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The state volleyball season has come and gone.

Once again, Billings is the epicenter of high school volleyball for Montana.

Billings West and Billings Central each won state titles as did Huntley Project, which is 23 miles from Billings.

There is a reason teams from this area win.

These teams are relentless. They come at people, every game, every match.

Even Red Lodge played like this during the state tournament.

That style comes from the club season where these players match up every week on the court.

No lead is secure. Choteau learned that in the first round of the Class B tourney against Red Lodge.

The level of play around BIllings and the surrounding area is at an all-time high.

The players benefit going head to head against each other and the final results show up at the state tournament.

It's a Championship Edition of the GPS football podcast!

Another season of Montana prep football will draw to a close this weekend, and we're here to get you ready for the big games. Can Capital repeat? Can Central repeat? Can Huntley Project...well, yeah...repeat? And you couldn't ask for a better title match-up in Class C; Wibaux and Drummond are arguably the co-teams of the decade for Class C, and fittingly, we'll close out the final football championship weekend of the decade with a game between the two. Stick with GazPrepSports through the weekend, they'll take care of you.

I say "they", however, because it will, for the first time in three seasons, not include me. Thursday will be my last day with the Gazette. I wish I could use this space to thank everyone that has made my time here memorable, but there is no way I could get everyone included, so let me just say a special note of gratitude to the coaches and players I've covered, the reporters and editors that showed me the ropes, and of course, the commenters on this site. It is truly your passion that made my job so enjoyable, and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to share that passion with you.

Enjoy a fantastic championship weekend!

Times and dates were officially released for this weekend's MHSA state prep football championships at fields throughout the state.

In just a quick look, in most cases the pollsters got the last two teams standing right.

In the final AP AA poll, Helena Capital was ranked No. 1 and Great Falls Russell No. 2.

In the final A poll, Billings Central was No. 1 and Frenchtown No. 2.

In the final B poll, Project was No. 1 and Fairfield was No. 2.

In the final C poll, Wibaux was No. 1 and Drummond was No. 2.

In the final 6-Man coaches poll, the No. 1 team (Big Sandy) was eliminated by Winifred-Roy two weeks ago and Winifred-Roy also defeated the No. 3 team (Hysham) in the semifinals. Winifred-Roy finished the season ranked fifth, while Denton was the second-ranked team and knocked off fourth-ranked Great Falls Central in the semifinals.

Now, considering Capital and Russell dominated most of the season it was no surprise they finished in the championship game and No. 1 through 2 in the polls. Also, considering Central and Frenchtown's recent history there is no surprise there, either, or in Class B as Project beat Fairfield in last year's title game. In class C, Wibaux and Drummond are two of the supreme heavyweights so there also was no surprise. In 6-Man, both the Outlaws and Trojans have had success in eight-man and 6-Man in the past and had great years and were ranked in the top five.

So, I guess what I am saying is you can look at it one way and say the pollsters had an easy job in picking the top two teams (and generally speaking in polls the top positions are usually easier to pick and then it does get harder as the list goes further down to 10). But, another way to look at it is these teams had targets on their backs all year and stepped up and were not upset and played some pretty good football to reach the title games. There are plenty of years where a No. 1 doesn't meet a No. 2, let alone a No. 2 meeting a No. 5. So get ready for some great football games this weekend.

Any predictions?

PREP FOOTBALL

Montana State Championships

CLASS AA

Friday

Great Falls CMR (11-1) at Helena Capital (12-0), 7 p.m.

CLASS A

Saturday

Frenchtown (10-1) at Billings Central (11-0), 1 p.m.

CLASS B

Saturday

Fairfield (11-0) at Huntley Project (11-0), 1 p.m.

CLASS C

Saturday

Drummond (10-0) at Wibaux (11-0), 1 p.m.

6-MAN

Saturday

Winifred-Roy (8-2) at Denton (10-0), 1 p.m.

 

We promised this blog would last throughout the playoffs and it will for sure.

But in thinking over the past day there is no way I could possible justify giving a "Game Ball" award to just one team in each classification when both remaining teams have now reached their goal of playing for the state title. That has got to be an amazing feeling of accomplishment and pride.

So every semifinal winner in Classes AA through 6-Man is awarded a "Game Ball" this week for reaching the pinnacle of their sport. Great job guys! A lot goes into reaching this game from a coach's standpoint, a player's standpoint and to a lighter extent probably even parents and volunteers.

