Autumn Habits, Ghost Teams and The Olive Garden

Highwood, Montana

Every year small town high school football comes and goes. And after it’s over—like Brett Favre—I’ve told myself and others that next year I’ll likely stay behind and only attend a game or two in the 100-mile radius of home. However, unlike Favre, there’s no million-dollar contract enticing me to travel the same distances as any previous year—not even the promise of gas money.

Perhaps my want or need to stay home has much to do with the fact that I’ve been almost everywhere in the two states of Montana and Wyoming when it comes to this genre of football.

So last week, I serendipitously obtained all the schedules for Montana Class C (six and eight-man) from the website of KPAX in Missoula. (BTW: kudos to KPAX for pulling all of these schedules together in such a thorough fashion.) It didn’t take long for me to spot a game here and there that I would like to attend. The next thing I know, there’s at least one game every week that I am eyeing up through mid-October. And not long after that, the playoffs begin.

Did I mention there are 27 teams playing six-man football in Montana this year—and another 36 teams signed up for eight-man play?

Obviously I’m hooked... again. And I haven’t even seen the schedules for Wyoming or a select few locations in Idaho that are realistically out of reach.

The truth is, I haven’t attended a game everywhere in these two states, but I have had time to survey almost every small town high school football setting (i.e., driving by any given gridiron during the off-season or on my way to another game somewhere else).

I suppose this means my work is not finished—not as long as teams change from one class to another or other schools introduce new teams in the stream of play.

Which makes me reminisce about a few schools/teams that have not fielded teams in years. Whatever became of the teams and players from Willow Creek, Belfry, Brockton, Box Elder? Are they teamed up with other schools in much the same way that resulted in Brady joining Power and Dutton or how Rapelje and Ryegate split to join Reed Point and Harlowton respectively?

Well, in case there’s anyone out there reading this that might wonder what I have in mind for this season, here’s my goals...

Power-Dutton-Brady: the Titans will also play a Saturday afternoon game in Dutton. Located off the Interstate 15 north of Great Falls, there’ll be no time for yard work on that weekend.

Fromberg-Roberts: this is about as close to home as I can get. About an hour drive. Though I’ve attended plenty of Fromberg and Roberts games in the past, these settings will serve as a reprieve from the typical hours of driving while still fulfilling my need to see a game.

Tri-Cities: That would be Hobson, Moore and Judith Gap—“Tri-Towns” might be a better name. One of their home games is scheduled for the gridiron in Moore on a Saturday afternoon instead of the usual dim-lit games in Hobson on Friday nights.

Great Falls Central Catholic: This is may be one of the few places in either state where you can witness a small-town football game in a good-size city like Great Falls. It may seem odd to the readers out there, but I’ve never been able to go to the Olive Garden immediately following a Class C football game. On a related note, I see Billings Christian is fielding a six-man team this year as well—providing another venue for small town football within a metropolitan setting.

Lastly St. Regis: Another lost weekend of driving for one six-man football game. This will be the Tigers first year of six-man football.

Neutrality's History in Small Town Football

Maybe a game was played here once.

At some point in my travels to various small town football games in Montana and Wyoming, I remember a few people here and there telling me about football games that would sometimes be played at a neutral site—so one team didn’t have to travel so far. And back in the old days, that neutral site was often some empty wheat field in the middle of nowhere.

I’m unsure of the mechanics in such scenarios, but it must have been a sight. Imagine the kids getting off the busses and spending the first hour or two just preparing the field—cutting down some of the higher weeds and measuring off and chalking the field. Did they even have referees? How did they even locate a particular field, let alone agree on a particular remote area?

I’d like to see a re-enactment of this little slice of small town high school football history. But for now, if you’re someone who knows of a particular account or heard of such events, feel free to tell us about it in the comment section below or you can email me at: mdt1960@yahoo.com

As for today, this concept is still used on occasion, only it’s not nearly as primitive. In fact, there’s nothing primitive about it at all. In this first weekend of the 2010 football season, Custer, Montana (where six-man football is played) will host an eight-man double header consisting of four teams that will travel to Custer’s “Field of Dreams.”

