Playoff picture is clear

It may seem like the high school football season just started but, believe it or not, the end is near as this weekend marks the final week of regular season play.

Usually, the final game of the regular season means plenty of intrigue as teams fight for playoff position and conference championships. Yet, as far as the Hi-Line is concerned, the playoff picture is pretty cut and dry.

When it comes to the Havre Blue Ponies, there is nothing at stake this weekend. Thanks to back-to-back wins over Belgrade and Lewistown the last two weeks, the Ponies have already clinched the Central A Conference title and the first-round bye that goes with it.

That makes Havre's game against Polson tonight essentially meaningless, at least as far as the postseason is concerned. Yet, the game does have meaning for the Pirates and the rest of Class A. With the new wildcard system, four berths will be finalized this weekend and right now Polson looks like it will capture one of two spots available in Class A's western division.

Polson was defeated by Columbia Falls, its Northwest A rival last week, and if Polson loses this week against Havre and Columbia Falls wins, the two teams are likely to meet again in the opening round of the playoffs with the winner scheduled to pay a visit to Blue Pony Stadium on Nov. 7.

Of course that projection assumes that Butte Central loses to Dillon and the Beavers capture the Southwest A championship. However, if the Maroons pull the upset, then all bets are off and it's likely that Polson would pay a visit to Dillon instead. Then, the Ponies would play the winner of Columbia Falls and Hamilton.

But other than some possible scoreboard watching and finalizing the final Class A bracket, there is nothing more at stake for Havre other than a potential six-game winning streak heading into the playoffs.

In the Class C 8-Man ranks, the Chinook Sugarbeeters also have nothing on the line this weekend as they already clinched their second consecutive Northern C championship last Wednesday with a blowout win over Chester/J-I. Chinook will host the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Much like Chinook, C/J-I already has the second spot in the Northern C wrapped up, thanks to wins over Simms and Belt, the other two playoff teams from the conference. Therefore, no matter what happens tonight against Centerville, the Hawks will have a home playoff game next weekend.

The only local team with anything truly at stake this weekend is Box Elder. The Bears, who come into this week 8-0, have already locked up a playoff spot and a home game for the opening round of the Class C Six-Man playoffs.

Yet, the Bears want more than just a playoff berth, they want to win a conference championship, something the school has never done in football. And with a win over Denton-Geyser-Stanford in Denton on Saturday, Box Elder will do just that.

A road win would complete a perfect regular season for Box Elder, while at the same time, giving the Bears home-field advantage up through the first two rounds of the Six-Man playoffs.

All the other teams from the area such as Harlem, Big Sandy, Fort Benton, North Star and Hays-Lodge Pole have already been eliminated from playoff contention.