Good luck to all the teams left standing this week in practice and on the way to your games. Just have fun, play to your fullest and leave it all on the field. Fans have fun cheering and rooting your favorite teams on.

This is the weekend many of you have been waiting for a long, long time.

Now for the sport of the blog, any predictions or analysis?

5:30 p.m. Update: Final championship result is in. Ennis narrowly avoids a second championship by winning game five against Simms 17-15, claiming the Class C title.

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4:30 p.m. Update: Billings West wins game three to defeate Bozeman 3-0 and win the AA state title. Video highlights are on their way.

Huntley Project highlights are online now, you should be able to watch them here.

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4:00 p.m. Update: Huntley Project and Billings Central swept their way to state title victories in the first set of championship matches. Look for video highlights and interviews shortly.

In AA, Billings West just took a two-games-to-none advantage over Bozeman in the state finals. More updates later this evening.

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Saturday, 11 a.m. Update: We're minutes away from the start of Day Three of the volleyball state tournamnet. First games on the docket are the third-place games, followed by the state championships starting at 1 p.m. Stick with us for scores throughout the day, and vidoes, photos and stories once the games are finished.

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5 p.m. Update: We're about an hour away from the unbeaten semifinals, but here's some quick notes on the early loser-out games.

Senior won game against Missoula Sentinel but still lost in four games. The loss eliminates the four-time defending champion from the tournament.

Joliet was also eliminated earlier today, lossing in three games to Simms. And in Class B, Baker is still alive after defeating Deer Lodge.

Check back this evening for updates on the semifinals.

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Friday, 9:30 a.m. Update: We could still see repeat champions in Classes AA and A, but the defending champs will have to take the long road.

Billings Senior and Lewistown both lost in the quarterfinals yesterday and will now have to play their way through the loser-out bracket to reach the finals.

It could be especially tough for the Broncs because they may have to beat three teams they've already lost to this season (Helena, Bozeman and Billings West).

In Class A, Central looked very impressive in its two Thursday matches, and if the Rams defeat Anaconda this evening, Central could be poised for one of the greatest fall sports list of accomplishments ever.*

*Central has already won state titles in boys and girls soccer and girls golf. The football team is a favorite to win another state title, and the volleyball team has a great shot as well.

Class B's unbeaten semifinal will feature two schools from the Southern Division in Red Lodge and Huntley Project. Neither seemed to have much difficulty in the quarterfinals, and it's always fun to see teams familiar with each other face one another with so much on the line.

The same can be said in Class C as well. Ennis and Gardiner, both coming out of the Western Division, will play in the semifinals this evening. It will be the seventh time the two schools have met this year, and Ennis has won five of the previous six meetings. Regardless, I can't see there being many unknowns between the two teams.

The first loser-out matches should get underway in about 20 minutes. In the meantime, catch up on Thursday's action with our State Volleyball Multimedia section, including ten videos and over 40 photos from the first day of the tournament. We'll continue to add photos and videos to that section as the tournament progresses.

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7:30 p.m. Update: Red Lodge swept past Baker in the Class B quarterfinals. Video from that match will be online later tonight.

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6:15 p.m. Update: As expected, we'll see West and Senior battle in a quarterfinal at 8 p.m. Senior dropped game one against Missoula Hellgate before rallying to win the next three and advance. Senior has certainly held the edge at state against West the last few years, but the Golden Bears have already beaten the Broncs twice this season. In any case, it should be a very exciting quarterfinal.

I'm preparing to upload video highlights from Senior's opening round win, as well as highlights from Joliet's victory over Terry, so check the homepage for those shortly.

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4:20 p.m. Update: Uploading videos from the 2:00 games right now. West, Central and Huntley Project all picked up three-game sweeps to advance to the quarterfinals. Look for those videos to appear on the homepage shortly.

As I'm typing this, I'm also keeping one eye on Billings Senior's opening round match with Missoula Hellgate. Both teams appear evenly matched early on, and the scoreboard reflects that: it's tied 24-all in the first game right now.

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Initial Report: After fighting through snowy conditions on the road, I finally arrived in Bozeman, and just time for the 2:00 games. Billings West is warming up for its opening round match against Kalispell Flathead, and Billings Central is doing the same for its match against Livingston.

As usual, the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse is a whirlwind of activity. Throughout the weekend, we'll bring you the latest information from the floor of the biggest matches. This open thread will your best bet to ask questions and share observations from an exciting weekend of state volleyball, and we'll pop in from time to time (in other words, when we get a chance to breathe) with more results and analysis.