In the opener (1:00 p.m.), Eastern Montana powerhouse Wibaux (“The Beast from the East”) will face the Absarokee Huskies. Both teams are rich in football lore accounting for at least eight Class C titles between them in the past 25 years. The nightcap (7:00 p.m.) features Harlowton-Ryegate taking on the Wildcats of Circle.

There will be two separate admissions, but whatever the cost, it will be well worth it.

Purple Passion and the Wibaux Standard

No Photoshop here in Sheridan, Montana.

It was a day to fight for the purple as both Sheridan and Charlo claim purple as their dominant school colour. Everywhere you looked during the Montana Class C eight-man quarterfinal there was purple—which made me think fondly of those select (but few) Stanford fans way back in 2005 who throttled me for wearing purple wind pants to one of their games on this same blog. Too bad they couldn’t have attended this clash of purples between the Panthers and Vikings.

Panther personalitiesI continually feel a need to apologize to the kind folks in Sheridan these days for neglecting to cover any of their home games until just this past weekend. Having been to other gridirons like Sunburst, Noxon, Scobey and Ekalaka, I can’t stand on the leg that says Sheridan has always been too far for me to drive. And even if their home games are at night (my least favorite environment to photograph), I confess to once driving all the way to Eureka for a Lion Friday night game. I suppose it has something to do with seeing the Panthers on the road three previous times—Alberton, Big Sandy and Sunburst and coming away from those games feeling as if I had encountered everything that was Sheridan.

I’ll admit it’s my loss for not having attended a Sheridan game years earlier given the warm reception I received this past week. Sheridan principal Jory Thompson approached me before the game and ask me if I was that “small town football guy” (or something like that in so many words) and informed me while we chatted that there was a complimentary Polish dog from their concession stand waiting for me whenever I wanted it.

Rob Crippen.

Then there was Rob Crippen, the father of Sheridan quarterback Casey Crippen. He was working the sidelines keeping stats of the day’s game and also tagged me regarding my work while inviting me over to his house after the game for tacos and the Griz game on TV. That kind of hospitality is downright bold and somewhat uncommon, but if it’s ever going to happen to a stranger, you can be sure it will happen at one of these small town high school football games like Sheridan. I suppose even bolder than Crippen’s invite is that I showed up at his home after I secured my motel room.

Speaking of bold, Sheridan defensive coordinator Clint Layng is right out of the movie Top Gun when he’s sending in signals to his defensive unit on the field. Watch him long enough and he’ll convince you that he directs fighter planes for takeoff on an aircraft carrier during the weekdays.

Wibaux… not your usual playoff gameFollowing the Panther’s 36-20 victory over Charlo, my ears perked up when I heard Layng tell the team that he’s always wanted to play Wibaux. One hundred years ago, that would have been the talk of a gun fighter. Which found me thinking how (over the years) Wibaux has somewhat, informally (at least in my tiny brain) become the standard of measure in Montana Class C eight-man football. I mean, there’s few conversations around Montana about this class of football that Wibaux doesn’t come up in the conversation sooner or later. Might as well paint a target on every Wibaux player’s chest. Even in previous years when another team has defeated Wibaux in a quarterfinal, semifinal or in the finals, they probably take more pride in defeating Wibaux than anything that followed.

Once I had the opportunity to talk to the starting line-up of Drummond’s 2005 championship team and when asked to pinpoint their toughest opponent in their three-year domination, they all agreed it was the 2004 semifinal game with the Longhorns. Despite winning 30-0, one Trojan recalled, “Yeah, Wibaux really brought the wood.”

Wibaux at Savage

And so, the Montana Class C eight-man semi-finals are decided again—reminding me of a popular play that keeps on showing year after year. Mind you, I’m not complaining, I’m just saying (as they say). It’s Centerville, Drummond, Wibaux and Sheridan—with Sheridan the freshest of this tested line-up. Should we be surprised? Each is undefeated and ranked number one from their respected division.

