Next Up For HHS: Dillon is Class A's football dynasty

If you are familiar with Class A football in Montana, you know that over the past decade, and more, no team compares to the Dillon Beavers.

Dillon is the two-time defending state champion and is looking to get back to the championship game for the fourth straight year. Standing in its way are the Havre Blue Ponies, Dillon’s old Central A rival. The two teams will go at it Saturday at Vigilante Stadium in Dillon. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

It may seem strange for two teams that once played so often, but it has been four years since the Beavers and Ponies have shared the field and that came in 2011, the last time Havre found itself in the semifinals. Dillon beat Havre that day in a lopsided defeat and went on to capture the state title that season.

In 2012, the Beavers dropped the championship game to Billings Central, before rebounding to win the title in 2013 and 2014. However, Dillon’s dominance goes back much farther than that as the Beavers have won seven of the last 15 Class A state championships, while also participating in nine of the last 15 championship games.

“I really think it’s a belief that the kids have had instilled in them over the years,” Dillon head coach Rick Nordahl said about his program’s success. “In order to be successful and with that winning tradition that is here, they know they need to get in the weight room. And in camps and practices the kids really go to work and kind of look at it like a job. They prepare so hard each week and want to understand their assignments so badly and all of that leads into the success of the program, along with a lot of coaches being here a long time.”

This year’s Beavers may not be as dominant as they have been in the past, but there is still no doubt that they are the team to beat in Class A right now. The Beavers come into Saturday’s showdown with Havre, the winner of 17 straight games, including a 22-21 win over Whitefish earlier this season which ended up being the Bulldogs’ only loss.

And last weekend, after taking home the Southwest A title, the Beavers trounced long-time rival Billings Central 32-7 to find themselves once again just a win away from playing for all the marbles.

Of course the Beavers have been good year in and year out for more than a decade, but this team is looking to forge its own legacy, something that starts with a win over Havre Saturday.

One player who has made a name for himself in Dillon this season is starting quarterback Troy Anderson, who has made the sure that the Beavers offense didn’t miss a beat in 2015. On the season, Anderson has thrown for more than 2,300 yards and 23 touchdowns, while also rushing for nearly 600 yards and 13 scores.

Helping Anderson reach such prolific passing numbers are wide receivers Nate Simkins, who has more than 600 yards receiving and six touchdowns, and Payton Lafrentz, who has more than 500 yards receiving and five touchdowns.

“I think we have a pretty good line like we have always had on both sides of the ball,” Nordahl said. “We lost a lot of skill kids from last year, but we have had a lot of guys step up. Troy Anderson really stepped up this year and then we have guys like Simkins and Lafrentz that developed a lot last year and that really helped them this season.”

There is a reason why the Beavers have been so successful over the past 15 years and the ability of the coaching staff to consistently develop good players is chief among them. And not surprisingly, Dillon once again dominated the competition in 2015, on both sides of the ball.

Dillon enters the game against Havre with an offense that averages 35.1 points per game, good enough for second in Class A, as well as state-best 411 yards per game. Yet, the Beavers are equally stout on defense, allowing just 260 yards per game and just more than 12 points.

The Beavers opened the season with close wins over Whitefish 22-21 and Billings Central 32-28, but since then, no opponent has been close and in the last seven games, Dillon’s margin over victory has been just under 30 points a game.

So it’s safe to say that the Beavers are once again peaking at the right time, which is a scary thing not only for Havre, but potential state title opponents Whitefish and Miles City as well.

“We try to make it so that we are playing our best football at this time of year,” Nordahl said. “It’s time of a different time of year in Dillon when the playoffs come around. These kids get so focused and determined. But, we know that all we can control are the things that we do. We can’t control what Havre does, we are just going to try to execute our game plan as best we can and if we can do that, we feel we have a chance to be successful.”