point and Jefferson enter the tournament as western 1-seeds, Wolf Point from the north and the Panthers from the west.
Jefferson knocked off Wolf Point in the first round of last year’s playoffs but then fell to Huntley Project in the quarterfinals. The Red Devils are back this year, entering the tournament as the southern 1-seed.
After finishing last season as the state runner-up to Glacier, losing 21-12 in the state championship, the Red Devils should be hungry to cement themselves at the top of Class B/C.
Carson Cashion is a sports writer for 406 MT Sports. Follow him on X @CarsonCashion or contact him at carson.cashion@406mtsports.com.
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