I started thinking about how the world might be today if none of these teams advanced to the semifinals. Imagine if Joliet, Twin Bridges, Charlo and Fort Benton advanced instead. I know there are several signs that signify the end of time—this semifinal scenario would surely have been one of them.

Back in August I was confident the addition of Ennis and Fort Benton would really shake things up—given their newcomer status in stepping down from Class B eleven-man play. And less we forget, it wasn’t that long ago that the Longhorns of Fort Benton won the Class B state title in 2002 and were runner-up in 2004 while Ennis secured their own Class C titles in 1978 and 1982. Well, Fort Benton almost pulled it off until they tangled with those other Longhorns way out/back east.

Of course, there’s the riddle of the Superior Bobcats—formally Class C for several years, then they moved up to Class B for several years after, followed by a short two-year stint back down to Class C—just long enough to defeat Wibaux in the title game last year. They moved back to Class B (again) this year and probably haven’t stopped talking about beating Wibaux in last year’s title game.

Ah yes, Wibaux, the standard of measure—beyond Class C perhaps.

Joliet Steps Up... Somehow

Joliet lines up for the National Anthem.

Typically reports on the details of a small town high school football game usually don't appear here, but today’s shootout between Joliet and Scobey might merit such a departure. But above all else, it truly was a picture-perfect day in Joliet for a football game, period.

I’ll be the first to admit it, I had my doubts about Joliet. And after two early turnovers in the first quarter that lead to Scobey touchdowns, it started to look like a blow-out. Honestly I wasn’t too surprised to see these early events unfold. After all, Scobey has been a rich-in-tradition football team that has a state title or two in their trophy case, while Joliet hasn’t been one of the stronger teams since I-don’t-know-how-long.

Nevertheless, the J-Hawks success seemed to improve with the appearance of the sun because once it came out, Joliet sprung to life.

I heard more than one J-Hawk fan say, “They’re a slow-starting team.” Indeed they were—almost slow in starting like the-first-game-of-the-year slow, where very basic mistakes are the norm.

Yet, despite Joliet’s turnovers, Scobey managed to make a few of their own and the J-Hawks slowly clawed their way back into the game. Late in the second quarter, Joliet managed to take the lead, but with time running out on the last play of the half, Scobey found an open receiver who in turn found the end zone giving the Spartans an abbreviated halftime lead.

Another oddity about this particular game, two safeties were recorded—one by each team. That doesn’t happen very often, does it?

Playoff action: Scobey at Joliet.

Given the number of blunders and turnovers, several times I found myself saying, “Whoever wins this game won’t stand a chance in Drummond next week.” Yet, I suspect this year’s Drummond lineup isn’t composed of immortals like their teams earlier in the decade. As it turned out, the Trojans may have struggled a bit themselves in their 38-20 victory over Stanford. So, who knows? I counted out Joliet once already and they proved me wrong, maybe they can do it again.

On another note: one thing is known for sure in this year’s eight-man semi-finals, the Longhorns will be playing. And next week’s quarter-final showdown between the Longhorns of Wibaux and the Longhorns of Fort Benton will determine which one. Yeee-Haaa!

Now's The Time

Wibaux at Centerville in the 2006 eight-man title game.

Go ahead, pick a town—make it one of the smaller towns in Montana and treat yourself to all of the charm it offers along with the friendly individuals that call it home this Saturday—Halloween. While you’re at it, consider one of those listed below where you can double your fun by taking in a classic small town football game.

Southbound
I’m heading just up to the road to Joliet, Montana to watch an eight-man game where the J-Hawks take on the Scobey Spartans who are making a pretty significant road trip from way up in the northeast corner of Montana. This trip will be nothing for the Spartans given last year when they travelled all the way to Superior, Montana—less than 50 miles from the Idaho border.

If Joliet is a bit too far from your home, consider these other towns where you can watch an eight-man or six-man playoff game.

