2025 Week 8 (Montana)

Week 8 brought be back once again to Montana. And I was going to make the most of it. Several games in the northeast corner of the state. I had most of the schedule set in stone. But for Friday night, I did not have a lot of options.

I searched and searched for what game I wanted to attend. I thought I had it all lined up until I realized one of the games I had chosen for Friday was actually a road game.

All of my games, I thought, were going to be in Roosevelt County. On Thursday night, Poplar was hosting Plentywood. And on Saturday, Bainville near the North Dakota border was hosting Plevna at 1pm. And Brockton was hosting Terry at 7pm. Elsewhere, Culbertson, toward the middle of the county also had a Saturday night home game against Scobey/Opheim. And though Froid is part of Roosevelt County, their co-op with Medicine Lake plays games in Medicine Lake, located in Sheridan County. And though the county has just over 10,000, it has six high schools and five total teams playing within the county.

And on Friday, among all this, I had assumed that Wolf Point was hosting Cut Bank. The site I was getting schedules from showed it as a home game. As it showed every other game correctly with the home team at the bottom of the matchup.

This would’ve set up the perfect schedule. The games, all in one county, would’ve been just 123 total miles apart with some backtracking. All along US2, the Hi-Line, and all new places.

But, I had to find another game. And there was not a lot of options. Within an hour or twos drive, there was a game in Fairview or Sidney, and a game all the way over in Jordan. Nothing else along US2. Glasgow was on the road. Scobey and MonDak were on the road. Richey/Lambert was at home on Saturday. And even in North Dakota, there wasn’t anything like Williston or Trenton available.

But, that didn’t stop me. So, I started out in the morning driving north through Terry, Jordan, and Circle and stopped along the way for photos of both towns. And reached Wolf Point. Heading east to Poplar.

Now, I’ve been to Poplar, the town, many times before. And this field has been high on my list as it is just off the south-side edge of US2 west of town. I’ve seen it countless times and had said one day I would see a game here. And after seeing Poplar on the road last week, I was there on Thursday for the first time.

I stopped in town at the convenience store, and then headed over to the school. Getting some photos of the marquee and monument sign of the school. Then down the many steps to the field. It was sunny and very warm. So, I quickly made my way to the west side and was shaded by trees that dotted the parking area.

As with many small school fields, many of the fans simply sat or stood around the field. Bringing their own lawn chairs, benches, wagons, or coolers to sit on.

As I waited out the junior high game, I made my way around and stopped over at the ticket takers on the west side of the field, and asked if they had the rosters. They did not. And I had yet to find the Plentywood roster, though, I did find Poplar’s online.

I was informed that the local bank, Independence Bank, had sponsored free food for the game. And that included chili complete with cheese and sour cream, along with authentic, and exceptionally good, Fry Bread. I opted not to get the chili, and had just two pieces of Fry Bread. And it was just as good as the times I’ve gotten it in New Mexico or Arizona in Navajo Nation.

After eating, and waiting out the warmups, I did catch the end of the pregame that included a pregame powwow. Finally, it was game time. And I setup on the visiting sideline. Which did not have bleachers of any kind. Instead, it was a mix of lawn chairs and fans on foot migrating up and down the field with the play. Just as I would do. And, no demarcation between the sideline space and the fans. You could stand or sit where you pleased.

#36 – Poplar v. Plentywood

At first, this game looked like it was going to go to Poplar. Three quick scores. First on a busted punt play resulting in a long, wide-open throw for a touchdown. Then a punt return, and finally another score after a defensive stop to go up 20-0. But then Plentywood made their way back. Tying it in the second. And then running away with it in the third and fourth quarter. Before winning, surprisingly easily, 56-26.

Montana 8-Man Spotlight: Plentywood 56, Poplar 26 (PHOTO GALLERY)

I had seen both teams before. Seeing Plentywood in 2020 and Poplar just seven days earlier this season at Circle.

After the game, I headed out for Glasgow where I would spend the night. Roughly an hour (70 miles) west of Poplar. Later the next morning, I was up and had decided I would settle on one of the two games on the eastern edge of the state. Either Fairview hosting Circle, or Sidney hosting Lockwood. I had called both in advance, and decided to stick with Sidney. It would be new teams, in a new place, and my first 11-man game in Montana. Which is somewhat surprising, honestly.

So, after stopping for lunch in Wolf Point, I traveled south out of town, taking MT23 to MT201, which is a partially dirt state highway. MT201 heads due east straight to Fairview. And at the junction with MT16, I did momentarily consider taking it straight east. But, Sidney was where I wanted to go.

