MISSOULA — In just its second year playing 8-Man football last fall, Valley Christian went 7-1 in the regular season to finish second in the West division and make the state playoffs.
But the Eagles lost to traditional 8-Man power Wibaux in the first round.
“There's things that I've learned in coaching since I've come on to the 8-Man side. It was something that was new,” said Valley Christian coach Jim Cissell, who has been on the coaching staff since the program started 10 years ago.
“You watch the best of the best and learn from them. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to some of the coaches in the East and also in our conference, and they're just coaches’ coaches. I mean, they're good, and so I want to learn from them and then bring that to the squad.”
One of the things Cissell and the Eagles learned from that game against Wibaux was the importance of a power run game.
"We're going to run more power this year,” Cissell said. “We've got the spread, which we can use our speed, but we're going to focus on power. And the guys up front, they’ve got to be the guys. They've been playing together now for three years, so I expect a lot out of them.”
“We finally got a big line up there (to) pass block, run block,” added senior quarterback Daniel Stoltzfus. “It's going to be awesome running behind those guys, man. It's going to be awesome. I think we got a whole senior lineup on the line this year. And all those guys with their experience, it's really going to be just such an amazing year, I think.”
The seniors on this year’s team were actually the first Eagles to play 8-Man football, as they were freshmen when Valley Christian played an 8-Man JV schedule in 2021.
Fast forward to this season, and Valley Christian had a program-record 31 kids go out for football.
“I definitely think we're building off the momentum that we had last year,” said Cole Cordis, a senior offensive and defensive lineman. “I mean, sophomore year, no one knew exactly what we were doing. We were just kind of going out there and experimenting.
"But last year ... we had a really good year and just figuring out how to build off of 8-Man. And then this year coming in, we have experience. Teams know that we're (an improved) team, so definitely just building.”
And now that the program is on solid footing, expectations are high.
The Eagles are ranked No. 6 in the MontanaSports.com preseason power rankings.
"New season, new year, just really dig deep and work hard, not worry about last year, how we did or the season that we had,” Stoltzfus said. “But I think it's a whole new year. We got to just keep pressing on.”
“We're just trying to build and become the best we can be,” Cordis added. “We're not worried about the hype — it's what we can do.”
Valley Christian begins its 2024 season Saturday against Superior. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at MCPS Stadium.
