BILLINGS — Lewistown’s football team is off to a dream start at 7-0, earning the No. 2 spot in the Montanasports.com Class A power rankings.
The Golden Eagles are looking to take the next step this year after falling in last year’s playoff semifinals to eventual state champion Hamilton.
“We have great leadership. We lifted every single morning, and it was pretty much player-driven. Last year taking over the head job was a little bit more me getting them there. I didn’t have to do that this year," Lewistown head coach Derek Lear said. "They just kind of motivated themselves and understand that we made it that far but we have to get better in order to make it a next step.”
“Obviously we’ve been working on football since as soon as basketball was over last year. We’ve been in the weight room and we’ve been working all summer throwing and lifting every morning. We’ve been getting ready for this. We’ve been preparing," said Lewistown senior Matthew Golik.
So far, so good, as Lewistown has allowed double digit points just twice this season. That’s due to a loaded crew of upperclassmen. They’ve flipped the culture quickly in Fergus County and are on the cusp of an Eastern A regular season title.
“That was our first goal. Obviously, it’s 1-0 every single week, have to take a week-by-week approach, but their first big goal was to win a conference title. We’ve taken care of business up until this point," Lear said.
Lewistown has aspirations exceeding just a conference crown. After last year’s trip to the semifinals, the Eagles are hoping for the chance at a state championship.
“We’ve finally got that mindset, I guess, that they expect to win," Lear said. "Then also putting in that work and sacrificing some time and sacrificing some things in the summer makes this stuff a little bit more important, too. They’ve bought in on that and seen the results from that.”
This could be the start to a magical athletic year for the Lewistown boys, but Friday's test against No. 3 Billings Central will show just how good the Eagles are. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. in Lewistown.