Way Up NorthStarting up north there is Centerville (not far from Great Falls) where the Miners are hosting the Victor Vikings. The Miners are always tough at home, this week will not be an exception. One of the things I love about Montana football playoffs, because the state is so big, often two schools will face each other for the first time in history. That could be the case in this match-up.

The Big Sandy Pioneers will be welcoming the Bridger Scouts in a rematch of last year’s six-man playoff game. The massive grain elevators adjacent to the gridiron make for a classic small town backdrop. I wonder if U.S. Senator John Tester will be in attendance cheering on his hometown team.

There’s also a game in Charlo—a nice detour on your way to Flathead Lake. The Vikings of Charlo will be facing the co-op of small schools from Power, Dutton and Brady. I have yet to attend a game in Charlo.

If history is your thing, you might want to swing down to Fort Benton (not far from Great Falls too) to visit the bridge over the Missouri River and the gravesite of the dog that defined “man’s best friend,” Shep. While your there, the Longhorns will be hosting their first 8-man football playoff game against Arlee. It wasn’t too many years ago that Fort Benton won the Class B 11-man title.

How about an out-of-the-way location like the little town of Denton where their six-man football team is undefeated and hosting Terry? Check out the hardware store in Denton—they have it all, packed tightly into the space of a Dairy Queen.

If you live in Great Falls and want that small town feeling without really leaving the comforts of the big city, I suspect the six-man game between Great Falls Central and the Custer-Melstone Cougars might be the ticket.

Go WestWestern Montana, are you kidding!? If you’ve never been to Drummond, this is your chance. A football game at Drummond should be on any football junkie’s bucket list. Another strong Trojan team will be hosting the Wolves from Stanford (and Geyser). Stanford seems to have all the luck these past few years—sooner or later they face Drummond in a playoff game, and... well, they’d probably just assume not.

Sheridan's Purple Camo Brigade.

Down in Sheridan, the purple-clad Panthers will be entertaining the also purple-clad Cowboys all the way from Culbertson-Bainville near the North Dakota border. Many of the Sheridan fans will be decked out in their special-order, purple camouflage clothing—and if you ask nicely, they’ll even let you take their picture.

Perhaps you’re thinking about a trip through Yellowstone. If that’s the case you can double your money because the Wolverines of West Yellowstone are hosting a six-man game against the North Star Knights consisting of players from the tiny towns of Rudyard, Kremlin and Gildford (along Montana’s Hi-Line).

Last but not least is Lima, Montana—down on the Idaho border with the Bitterroot Mountains serving as a majestic backdrop. Rather than Lima High School hosting the game, the home team will be the Clark County Bobcats (of Dubois, Idaho—that’s right an Idaho team in the running for the Montana State Championship). The Cats are taking on the Reed Point-Rapelje Renegades in Lima because all Montana playoff games must be played in Montana and Lima is just over the border from Dubois.

A prairie eruption at Wibaux.

Back East
Speaking of bucket lists, the same is true about a game in Wibaux—the Beast from the East. The Longhorns have one of the most successful active coaches year after year in Jeff Bertelsen and are hosting the Harlowton Engineers. After the game, I recommend a stop at the Rainbow Club for a cold one and old reruns of past Wibaux State Championship games.

Further south along the North Dakota border you’ll find Ekalaka (sometimes it’s just fun to say “Ekalaka”) way down in the southeast corner of the state and there the Bulldogs of Carter County will be hosting the Falcons of Twin Bridges. It’ll be along bus ride for the Falcons from the scenic Ruby Valley whether they win or lose.

Where the Yellowstone River turns north and approaches the Missouri River you’ll find the sleepy town of Savage where the Warriors will be hosting Augusta. The Elks have advanced deep in the six-man playoffs the last couple of years and put together a good following of fans no matter how far they have to travel.

