Friday Night Lights: Local teams fight for playoff berths

It has been another fun and exciting high school football season in Montana and believe it or not, this weekend marks the end of the 2014 regular season.

Yet, football fans along the Hi-Line shouldn't get too discouraged as a number of local teams are on the verge of locking up a spot in the postseason.

The North Star Knights (5-2, 5-2), who reside in the North division of Class C Six-Man football have already locked up a spot in the playoffs, while others such as the Chinook Sugarbeeters (6-2, 5-2) Havre Blue Ponies (3-5, 1-2), Box Elder Bears (4-3, 4-3) and Chester/J-I Hawks (4-3, 4-3) still have work to do.

For the Blue Ponies, the scenario is simple. Beat the Browning Indians tonight at Blue Pony Stadium and they are in the Class A playoffs. A loss would forge a three-way tie between Havre, Livingston and Browning for third in the Central A, but even in that scenario, HHS would likely make it thanks to a 23-point win over Livingston earlier in the season.

Win or lose, Chinook is in the playoffs and could even still win the Northern C conference of 8-man football. The Beeters will travel to Chester Saturday to take on C/J-I in a game full of playoff implications.

The Northern C has three playoff teams who have officially clinched in Chinook, Simms and Belt. Great Falls Central is in with a win or a less-than-13-point loss to Cascade this weekend. Chinook must beat C/J-I by eight points or more to be guaranteed the top seed out of the North. Simms is guaranteed at least the No. 2 seed with a win over Centerville, and the Tigers could take the top spot with a C/J-I win over Chinook or a Chinook win by fewer than eight points.

If the Mustangs lose to Cascade by more than 13 but fewer than 17 points and C/J-I beats Chinook by 19 points or more, then C/J-I is in with the fourth playoff spot. If Cascade beats Great Falls Central by 18 points or more and C/J-I loses to Chinook, then Power-Dutton-Brady would carry the fourth seed. On the other side of that, Central can surpass Belt in the third spot with a victory of 12 points or more.

Box Elder has a scenario much like HHS, yet it's one that will prove much harder to achieve. To clinch a spot in the six-man playoffs, the Bears need to beat defending state champion Geraladine/Highwood Saturday in Box Elder. If they win, they are in. But even with a loss, the Bears can still make the playoffs by way of a Valier victory over Sunburst tonight.

That means when the Bears take the field Saturday, they will know if they are in or if they need to beat the Rivals, a six-man powerhouse, in order to be among the four teams representing the North Division next weekend. It is believed the last time a Box Elder football team reached the postseason was 1990.

Whatever happens, it has been a memorable season of high school football and as the drama increases with each and every weekend, there is plenty of exciting football to look forward to.