Top-ranked teams hold steady as MontanaSports.com high school football polls see little change

There weren’t many changes in this week’s MontanaSports.com high school football polls, which should be the goal each week. If teams are ranked correctly, there doesn’t need to be much movement.

Still, a couple teams did earn perceived upsets and/or statement wins. Belgrade fell from the ranks of Class A unbeatens and thusly fell out of the top five of the MontanaSports.com poll. Eureka suffered its second consecutive loss, this one at Missoula Loyola, so the Rams took the Lions’ place in the Class B rankings.

Beyond those moves, though, little — if anything — changed in the polls. Bozeman, the lone undefeated and top-ranked Class AA team, rallied to top Billings Senior, which stayed at No. 5 in our rankings. Why drop a team that had the No. 1-ranked team on the ropes? Billings Central is still our favorite in Class A, and Bigfork still topped the Class B poll. Drummond-Philipsburg and Wibaux are the No. 1 teams in our 8-Man and 6-Man rankings, respectively.

From our initial rankings, which you can view here, only Billings Senior, Belgrade, Eureka and Richey-Lambert lost last week. Like Senior, we didn’t feel it necessary to drop Richey-Lambert from its No. 3 ranking after the Fusion lost a hard-fought game on the road at No. 2 Geraldine-Highwood.

The full rankings, which are determined by the MTN Sports team, are below. Teams which also received consideration but ultimately fell just outside our top five are also included. Team records are through Sept. 22 and unofficial.

Class AA

1. Bozeman (5-0)
2. Billings West (4-1)
3. Great Falls High (4-1)
4. Helena High (4-1)
5. Billings Senior (3-2)

Receiving votes: Kalispell Flathead (4-1).

Class A

1. Billings Central (5-0)
2. Hamilton (5-0)
3. Columbia Falls (3-1)
4. Frenchtown (5-0)
5. Dillon (3-1)

Receiving votes: Laurel (4-1), Lewistown (4-1), Belgrade (4-1).

Class B

1. Bigfork (5-0)
2. Fairfield (4-0)
3. Roundup (4-0)
4. Missoula Loyola (4-1)
5. Big Timber (4-0)

Receiving votes: Colstrip (4-1).

8-Man

1. Drummond-Philipsburg (5-0)
2. Fairview (5-0)
3. Great Falls Central (5-0)
4. Joliet (5-0)
5. Culbertson (5-0)

Receiving votes: Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap (5-0), Charlo (4-1), Shelby (4-0), Centerville (5-0).

6-Man

1. Wibaux (5-0)
2. Geraldine-Highwood (4-1)
3. Richey-Lambert (4-1)
4. Grass Range-Winnett (6-0)
5. Westby-Grenora (4-1)

Receiving votes: Hot Springs (4-1).