Three teams won comfortably while one held on to prevail in the final moments in the first round of the Class A football playoffs.
Havre, Lewistown, Whitefish and Columbia Falls all advanced to next week's quarterfinal round with home victories Friday night.
Lewistown, the No. 3 seed from the East, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 37-7 rout of Miles City, the East's No. 6 seed. The Eagles, state champions in 2022, improved to 8-2 with the win and moved on to play at Dillon, last season's state titlist, next week.
Miles City ended its season with a 5-5 record.
Havre, No. 4 from the East, took down East Helena with a 42-19 win. The Blue Ponies (7-3) earned a road date with undefeated Frenchtown (9-0), the West's top seed, next week.
East Helena was vying for the program's first playoff victory. The Vigilantes ended the season with a 5-5 mark.
Meanwhile, Whitefish and Bigfork played a thriller, with the Bulldogs, the West's No. 4 seed, beating the Vikings, the West's No. 5, 24-21. Whitefish saw a 17-0 lead evaporate but was rescued by a Carson Gulick touchdown with less than a minute left to claim the win.
The Bulldogs (7-3) will travel to East top-seed Billings Central (9-0) in the quarterfinals next week. Bigfork finished with a 5-4 record.
Columbia Falls, the West's No. 3, also made it through to the quarterfinal round with a 42-16 win over Corvallis, the West's No. 6 seed. The Wildcats, last year's state runner-up, improved to 7-2 and will visit Laurel (7-2), the East's No. 2 seed, next week.
Corvallis finished its season with a 5-4 overall mark.
2024 Class A football state playoffs
First round
Friday, Nov. 1
Game 1: Havre 42, East Helena 19
Game 2: Columbia Falls 42, Corvallis 16
Game 3: Whitefish 24, Bigfork 21
Game 4: Lewistown 37, Miles City 7
Quarterfinals
Nov. 8-9
Game 5: Havre at Frenchtown
Game 6: Columbia Falls at Laurel
Game 7: Whitefish at Billings Central
Game 8: Lewistown at Dillon
Semifinals
Nov. 15-16
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner
Championship
Saturday, Nov. 23
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner
