Four Hi-Line teams seeking playoff wins Saturday

The regular season may have come to an end last weekend, but there is still plenty of football taking place along the Hi-Line.

As the postseason sits just around the corner, four Hi-Line teams will make an appearance in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday.

The Northern C Six-Man Big Sandy Pioneers and North Star Knights both advanced to the postseason. And in the Northern C 8-Man, both the Chinook Sugarbeeters and Chester/J-I Hawks will participate in first round action.

Going 5-1 in league play, the Pioneers played their way into a three-way tie for the No. 1 seed in the Northern C. Big Sandy, Augusta and Valier all landed at the top of the conference with 5-1 records.

On Saturday, the Pioneers will host the Stanford-Geyser Wolves in first round action at 1 p.m. The Wolves went 3-3 in league and 3-5 overall in Central C 6-Man play, and won only one game on the road this season. The Pioneers on the other hand, are the heavily favored powerhouse who put up 40 or more points in seven games this season.

The Northern C 8-Man Beeters will also be at home on Saturday.

The Beeters finished the season 7-1 in league play, and also found themselves in a three-way tie for first place. Fort Benton and Power-Dutton-Brady also finished in first place with a 7-1 record.

Chinook will host the Eastern C Scobey Spartans at 1 p.m. And with the Spartans holding down the No. 4 spot out of the East, the Beeters have to be favored to win this matchup. The Beeters missed the playoffs a year ago with a 4-4 record, but have improved immensely, while the Spartans lost in the first round a year ago as the No. 3 seed out of the East.

The Northern C 8-Man Hawks squeaked into the postseason this year with a 4-4 record.

Now taking their act on the road, the Hawks will find themselves up against the very tough Wibaux Longhorns, the No. 1 seed out of the East. The Hawks will have to play very well to get the upset win on Saturday, as the Longhorns attempt to make yet another championship game. Last year the Longhorns made it to the state championship, but lost to Drummond 32-24.

The No. 4 Knights are the other team out of the Northern C representing the Hi-Line in the Six-man postseason.

But in a very unfavorable matchup, they will take to the road to face the No. 1 Denton Trojans on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Trojans went undefeated this year in Central C play and could very well be the favorite to win it all. A season ago the Trojans made the championship matchup, but were defeated by Winifred 53-20. North Star lost in the second round a year ago.

But the Knight aren't counting themselves out. They have a talented squad, and proved they run with top teams two weeks ago, nearly upsetting Big Sandy in Big Sandy. The Pioneers ended up getting the win 41-39, but the Knights showed they are a dangerous team when clicking on all cylinders.