BILLINGS — Shawn Romo figured his Bainville football team would be competitive out east this year and have a shot at a 6-Man postseason berth.
But a 7-1 overall record, a No. 1 playoff seed and the school’s first conference title in 77 years? Romo wasn’t sure, but he saw it come together in real time.
“As the season has progressed it became more and more clear how much this team has bought in to our philosophies of doing the right things, working together and making each other better every day,” Romo, Bainville’s third-year coach, told MTN Sports.
“And as the season has progressed, it really started to show how special a group this has become.”
Bainville, the top seed from the Eastern division, is now set to host a first-round playoff game Saturday at 1 p.m. against Highwood, the No. 3 seed from the Central. It marks the Bulldogs' first playoff berth since 2016, which was their first year back in 6-Man after ending their co-op with 8-Man Culbertson.
The Bulldogs’ season has caught the imagination of the school (enrollment: 46) and the eastern Montana community it represents.
“We’re very excited, and I think I feel like it’s going to be a great game” against Highwood, said senior running back, receiver and linebacker Isaiah Bjorge. “It’s going to be a tough one, because we both have our certain specialties on offense and defense.”
Bainville opened the year with a 55-49 defeat to Eastern rival Jordan on Aug. 31. But the Bulldogs haven’t lost since.
Wins at home against Richey-Lambert and on the road against Savage signaled a turning point. The latter victory, which came on Sept. 28, went a long way toward winning the conference title.
“We went down to Savage and played a real good team down there, and played them tight,” Romo said of that 46-25 victory. “We got a lot of defensive stops and were able to come out on top. It kind of felt like things were really coming along and coming together.”
The Bulldogs clinched the Eastern title with a 66-62 victory over Westby-Grenora last week, a win that according to Romo sealed the program’s first solo (non-co-op) championship since all the way back in 1947.
Along the way, the team has been led by a core group of captains — Bjorge, senior RB/WR/LB Trevor Robertus, junior QB/DB Rowan Wilson, and junior WR/DB Kaiden Holmes.
With their leadership, the Bulldogs have outscored teams by an average of about 20 points per game and had only three contests decided by less than double digits.
Last year’s team, which went 4-4 overall, graduated five of seniors. This year’s team has just two. So there might be a feeling that Bainville is a bit ahead of schedule, but the accelerated growth, Romo said, can be attributed to a team approach up and down the lineup.
Romo said the Bulldogs use three sophomores and two freshmen.
“The younger classmen (are) stepping up, filling roles, gaining experience and getting better,” he said. “The younger side of the program is really improving quickly, which has definitely helped to fill roles with a lack of numbers on the upperclassmen side of things.”
It’s been a steady progression in recent years. Prior to going 4-4 last season, Bainville had records of 3-5 in both 2022 and 2021 and went 0-6 in the COVID-19-disrupted season of 2020.
“It’s really nice,” Bjorge said. “I love how we’re progressing, and I feel like we can progress a bit further with our upcoming underclassmen and our juniors turning into seniors.”
In the here and now, though, is the matchup with Highwood, which went 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the rugged Central division.
The Mountaineers’ long history of playoff football success isn’t lost on Bainville.
“They definitely have a rich history, and (coach Brandon) Gondeiro has been out there with that program for a long time and has done real well with it,” Romo said. “They’ve played some pretty solid teams and have a solid record themselves, so we expect a good matchup.
“For us it’s all about consistency, staying with our philosophies, everybody doing their job and working together. One week at a time, one game at a time, one play at a time. Really just keep it basic for us, and that’ll give us our best opportunity to keep moving forward in the playoffs.”
