Git Along Little Dogies, Git Along…

I know a majority of the populace out there see me as the guy who photographs six-man football, but as the title of this blog states, “Six-Eight-Eleven,” I have also been known to attend, photograph, and write about eight-man and eleven-man venues as well. When it comes to eleven-man, I typically gravitate to the smallest classes. In Montana, it’s mostly Class B games (and a couple of Class A game years ago), while covering 1A and 2A in Wyoming.

With that said, although I’ve never been to Forsyth for a game, the Dogies have never played in too large of a class for me to cover a game there. However, given their arrival to the eight-man level (down from eleven-man play this year), it seemed timely that I visit for one of their games this season.

And so, there I was for their first round playoff game against Choteau—another team, like Forsyth, from Class B that moved down to eight-man this year. As it turns out, Forsyth is the ideal distance for me to travel; just under one full tank of gas to get there in my not-so-fuel-efficient 1990 Ford F-150 (despite its 300-straight-six engine).

Because it was the last weekend in October, the weather was absolutely devine in Forsyth. I don’t know if it hit the 70° mark, but it was sunny and certainly in the 60s. So warm was it that some of the players were experiencing muscle cramps like those during the first games of the year when the weather is outright hot. However, the Forsyth team didn’t seem as prone to this condition. I spied a couple of the Dogie players drinking pickle juice. I had to ask. Apparently pickle juice is a good remedy in the prevention of muscle cramps. What would the marketing teams at Gatorade or Powerade make of this grassroots electrolyte insurrection?

Of course, it depends on who you talk to. Perhaps it’s a magnesium thing… 

When it came to the actual contest between Forsyth and Choteau, the Dogies assembled a strong argument for a title game appearance. I suspect they’ll advance to the semifinals and the championship game, but no one team is a sure bet this year. Choteau kept it close for almost two quarters, but late in the second quarter when it was 22-8 and the Bulldogs were threatening to make it 22-14, Forsyth picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown (“pick-six”), making it 30-8 at the half instead. The Bulldogs never recovered.

With all the Forsyth scoring going on, it’s band played several rounds of the Dogie fight song. And, like many high schools that “acquire” their fight song from some famous college, Forsyth’s fight song is Michigan’s “Hail to the Victors.” Had I closed my eyes, I could almost project myself into an Ohio State game where Michigan was kicking their ass. As a kid who grew up following the Buckeyes, it was a bit disconcerting in hearing that particular fight song over and over.

Now that Wibaux has moved down to six-man, one has to wonder if Forsyth is the new incarnation of “The Beast from the East,” or will Fairview have something to say about that.