A little farther west and north and truly out of the way is the town of Winifred. The Red Raiders are facing another isolated town’s football team in the Jordan Mustangs—maybe we should call this the “Obscurity Bowl.” Both of these teams just moved down from eight-man play in the last year and have made the adjustment without a hitch.

If Billings is home for you, this weekend might be your excuse to finally venture to Hysham. The Pirates are undefeated and their fans know how to throw a pre-game tailgate party. The Tigers of Geraldine and their stellar six-man football program are in town to take on heavily-favored Hysham. But, one should never count out Geraldine Head Coach Rod Tweet and any team he brings to a football game.

There you have it, 16 different towns (and all small with the exception of one) offering 16 different games—all starting at 1:00 on Saturday. I’d like to see them all, but there’s something very pure and honest about choosing only one and going for it.

Idaho... Barely

Overlooking Mullan, Idaho.

I love vertical towns like Mullan and Wallace, Idaho. By “vertical” I mean that they are located in narrow valleys with mountains rising up from every direction. Such towns resemble a childrens’ illustrated book and always feel a bit more cozy than other places in the world.

Both Mullan and Wallace have a population under 1,000 and are only 10 miles apart. One can find a good cup of coffee in either town and both communities field eight-man football teams that play each other twice every season.

This past week I travelled to Mullan to sit in on their game against another rival; the Clark Fork Wampus Cats. My travelling companion, Slim, and I went round and round on what a Wampus Cat might look like and how it came into existence. Slim’s theory had to do with the mingling of spieces—a Wombat (a burrowing plant-eating Australian marsupial that resembles a small bear with short legs) and a Bobcat (a small North American cat species with a barred and spotted coat and a short tail). According to Slim, this cross-breed of marsupial and feline is man-eating to boot. My theory on the Wampus Cat was more streamlined than Slim's. Basically I placed it in the same category as the Wyoming Jackelope—a mythical animal cross between an antelope and jackrabbit). After a quick search on the web, it appears my theory is probably closer to the truth although I never would have guessed six legs.

I don’t know what the total mileage was, but it was about a nine-hour drive between home (Powell, Wyoming) and the two Northern Idaho communities—which was more than enough time to discuss the evolutionary origins of the Wampus Cat.

We started our Mullan trip on Thursday afternoon and despite the dismal weather forecast, we made it to the Capri Motel in Uptown Butte without incident sometime after 8:00 p.m. that evening.

Friday morning—the day of the game in Mullan—we rose around 5:30 to about five inches of fresh snow and extreme cold conditions in Butte. It was difficult to imagine attending a football game at that point. To dampen our spirits even more, we were greeted with disappointment when we drove to the M&M bar and grill for breakfast to find it had been closed and up for sale. The M&M is a Butte landmark—famous for its late-night fights and delicous but greasy breakfasts the next day that includes a red beer or two—tomato juice and beer, the perfect cure for a Butte hangover. Last year while campaigning for his Presidency, Barack Obama visited the M&M, but I’m not in the know as to if he had a red beer.

Mullan faculty Gary Strong.

After gathering ourselves from the devastating sight of the boarded up M&M, Slim and I discovered Annie’s Café over on Front Street. Although there were no red beers served, the breakfast was equal to any M&M breakfast I've had over the years while Annie herself had ample attitude to chase off our M&M blues.

When we slipped over Lookout Pass that defines the Montana-Idaho border, we gained an hour of time leaving us with almost three hours to explore Mullan before game time.

Waiting for us in Mullan was Slim’s friend Charleton from nearby Sand Point. “Chuck” is a coffee/espresso hound who drives a Volkswagon van equipped with a stove and bed and occasionally carries around a Leica camera that doesn't get used nearly enough.

With the extra time on hand, I walked the streets of Mullan looking for images of a great small town which included a visit to the high school to chat with principal Tom Durbin and a couple of Mullan teachers. Meanwhile Slim and Chuck located and secured the local coffee shop—The Bitterroot Coffee House. What a great find that turned out to be. I’ll just say here that if you’re passing through Mullan someday, make the Bitterroot Coffee House your first stop.

