I originally posted this in another thread, which has since derailed. To keep the focus where it belongs (on the Cowboys), I am reposting it here:

Here are the playoff matchups for next weekend:

Billings Central (8-0, 5-0 Eastern 'A') - Bye
Dillon (8-0, 5-0 Southwestern 'A') - Bye
Butte Central (8-1, 5-0 Central 'A') - Bye
Columbia Falls (4-4, 3-1 Northwestern 'A') - Bye

Havre (5-3, 3-2, 3C) at Miles City (8-1, 4-1, 2E) (MC d. Havre 34-14 earlier this season). Winner travels to Columbia Falls.

Laurel (5-4, 3-2, 3E) at Belgrade (7-2, 4-1, 2C). Winner travels to Dillon.

Polson (5-4, 3-2, 3NW) at Frenchtown (5-4, 4-1, 2SW). (Polson d. Frenchtown 21-16 in the season-opener for both teams). Winner travels to Butte Central.

Stevensville (6-3, 3-2, 3SW) at Libby (5-4, 3-1, 2NW). Winner travels to Billings Central.

Clearly, the Cowboys put themselves in a much better position by winning on Friday than Laurel did by losing. Miles City has a home game rematch against a team it beat handily on the road and will face the weakest of the four division winners (although CF does have one of the best running backs in the state) with a victory. If the Cowboys advance to the semifinals, the game would be at home, as would a championship game (unless it's against Billings Central).

Laurel, on the other hand, has to beat a very tough Belgrade team to earn the right to face undefeated Dillon. I do not envy the Locomotives. Unless they win out, they will be on the road for the entire playoffs (unless they face BC in the chipper).

It's still far too early to make any plans, but the possibility exists for a MC-Dillon showdown in the semifinals. At Denton Field.

First thing first, of course. Good luck against Havre, Cowboys!

Here is the (recent) history between the Cowboys and Blue Ponies:

1986 - Havre 35, Miles City 14 - A regular season game, the road loss knocked the Cowboys (5-3) out of playoff contention. This was Havre's first - and only - season in the Eastern 'A' Conference after dropping from Class AA. The Blue Ponies (8-3) finished second (to Glasgow) in the Northern subdivision of the Eastern 'A' and reached the semifinals of the state playoffs before losing to Whitefish, 25-7.

1994 - Miles City 43, Havre 7 - The Cowboys (11-0) destroyed the Blue Ponies (7-4) at Denton Field to win their first state championship since 1985 and complete Miles City's first perfect season. Joe Baker rushed for 204 yards and 3 touchdowns on 15 carries and Ryan Wagner caught 3 passes for 128 yards and two scores. Bryan Larson was 4-6-138-2-0 passing in a near-perfect game. The 43 points scored are the most ever in a Class A state championship game.

1996 - Miles City 38, Havre 14 - Quarterfinal playoff - Havre coach Scott Sward said before the game that this team "WANTED Miles City." The Cowboys (9-2) ruined the Blue Ponies (8-1) perfect season on Havre's home field (the first of three previously-undefeated teams Miles City beat en route to the Cowboys' third consecutive state title). Jeremy Pyle (9-151-1), Trenton Thorne (12-103-1), Jase Wagner (18-87-2) and Joel Woods (19-66-1) helped the Cowboys rush for a team playoff record 407 yards.

2002 - Havre 19, Miles City 12 - The Blue Ponies (7-4) returned the favor six seasons later, handing the Cowboys (9-1) their only loss of the season in the semifinal contest. Miles City's offense could neiter get untracked on Havre's frozen field nor slow down the Blue Ponies' tandem of all-state tracksters Steve Heberly and Steven Harman.

2003 - Miles City 20, Havre 12 - A rematch of the season before, this game was played at Denton Field and featured a near-reverse of the 2002 contest's final score. Taylor Harris' school-record 47-yard field goal helped atone for his only two missed extra point kicks a season before in Havre. The Cowboys (10-1) sacked Blue Pony (10-2) quarterback Gary Wagner eight times for minus-67 yards.

2010 - Miles City 34, Havre 14 - In Havre earlier this season, the Cowboys (8-1) rushed for 378 yards on 52 carries to help ground the Blue Ponies (5-3) offense that had generated 66 points against Whitefish in their previous game. Shane Cooley (15-179-3 rushing) and Tyler Essex (20-137-0) embarrassed Havre's defense. Cooley had a school-record 3 (of the Cowboys' 5) picks on defense and helped limit the Blue Ponies to minus-2 yards rushing.

Is the Havre-M.C. game on Sat., Oct. 30?

Yes Saturday at 1:00 pm

The way I see it, there are only 3 reasons why the Cowboys may lose to Havre:

1. Overconfidence - thinking they already have the game won only because they already beat this team in Havre this year/getting caught looking ahead to the next opponent before they beat THIS one.

