HELENA — When it comes to Montana high school football, we are now closer to the playoffs than the start of the season.
The playoff chase has already begun. There are more marquee matchups on tap this week, but for the second week in a row, there’s little movement in the 406 MT Sports rankings.
The biggest changes occurred near the bottom of the 8-Man and 6-Man football rankings, where St. Regis-Mullan (ID) and Superior played their way into the rankings in 8-Man, along with Custer-Hysham-Melstone and Bainville, in 6-Man.
Despite some facing ranked opponents, the top-ranked teams in each class dominated and here is a look at the 406 MT Sports rankings after Week 5.
(complete rankings listed below)
Class AA
Fifth-ranked Missoula Sentinel fended off a challenge from Butte High, kicking a fourth-quarter field goal to stay unbeaten. Kalispell Glacier and Billings West won without allowing a point, while Missoula Big Sky scored 64 points in a 34-point win over Flathead.
Bozeman Gallatin had to rally past crosstown rival Bozeman High, yet Carter Dahlke scored a touchdown in the final stanza to help the Raptors improve to 5-0 with a 23-16 win.
The top five teams in our Class AA rankings are a combined 23-1 with the only loss being the 14-10 defeat suffered by No. 3 Billings West at the hands of No. 1 Glacier in the first week of the season.
Upcoming Class AA Game of the Week: No. 5 Missoula Sentinel will see if its defense will travel to Kalispell this week, as the Spartans will take on the top-ranked Wolfpack. Glacier has won its past four games by an average of 44.5 points. Sentinel, on the other hand, has won three of its four games by single digits.
Class A
Laurel’s drop in the Class A rankings proved to be temporary after an impressive 35-21 road win over previous No. 2 Lewistown last Friday night.
The Locomotives didn’t put up much of a fight against Billings Central, losing a top-ranked matchup 35-0. Yet, behind the 219 rushing yards from Curtis Fox, Laurel reminded everyone last week that it’s still a contender in Class A.
The win moved Laurel back up to No. 3. Hamilton doesn’t have a win quite as good as Laurel’s but they Broncs have won four games by a combined score of 170-30 with only Whitefish making it competitive in a 27-23 game.
Last Friday, the Broncs cruised past Stevensville by 45. Billings Central allowed a season-high 22 points, but still whipped Miles City by 27 (49-22). Frenchtown improved to 4-1 with its only blemish coming against the top-ranked Rams.
Upcoming Class A Game of the Week: Second-ranked Hamilton will face its biggest test of the 2025 season when it welcomes fifth-ranked Frenchtown to town on Friday for a Southwest A showdown that could decide the division’s No. 1 seed in the postseason.
Class B
Manhattan took down a ranked opponent for the second week in a row, defeating previous No. 8 Columbus 47-0.
Malta and Glasgow continue to be on collision course in the Northern B. The Mustangs and Scotties will meet in the final week of the regular season. Malta beat Cut Bank 55-6 in Week 5, while Glasgow struggled a little with Fairfield but pulled out a 34-21 win.
Glasgow leads Class B in scoring with 44.5 points per game. Malta is second in Class B at 39.4. Eureka, which has only lost to Class A Whitefish this season, knocked off a plucky Anaconda squad 26-0. The Lions have allowed just 20 points in four games so far this season.
There is one new entrant into the Class B top 10 this week and that’s Conrad. Columbus fell to 2-2 with its loss and despite a win over No. 8 Jefferson, it has been outscored 90-68 this season. Jefferson notched a non-conference win to move up a spot, while Townsend gained a spot, even in a loss.
Three Forks is one of Class B’s most dynamic teams and the Bulldogs didn’t deserve to be punished for a competitive loss, especially since there are only nine teams in Class B with one loss or less (four undefeated teams).
Conrad also joined the top 10 for the first time this season. The Cowboys’ only losses were a 17-point defeat to Malta, as well as a 13-point loss to Jefferson. Conrad also won its three games by a combined score of 106-6.
Upcoming Class B Game of the Week: There will be more than bragging rights on the line as No. 9 Townsend will host eighth-ranked Jefferson in the annual Elkhorn rivalry game on Friday. The winner will take a step toward securing a playoff berth and stay alive in the race for the Southern B’s top seed.
8-Man
The top six teams in 8-Man didn’t change from last week. Ekalaka dropped a spot after losing a ranked contest with Circle. Scobey was off this week, while Fort Benton and Drummond-Phillipsburg beat ranked opponents Chinook and Ennis by the scores of 54-0 and 44-6, respectively.
St. Regis-Mullan (ID) earned its way into the Top 10 for the first time this season after a 28-0 triumph over St. Ignatius. It was the fourth win of the season for the St. Regis-Mullan (ID) and the only defeat came at the hands of sixth-ranked Seeley-Swan, one of the four undefeated teams left in 8-Man football. One of the wins for St. Regis also came over new No. 10 Superior (48-30), a 4-1 team that knocked off Darby last week, to take its spot in the rankings.
Upcoming 8-Man Game of the Week: Superior will put its new ranking on the line against sixth-ranked Seeley-Swan on the road this week as the Bobcats aim to force a three-way tie at the top of the Western 8-Man standings.
6-Man
There was also a shake-up at the bottom of the 6-Man rankings as Roy-Winifred, Highwood and Hot Springs were all defeated. Custer-Hysham-Melstone has re-emerged in the rankings after a 70-40 win over previous No. 7 Roy-Winifred. The Rebels also own a win over Bainville, the 10th-ranked team, which has won its past three games by a combined score of 174-12.
Power-Dutton-Brady moved up a couple spots. Its only loss remains to fifth-ranked Lincoln. Four undefeated teams remain: Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine, Absarokee, Grass Range-Winnett and Richey-Lambert.
Upcoming 6-Man Game of the Week: No. 4 Grass Range-Winnett will start a brutal three-game stretch against ranked teams by hosting top-ranked DGSG on Saturday afternoon in a game that will help determine the hierarchy of the Southern 6-Man division.
High School Football
406 MT Sports rankings
Week 5
Class AA
1. Kalispell Glacier (5-0)
2. Bozeman Gallatin (5-0)
3. Billings West (4-1)
4. Missoula Big Sky (5-0)
5. Missoula Sentinel (4-0)
Class A
1. Billings Central (5-0)
2. Hamilton (4-0)
3. Laurel (4-1)
4. Lewistown (4-1)
5. Frenchtown (4-1)
Class B
1. Malta (5-0)
2. Manhattan (5-0)
3. Glasgow (5-0)
4. Three Forks (4-1)
5. Eureka (3-1)
6. Red Lodge (3-1)
7. Joliet (5-0)
8. Jefferson (4-1)
9. Townsend (3-1)
10. Conrad (3-2)
8-Man
1. Scobey (4-0)
2. Fort Benton (5-0)
3. Drummond-Philipsburg (4-0)
4. Belt (4-1)
5. Circle (4-1)
6. Seeley-Swan (4-0)
7. St. Regis-Mullan (4-1)
8. Ekalaka (3-2)
9. Ennis (3-1)
10. Superior (4-1)
6-Man
1. Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine (4-0)
2. Chester-Joplin-Inverness (4-1)
3. Absarokee (5-0)
4. Grass-Range-Winnett (5-0)
5. Lincoln (4-1)
6. Richey-Lambert (5-0)
7. Custer-Hysham-Melstone (3-2)
8. Power-Dutton-Brady (4-1)
9. Roy-Winifred (4-1)
10. Bainville (4-1)
The 406 MT Sports high school football rankings for Week 5.
For tips, email: chris.peterson@406mtsports.com or text/call: 406-475-4292.
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