Clark Fork at Mullan.

It’s hard to miss the Lucky Friday Mine on the east side of Mullan. It is one of several operations owned and operated by Hecla Mining and is a deep underground silver, lead and zinc mine. There are over 250 employees working at the Lucky Friday and it’s no surprise that the mine employs many residents of Mullan. Check out their website and the video on the Lucky Friday. I hope to return next year and photograph former Mullan players who are now working for the Lucky Friday—assuming some are there.

Then, there was the game. The Mullan Tigers hosting the Clark Fork Wampus Cats. For this eight-man football showdown, Mullan dressed out ten players while Clark Fork fielded thirteen. Unlike Montana eight-man football, Idaho eight-man games are played on a 100-yard field giving it a six-man feel thanks to the extra width and length of field.

Mullan sophomore quarterback Casey McKinnon and Clark Fork senior running back Chance Nesbitt provided plenty of the offensive fireworks for both teams, but it was Mullan who notched the victory when the game ended that day.

Even though snow was falling as we crossed over Lookout Pass, none found its way to the gridiron that day. Nevertheless, as the sun sank lower into the southwestern sky, the cold worked its way to my bones and by the end of the game, all I could think about was finding the warm comfort of a motel room in nearby Wallace.

Ennis, Montana: Fly Fishing to Football

Ennis, Montana at sundown on a Friday night.

To many people, Ennis, Montana means one thing: fly fishing on the Madison River—one of America’s greatest fishing holes. And one pass through this town of 800 permanent residents, you’ll find an assortment of businesses that cater to all things that are fly fishing and a bit more.

I’m ignorant about what or who is the runner-up to fly fishing in Ennis, but if someone told me it was football, I’d believe them given the number of “Mustang Football” signs posted throughout the community.

Starting this year, the Ennis High School football team finds itself back in familiar territory—Class C eight-man football play. “How familiar,” you might ask? In 1978 and 1982 the Mustangs won the Class C state title and in 1983 they were the runner up. Their football reputation might not be up there with the likes of Wibaux or Absarokee, but it is undoubtedly reputable.

Like Superior and Absarokee, Ennis is one of those schools that walks the pesky and fine line defining Class B eleven-man and Class C eight-man. Pesky in that the goal post and football field must be reconfigured each time there’s a switch between these two states of play.

Not that I’ve been to every small town football field in Montana or Wyoming, but I have seen more than my share. Up until my visit to Ennis this last week, I had declared Harlowton as the best lit field for Friday nights. However, as long as Ennis is playing Class C, they are the undisputed champion when it comes to playing under the lights. This is one beautiful facility. And when you stand at the top of the hill overlooking the gridiron, you can watch the setting sun (coming from behind you) reflect off of the high peaks of Madison Mountain Range just over the trees that surround the field. If the Rocky Mountains extending from Canada down into New Mexico were a football team, then the Madison section would be one of the lineman.

White Sulphur Springs ball carrier.

In past writings I’ve always downplayed that “Friday Night Lights” thing, declaring that once it’s dark and the floodlights come up, visually speaking, every football field is the same and thus looses its sense of place. That was somewhat challenged when I was watching the game between Ennis and White Sulphur Springs—the Mustang’s homecoming to boot. Because after my intoxication with the sublime wore off and the sun was long gone, I realized there was a great football game playing out in front of me—one of those games that’s played so hard by both sides, you hate to see either one lose.

In the context of this project, I suppose there’s no need in mentioning who won or who lost that night between Ennis and White Sulphur Springs. What I do need to state here is that sometimes there is magic in the game itself—when two teams are so perfectly matched up, you really have no idea how the game will end. There are also times when there is magic in the setting of the game—the wide open spaces beyond the gridiron or the mountains that tower above. This second option is common and rather unique to Wyoming and Montana. But on those rare occasions, the magic of the setting and the game will marry and you’ll find yourself wondering how you got to be so lucky—as I did in Ennis, Montana the other night.