The high school football state playoffs technically start Oct. 26.
Some teams, though, have been playing do-or-die games for weeks now, and they’ve helped bring clarity to the playoff picture. Class AA doesn’t start its postseason until Nov. 2, so there’s still plenty to be determined there. But for the rest of the classifications, there’s very little left to sort out.
We know that Billings Central, Laurel and Columbia Falls will have first-round byes in the Class A playoffs. The fourth bye will go to either Hamilton or Dillon out of the Southwestern A. We know all but two of Class B’s 16 playoff teams, and the same is true for the 8-Man bracket. And we know all 16 6-Man playoff teams with only a few seeds yet to be determined.
So what are the remaining playoff scenarios? MTN Sports broke down the simplest scenarios and outlined them below. These are, of course, unofficial until the state brackets are revealed.
Class AA
(Top eight teams advance to state playoffs)
Bozeman — Clinched playoff berth; Clinches No. 1 seed with win over Great Falls High
Billings West — Clinched playoff berth
Billings Senior — Clinched playoff berth
Helena High — Clinched playoff berth
Kalispell Flathead — Clinched playoff berth
*There are scenarios in which Great Falls High and/or Missoula Sentinel could clinch playoff berths with wins this week, but all scenarios require other teams to also lose.
Class A
Eastern A
(Top six teams advance to state playoffs)
Billings Central at Laurel — Winner clinches No. 1 seed; loser clinches No. 2 seed
Lewistown — Clinched No. 3 seed
Belgrade — Clinched playoff berth; clinches No. 4 seed with win over Hardin
Miles City — Clinched playoff berth; clinches No. 4 seed with win over Havre AND Belgrade loss; clinches No. 5 seed with win over Havre AND Belgrade win
Sidney — Clinches No. 6 seed with win over Livingston
Western A
(Southwestern A champion, Northwestern A champion, plus four wild cards, which are determined by a point formula, advance to state playoffs)
Southwestern A
Dillon at Hamilton — Winner clinches No. 1 seed
Northwestern A
Columbia Falls — Clinched No. 1 seed
Class B
(Top four teams from each conference advance to state playoffs)
Eastern B
Roundup — Clinched playoff berth; clinches No. 1 seed with win over Huntley Project
Colstrip — Clinched playoff berth
Huntley Project — Clinched playoff berth
Shepherd at Red Lodge — Winner clinches No. 4 seed
Southern B
Big Timber — Clinched No. 1 seed
Manhattan — Clinched No. 2 seed
Townsend — Clinched No. 3 seed
*Three Forks (2-4 conference) and Columbus (2-4) have completed their conference schedules. Whitehall (1-4) plays Manhattan (4-1), and Jefferson (1-4) plays Townsend (3-2). If the higher-ranked teams all win, Three Forks would clinch the No. 4 seed. Whitehall and/or Jefferson wins would create multiple-team ties that would be broken by conference tiebreakers.
Northern B
Fairfield — Clinched No. 1 seed
Glasgow at Malta — Winner clinches No. 2 seed; loser clinches No. 3 seed
Cut Bank — Clinched No. 4 seed
Western B
Missoula Loyola — Clinched No. 1 seed
Bigfork — Clinched No. 2 seed
Eureka — Clinched No. 3 seed
Florence — Clinched No. 4 seed
8-Man
East
(Top four teams advance to state playoffs)
Fairview — Clinched No. 1 seed
Culbertson — Clinched No. 2 seed
Circle — Clinched No. 3 seed
Scobey — Clinched No. 4 seed with win over Broadus on Wednesday
South
(Top three teams advance to state playoffs)
Joliet — Clinched No. 1 seed
Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap — Clinched No. 2 seed
Ennis — Clinched No. 3 seed
North
(Top five teams advance to state playoffs)
Shelby — Clinched No. 1 seed
Great Falls Central — Clinched No. 2 seed
Centerville — Clinched No. 3 seed
Choteau — Clinched No. 4 seed
Chester-Joplin-Inverness at Chinook — Winner clinches No. 5 seed
West
(Top four teams advance to state playoffs)
Drummond-Philipsburg — Clinched No. 1 seed
Charlo — Clinched top-three seed; clinches No. 2 seed with win over Seeley-Swan
Arlee at Alberton-Superior — Winner clinches No. 2 seed WITH Charlo loss; winner clinches No. 3 seed WITH Charlo win; loser clinches No. 4 seed
6-Man
(Top four teams from each conference advance to state playoffs)
East
Wibaux — Clinched No. 1 seed
Richey-Lambert — Clinched No. 2 seed
Jordan — Clinched playoff berth; clinches No. 3 seed with win over Ekalaka
Westby-Grenora — Clinched playoff berth; clinches No. 3 seed with win over Wibaux AND Jordan loss; clinches No. 4 seed with Jordan win
South
Grass Range-Winnett at Roy-Winifred — Winner clinches No. 1 seed; loser clinches No. 2 seed
Bridger at Shields Valley — Winner clinches No. 3 seed; loser clinches No. 4 seed
North
Geraldine-Highwood — Clinched No. 1 seed
Big Sandy — Clinched No. 2 seed
Sunburst at Denton-Geyser-Stanford — Winner clinches No. 3 seed; loser clinches No. 4 seed
West
West Yellowstone — Clinched top-two seed
White Sulphur Springs — Clinched top-three seed
Hot Springs — Clinched top-three seed
Noxon at Valley Christian — Winner clinches No. 4 seed
*West Yellowstone (7-1 conference) has finished its conference schedule. White Sulphur Springs (6-1) plays Sheridan (2-5), and Hot Springs (6-1) plays Lima (0-7). If White Sulphur Springs and Hot Springs both win, creating a three-way tie with West Yellowstone: Hot Springs clinches the No. 1 seed, West Yellowstone clinches No. 2 seed, White Sulphur Springs clinches No. 3 seed.
