High school football: 5 things to watch

Some people may not be interested in seeing the summer come to an end, but for others, there is no time of year better than mid-to-late August because that is the start of football season.

While the National Football League started its preseason last week, high school football players in Montana are taking to the practice field for the first time today, at least some of them. So with another exciting season almost upon us, here is a breakdown of five things to watch out for in the 2017 high school football season.

Can Havre make it back to the playoffs?

For fans of the Blue Ponies, there may be no question more important than whether or not Havre can earn its way back into the Class A playoffs. A year ago, the Ponies looked well on their way after a strong start to the season. But injuries, particularly to starting quarterback Trey Murphy and standout, two-way lineman Tyler Schaub put a damper on things.

Now, Havre will need to recover from the loss of All-State linebacker/running back Jase Stokes, as well as others such as Isaac Warp and Nate Korb. However, head coach Ryan Gatch has plenty of young talent. Mason Dionne will be expected to fill Stokes' shoes, not only at running back, but at linebacker as well. Getting wide receiver Ivar Aageson back to 100 percent is going to be another plus.

Getting to the playoffs will be different for Havre than in years past with the new divisional alignment, but regardless of conference, the Ponies have all the pieces to be a playoff contender.

New Eastern A schedule

One of the most exciting things about the new alignment in the Eastern A and the new schedule, which requires each team to play every other team in the conference, are some of the exciting matchups to come.

Two matchups that I am especially excited about coming into this season are games against Laurel and Billings Central. As far as Laurel is concerned, it will be the first time the Locomotives have played at Blue Pony Stadium since 2002, when they beat Havre for the Class A state championship 21-19. So that history always adds a bit of intrigue, which is also why it will be fun to see the Ponies take on Billings Central, a team HHS has sparsely matched up against since defeating the Rams in the 2004 Class A state championship game.

Some Pony fans are certainly going to miss the annual rivalry game with Whitefish, but the rivalries within the Eastern A will be fun, too. And the round-robin schedule format makes it so every single game impacts the playoff race, which as a whole, will make the regular season much more exciting.

Divisional title games

If you don't know what has happened to Northern C, in 8-man football, get ready for your head to explode. The division, which seems like it has constantly been expanding in recent years, has ballooned to 12 after realignment forced Box Elder up to 8-man football, while also allowing Rocky Boy to drop down after playing Class B 11-man the past few seasons.

Ultimately, the Northern C decided to split the 12-team division into two sub-divisions, the Northern C 'A' and the Northern C 'B'. The A sub-division features Belt, Box Elder, Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Choteau, Great Falls Central and Hays-Lodge Pole, while the B sub-division consists of Cascade, Centerville, Chinook, Fort Benton, Rocky Boy and Simms.

Yet the most exciting part about the new divisional alignment is the way the Northern C decided to handle the end of the season. With no way of deciding playoff seeds in a sub-division, the Northern C used the last week of the season to hold a championship game, as well as two play-in games for the 8-man playoffs.

Here's how it will work. The teams with the best record in each sub division will meet in the championship game or what is essentially a championship game, to determine which team will be the No. 1 seed going into the playoffs and which will be the No. 2. Then the second and third-place teams from each sub-division will also meet, with the winners of those two games earning their way into the playoffs as the third and fourth seeds.

When I first heard of the idea, it seemed a bit complicated. But then it reminded me of a lot of conference championship games in college football. It's a fun idea and it's one that could add some spice to the end of the season. It will be interesting to see if this is something that catches on across the state as some divisions keep expanding due to realignment.

Box Elder and Rocky Boy take their rivalry to the football field

One of the things that is most intriguing about the new alignment in the Northern C is the chance to see Rocky Boy and Box Elder play each other in football. The two teams are in different sub-divisions, so it won't necessarily happen every year, but on Aug. 26, the Bears and the Stars will renew their rivalry, which should make for a fun atmosphere. The two schools have always had a fierce rivalry on the basketball floor, now we'll see what it looks like on the gridiron.

Playoff football

While the start of the season is always exciting in its own right, there is nothing like playoff football. When the cold rolls around and the games start getting important, there is nothing better. Last season, the only team from the Hi-Line to make the playoffs was the North Star Knights, who will be playing Six-Man football once again this season.

Hopefully, that will change in 2017. Havre should have a good chance as making it in Class A, but in the Northern C, where local teams such as Chinook, Fort Benton, Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Fort Benton, Box Elder, Rocky Boy and Hays-Lodge Pole all play, a playoff berth is far from guaranteed, especially with just four berths to split among 12 teams.

Either way, the high school football season is always exciting, but here's hoping that come November, we have at least a few local teams in action when the snow inevitably starts falling.