Prep Football Game Preview 9/13

This weeks Montana prep football is going to be action packed with all Classes facing conference rivals, but here in Missoula it will be a special Friday night lights. Friday might at Missoula County Public Schools Stadium the lights will shine bright as the crosstown rivals Big Sky Eagles and the Hellgate Knights will battle for Missoula prep football dominance.

In the second season of the return of Knights football Hellgate is a team that is making positive progressions on the field in all three phases of the game. The biggest thing the Knights need is numbers as Hellgate plays true Montana iron man football with nearly all players playing both ways because of the available players who can play varsity football. Hellgate is led on both sides of the ball by their multi sport all star Rollie Worster who calls the plays offensively, and is a lock down in the secondary on the defense. Worster has a familiar face to throw the ball to as Fisher Richardson has joined the football program and has been effective from the tight end position.

For Big Sky it has been a trying season as they would drop their first two games to open the season, the second coming at the hands of their crosstown brothers, the Sentinel Spartans. The Eagles have big holes to fill in the run game on offense, and in the middle of the field defensively, but as the saying goes in football, “Next man up.”, and the Eagles are finding the players to fill the holes. Head coach Matt Johnson is a well prepared coach who knows how to take the cards he is dealt and finish with a winning hand.

The Skinny

Friday night is going to be a special night under the lights with two teams looking to begin the ascent up the Class AA standings. The Eagles are coming off their first win of the season over CMR while the Knights are fighting for their first win of the season. Look for Big Sky to try to jam the ball down Hellgate’s throats in the run game, but the Knights have a run game of their own with a new toy in Richardson to counter the Eagle offense. This will be a defensive battle with the offenses relying on the ground game, but with limited numbers on Hellgates side the Eagles will use the run game in order to wear down Hellgate and the Big Sky will soar away with their second win of the season to go to 2-2 overall.