Fall sports season is on the horizon

The dog days of August are officially here and in addition to the tremendous heat we have all been feeling lately, the other thing on the horizon is the return of local high school sports.

All four of the fall sports that teams from the Hi-Line compete in, football, volleyball, cross country and golf, all get underway next week with each sport’s first day of practice.

Golf is always the first sport to begin and that's no different this year as practice for the Havre High golf team starts Aug. 11. Then, just four days after opening practice, the Blue Pony golf team, lead by head coach Brett Gillman, will hit the links, as they travel to the Great Falls Invitational at the Meadow Lark Country Club for a two-day tournament starting Aug. 15.

That tournament is just the start of a fast and busy schedule that will conclude for the Ponies at the Class A state golf tournament in Hamilton Oct. 1-2.

While golf is the first to get going, football, volleyball and cross country follow soon after, one day to be exact, as teams from each of those sports start practice Aug. 12. Competition for golf starts soon after practice does, but for the Havre High cross country teams, the wait for the first meet will be around three weeks, as the Blue Ponies open their season Sept. 2 in Cut Bank. However, cross country also runs a bit longer than golf and it doesn't conclude until Oct. 22 when all classes head to Kalispell for the state meets. The Ponies will be under the direction of Josh Holt for the second straight season.

In terms of volleyball, the Ponies, will be looking to get back to the Class A state tournament in Tamecia Jarvis' second season at the helm and that quest will officially begin Aug. 27, when Havre will travel to Lewistown to open its season. Volleyball season runs through November and the All-Class state volleyball tournament will once again be held at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the campus of Montana State University Nov. 10-12. Havre will also hold its annual Blue-White scrimmage Aug. 20.

Of course, Havre isn't the only local school participating in volleyball this fall. Chinook, which qualified for the Class C state volleyball tournament a season ago, will start its season Aug. 26 at home against Fort Benton.

North Star will also get its season started around that time and will open its 2016 campaign at the Belt Preseason Showcase, Aug. 27. Big Sandy will also begin its season in Belt, while Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Box Elder, Rocky Boy, Harlem, Big Sandy and Hays-Lodge Pole will also get started around that same time.

One of the more highly-anticipated sports in the fall is always football and the Ponies, who are getting ready for their first season under new head coach Ryan Gatch, will take to the practice field for the first time next Friday. Then, after a week of two-a-day practices, HHS will hold its annual Blue-White game at Blue Pony Stadium Aug. 20. The very next weekend, the live bullets will starting flying as HHS will head to Whitefish to partake in the battle for the BNSF Trophy. That game will be played Aug. 27.

No local high school football team is coming off a better season than Chinook, which captured the Class C 8-Man state championship a season ago. The Sugarbeeters will open their title defense Aug. 27 against Centerville in Chinook.

Box Elder will also be trying to replicate its success from last season as they went to the Class C Six-Man state championship. The Bears will open their season Sept. 2. Big Sandy, which also resides in the Six-Man North Division, will play Noxon Sept. 2, while North Star opens its season Aug. 27 against White Sulpher Springs. In 8-Man football, Fort Benton will start its second campaign back playing variety football Aug. 26 on the road against Simms.

Harlem will be taking part in 11-Man football again this year, as will Rocky Boy, although it may not be at the varsity level. CJI and HLP will compete in 8-Man football, with the Hawks in the Northern C and the Thunderbirds in the Eastern C.

The state football playoffs will start for Class A-C Oct. 29. The state championship games will be held Nov.19.