Sidney is a much larger town in the northeast quadrant of Montana. Along with towns like Havre, Malta, Glasgow, and Wolf Point along US2, and towns like Lewistown or Roundup, there aren’t many 11-man teams north of I-90 or I-94. And one of those is Sidney. A town that thrived on Sugarbeets and all sorts of agricultural work, now today heavily into oil as it is part of the Bakken Formation.

South of town, MT200 meets MT16, which travels north/south through town, where MT200 continued northeast to Fairview. MT16 heads northwest to Culbertson. Near this junction, is a thriving downtown core, and south of it is an endless array of businesses lining both sides of the main road. Including the Best Western. Stopping there early and checking in. It was a short two block walk over to the school along a nice paved trail.

#37 – Sidney v. Lockwood

This was my first time here, and first time at the field. Though I’ve driven by it before one of the times I was in Sidney over the years. It’s a simple complex, with a small home stand far from the school with a press box independently situated behind the stands. With a much shorter stand on the visitor sideline. A track encircles the field. With a giant scoreboard to the southwest corner. And small concession stand in the northeast corner.

The Sidney Eagles were a maroon and white. While the Lockwood Lions were red and white. And well known for their logo as it did well during the 2020 High School Helmet Contest ran on twitter when the world shut down. Lockwood is a suburb of Billings, on the southeast corner of the city. Even with a Billings mailing address.

I thought this was going to be a blowout. At first. Sidney returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. And then after a muffed kick, recovered it and scored quickly to go up 13-0. Lockwood would answer back. And two touchdowns later, trail 13-12 at the half.

Later in the game, Lockwood finally scored after two touchdowns were called back, to go up 18-13. Again failing on the conversion to go up by 7. Sidney, though, struggled. And faced a 4th and 17. Converting it on an amazing catch I caught on the near sideline. Setting up a short touchdown by the QB. Who then, on defense, snagged the winning interception to quell the Lions late game attempt at a victory. Sidney winning, 20-18.

Montana Spotlight: Sidney Slips By Lockwood, 20-18 (PHOTO GALLERY)

The next morning I was in Bainville, Montana. Stopping at the “Welcome Stop” along US2. The town sits just south of the highway. Taking MT200 north through Fairview, and ND58 north just across the state line toward Trenton. Then ND327 that turns into MT327, ends at US2 a few miles east of Bainville.

There isn’t a lot to see from the highway. Beyond the Welcome Stop, there’s a long stretch of prairie before reaching a railroad crossing, and then the town extends off in the distance.

I took the main road into town, as a small church sits at the fair end of town. The front doors of which line up perfectly with the main stretch. Reaching the church, it’s right turn that goes quickly uphill, toward the field, and then parking along the gravel road as it slopes back down towards the rest of the town with the school downhill from the field on the left.

It’s interesting that the photo of the scoreboard has the entire town behind it. And a school. But the elevated field, and the quick slope to the school and even the houses across the street put almost everything below the level of the field.

I didn’t have as much free time as I thought. As I was on the phone for a while. But stopping in at the ticket booth, I got the roster for both teams and considered something to drink. It was over 80 degrees throughout the game despite being northern Montana in mid October. Cold weather was arriving, but not expected until Sunday or Monday.

Being a six-man field, I didn’t want to interfere too much with the fans on the sidelines. Similar to the issues with Poplar, though there was a small stand at midfield that made moving back and forth along the field difficult. There was not much room behind the sideline in front of the stands. The home side, as well, was on the far side of the field from the pressbox. Which faced south on the north side, with the school behind it. With the slope, the only true entrance was in the far southeast endzone. Or, to enter by car, and park at the upper overview, and see the game from the comfort of your vehicle.

This was my first time seeing both teams. And both had only started football on their own recently again. Bainville built the Sgt. Michael W. Pickard Memorial Field back in 2016, with the recreation of the Bulldogs football team. Previously having a co-op with Culbertson. Plevna, meanwhile, had a longstanding co-op with nearby town Baker, to form Baker/Plevna. But in a town of less than 200, the Plevna Cougars returned to the field, and returned to a new home field. Starting a 6-man team in 2023, going 1-7 and then opening their new field and going 1-8. They were 3-3 heading into their matchup with similarly sized, Banville.

#38 – Bainville v. Plevna

For the third straight game, it looked like I was expecting a different type of game. Bainville jumped out to a quick lead. Two scores in the first quarter. And then the teams split a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter. Keeping Bainville up, 20-6. Before Plevna shocked the crowd with a 30 yard run with 16 seconds left to make it 20-12.