2. Injuries to key personnel...there isn't much info out there about team health but, from what I know they are pretty healthy for this stage of the season.

3. Hell literally does freeze over.

Go get 'em, boys!

My predictions:

Week 1:

Miles City smashes Havre by 20+
Laurel beats Belgrade by a TD
Frenchtown beats Polson by 12
Stevi gets by Libby in a very close one

Week 2:

Miles City goes on the road and beats CFalls by 8
Dillon beats Laurel - 24-0
Butte Central smashes Frenchtown by 20+
Billings Central shuts out Stevi and hangs over 30 on them.

**an aside and comment - NW is weak. SW is weak accept Dillon. Central is weak accept Butte Central. East is strongest division by far. They advance 3 teams to the Quarterfinals.

Week 3:

Dillon at Miles City. Grudge match. Dillon is undefeated and has a great defense. But a very long trip, and they haven't faced much competition since early this year (Laurel). Miles city has homefield, but coming off a long trip, and no bye weeks like Dillon has had. Dillon 34- Miles city 27

Billings Central at Butte Central. Catholic infighting. which priest gets to lead mass before the game? Billings Central has the power and the experience. Billings Central in a close one 21-17.

Week 4: State Championship.

If I am right so far (hardly likely!!) then its Dillon at home hosting Billings Central, who ended their run the last two years - if I recall correctly. Homefield advantage is the edge. Dillon wins a tough one 26-18.


Regardless, I love to watch HS football. And Class A is the best level to watch in my opinion.

I made a typo in my first post. Polson is 6-2 overall, 2-2 in the Northwestern 'A' Conference.

For those of you interested in such things, here are the aggregate non-conference schedules for each of the four divisions:

Eastern - 14-7 (.667)
Central - 10-11 (.476)
Northwestern - 10-13 (.435)
Southwestern - 9-13 (.409)

Clearly, this supports what JCF suggested. As a division, the Eastern 'A' was 7-4 against the Central 'A' (MC and BC were a combined 3-0) and 2-1 against the Southwestern 'A.' No Eastern 'A' teams played against a Northwestern 'A' opponent this season.

The Central 'A' was 4-0 against the Southwestern 'A' and 2-3 against the Northwestern 'A.' The Southwestern 'A' was 7-7 against the Northwest 'A' (Anaconda and Corvallis were a combined 0-5 against the NW).

Here are the strength-of-schedule stats (as well as the Montana playoff teams faced and their records against them) for the 12 playoff teams:

Eastern 'A'

Miles City - 42-34 (.553), Billings Central, Laurel, Belgrade, Havre (3-1).

Billings Central - 40-30 (.571), Miles City, Laurel, Butte Central, Stevensville, Frenchtown (5-0).

Laurel - 50-26 (.658), Miles City, Billings Central, Dillon, Butte Central (0-4). The Locomotives faced all four eight-win Class A teams AND played Cody (8-1 in Wyoming). Laurel's strength of schedule was, by a wide margin, the toughest of any playoff team.

Central 'A'

Butte Central - 36-41 (.468), Billings Central, Laurel, Havre, Belgrade (3-1).

Belgrade - 34-44 (.436), Miles City, Butte Central, Havre (1-2).

Havre - 33-35 (.485), Miles City, Butte Central, Belgrade (0-3).

Southwestern 'A'

Dillon - 28-42 (.400), Laurel, Columbia Falls, Frenchtown, Stevensville (4-0).

Frenchtown - 45-32 (.584), Polson, Libby, Belgrade, Billings Central, Stevensville, Dillon (2-4). The defending Class A champs are hurt in their strength of schedule by playing conference games against Corvallis (0-9) and Anaconda (1-8). All five of the Broncs' non-conference opponents qualified for the playoffs.

Stevensville - 36-40 (.474), Columbia Falls, Billings Central, Frenchtown, Dillon (1-3).

Northwestern 'A'

Columbia Falls - 35-32 (.522), Stevensville, Dillon, Libby, Polson (2-2). The Wildcats won their division but have the worst overall record (4-4) of any playoff team. Ronan had a better overall record (5-4) but was only 2-2 in conference play. Sidney and Hamilton finished fourth in their divisions with a record equal to Columbia Falls.

Libby - 31-44 (.413), Frenchtown, Columbia Falls, Polson (1-2).

Polson - 25-44 (.362), Frenchtown, Columbia Falls, Libby (1-2). The Pirates have the weakest strength of schedule of any playoff team, and despite having the best overall record in the Northwestern 'A,' are the third playoff team from that division due to a 2-2 record in conference play.