The second half was two more scores by Plevna to go up 25-20 after three. And another, to finally get a two-score lead, 31-20. Bainville finally answered, on a short touchdown. Cutting the deficit to 31-27. But two more touchdowns by Plevna iced the game. Winning what turned into a comfortable result, 44-27.

Montana 6-man Spotlight: Bainville v. Plevna (PHOTO GALLERY)

After the game, there wasn’t much to do. I headed north out of town and another quick stop at the Welcome Stop. Which seemed fairly popular on its own. The small short-order kitchen they had made some premade food like tenders and fried mushrooms. I passed on the price and instead just got something to drink.

The drive to Brockton would be quick. Less than an hour. Barely a half hour, even. I considered stopping in Culbertson. Who were hosting Scobey that night. I had been there in 2020 when they hosted Fairview at C-C Field (pronounced C Bar C Field). but I knew if I stopped there, I probably wouldn’t want to leave to head over to Brockton. I knew the Brockton game was going to be bad. The forecast showed as much. Brockton had restarted football two seasons earlier. Also six-man. Just as Terry had done after taking a few years off with a co-op with nearby Dawson County in Glendive. But unlike Terry, in those three seasons, the Brockton Warriors were still looking for their first victory.

And though the losses were getting closer, they were still thoroughly trounced in many of their games in their brief history.

But, I was going to Brockton. The field looked interesting enough on its own.

So, before 5pm, I arrived in Brockton. And had some time to kill. I stopped at the B&S Qwik Stop. One of the few businesses in this small town. Brockton was first established in 1904, and incorporated in 1952. And disincorporated in 2018. Though still holds the characteristics of a town. Located in the Fort Peck Reservation. All tolled, the small town has 358 residents.

The school’s marquee is located in the lot next to the B&S Qwik Stop. Which seems strange as it’s several blocks west of the school, and a few blocks south. Also, a tribal police car–clearly vacated–sits in the parking lot. Acting as a visual deterrent for travelers along US2 to slow down as they pass through the town. I know it has caught my attention as well.

Arriving at the school, I stopped in front first, before going to the field. Getting photos of the front of the school building which was beautifully done. And the teepee located south of the main entrance. Around back of the school, the field sits in a winding valley that continues to the north. Quinn Bighorn Field is a flattened section f the valley floor. With a small hill to the east and a much larger hill to the west, blending down steeply from the school. As the school grounds move downhill from north to south, so too does the ridge of the hill overlooking the field. A small pressbox is built atop the hill. And the home fans either park or sit atop the hill. With a few sitting or standing along the sloped hill. Either with blankets or just roughing it on the hard soil.

The lighting here is to say, not great. It is bright. In places. Unfortunately, the light fixtures are not distributed well across the field and created bright and dim spots. As well as considerable shadows. One bright area may only have lighting from one side of the field. Also, the light poles are located at the bottom of the valley. Near the security fences. And the thick timber poles block some view of the field from afar.

Down on the field, after the game started, the lighting was much better for photographer than as seen from above. But still with inconsistencies that meant corrections were needed regularly on almost every finished photo.

#39 – Brockton v. Terry

This was, again, my first time seeing either team. And hopefully not the last. As I do want to see a game at Terry at some point. Located along I-94, I’ve stopped in the town and seen the field. And would like to be back there some day.

Tonight, however, the game heavily favored Terry. As they quickly reached a comfortable lead and held it, and added to it, slowly through the game. Before Brockton got their one and only touchdown on a pass play caught by the fingertips in the endzone. Terry wins, 56-6.

Montana 6-man Spotlight: Brockton v. Terry (PHOTO GALLERY)

After the game, my plans took me to Williston, North Dakota. And it was a long drive east.

ECONOMICS

Overall, I drove 603 total miles for the weekend. From Broadus, through the four games and stopping in Williston. My total non-work related expense was just $38 for food. The rest was covered. I spent the most in Wolf Point on Friday afternoon. $18 for a salad and mini tacos. $5 at TJs Quik Stop in Poplar for drinks. And $6 at Welcome Stop for drinks as well. And another $3 for another Sprite at the B&S Qwik Stop in Brockton. And finally, $5 in Williston before I called it a weekend.

For the week, I added six new teams to my total. As I had seen Poplar and Plentywood previously. Also, all four stadiums were new venues for me. And the Bainville-Plevna game was my 1,600th all-time.