Here are the playoff teams' overall playoff records since 1980 (ranked by victories):

Miles City - 25-16 (.610), 6 championships
Dillon - 19-10 (.665), 4 championships
Havre - 15-16 (.484), 1 championship
Billings Central - 13-8 (.619), 1 championship
Butte Central - 12-21 (.364), 0 championships
Frenchtown - 12-6 (.667), 1 championship
Laurel - 12-8 (.600), 2 championships
Stevensville - 6-8 (.429), 0 championships
Belgrade - 5-9 (.357), 0 championships
Libby - 5-9 (.357), 0 championships
Columbia Falls - 2-5 (.286), 0 championships

... and here's the shocking one:

Polson - 1-16 (.059), 0 championships. Keep in mind that only Miles City (23 appearances), Whitefish (23), Butte Central (21), Sidney (18) and Havre (17) have qualfied for the postseason more times since 1980 than the Pirates. A shiny new goat goes to the first person who can tell me the pertinent details of the Pirates' only postseason win over that span.

JCF - you were close. The Rams have won five straight against the Beavers and have ended Dillon's season in each of the last THREE campaigns (28-13 in the 2007 chipper, 21-7 in the 2008 semifinals and 7-3 in the quarterfinals last season).

[This message has been edited by Brian A. Reed (10/25/2010)]

Is no one in need of a goat? A shiny new goat, no less?

I remember going to a playoff game in MC against Polson. I don't remember the year but the game was played in a snow storm. Must've been in the 80's. I can't even remember the score but if I recall, the Pirates put up a good fight. I'm thinking the Cowboys won but it could be the game you're talking about, Brian.

Bob - the Cowboys have played Polson five times (1983, 1985, 1994, 2002, 2008) and won all of them. Only one of them, the Cowboys' 26-20 victory in 2008, was played on the road.

The game you attended must have been either the 1983 or the 1985 contest. I remember the weather being not unpleasant for the 1994 and 2002 games.

Polson's single playoff win is fairly obscure (which is probably why I've found it so interesting): The Pirates' lone postseason victory since 1980 was a 35-21 contest in the first round of the 2002 playoffs.

Since I simply MUST get rid of this goat, here's another trivia question (prefaced by a statement):

Since joining the Class A ranks in 2003, Frenchtown has the best conference record in the state (35-6, .854). Other than Dillon, which beat the Broncs in the regular season in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2010, which team(s) have handed Frenchtown its only other two conference losses?

Shiny. New. Goat.

[This message has been edited by Brian A. Reed (10/27/2010)]

[This message has been edited by trey (10/27/2010)]

I'll take a shot. Is it the Stevi?

which team(s) have handed Frenchtown its only other two conference losses?

I think Sacred Heart played them in the state class B championship in 81 or 82. Maybe it was just a divisional game. Kenny Lang was the running back. I don't remember who won, which probably mean Frenchtown won.

Richard - I am referring only to games Frenchtown has played since joining Class A in 2003.

Bob - You are half-correct. Stevensville beat Frenchtown 24-18 in 2006. The Broncs' other non-Dillon conference loss was to Corvallis in 2008 (21-7). That game was one of only two losses suffered by Frenchtown that season.

I think most people remember the other.

Wow really Brian? I watched that team play us and they had a lot of talent but were very young. They proved me right the next season. I just am a little surprised they lost to Corvalis of all teams, how good was Corvalis in 2008? I am guessing the young team that it was just didn't show up for that game.

Corvallis was 7-3 (easily the Blue Devils' best record since moving to Class A in 1997).

And Frenchtown was a GOOD team in 2008. The Broncs finished 8-2, beat Dillon 42-8 in the regular season and finished first in the Southwestern 'A.' The Broncs had the leading rusher in the state (Cody Kirk, who rushed for 179-1902-17) and averaged 357 yards on the ground (and 413 yards total offense) per game entering the quarterfinal contest with the Cowboys.

The Cowboys held Kirk to 150 yards BELOW his season average (he had rushed for at least 111 yards in each game prior to Miles City). He had five 200-yard rushing games, including 24-377-3 against Dillon.

The Cowboys won, 43-16.

I see some parallels between Kirk and Columbia Falls' Nate Thompson. I wouldn't put Thompson in quite the same class as Kirk, but he's very good. I hope the Cowboys get a chance to shut him down, too.

Yeah its like any team over on that side of the state though. They don't see a defense like the ones we put together over here on this side of the state. I am not saying they are inferior to us, but they always leave a game with an eastern team and say, "damn they hit hard". I am fairly certain we will get the chance to shut him down though.

I did a little research into when the Cowboys played a team twice in a season. I found 9 such instances (dating back to 1978, the modern Cowboy era). In those 9 playoff games, the winner of the regular season was just 5-4 in the playoffs. The Cowboys are 3-2 in the second game, after winning the first.
1983: vs. Glasgow, Cowboys won 23-8 in regular season, lost 21-17 in playoffs (state championship)
1984: vs. Sidney, lost 3-2 in regular season, lost 21-12 in state championship
1985: vs. Glendive, won 22-21, won 20-6 in state championship
1993: vs. Laurel, won 21-14, won 31-8
1993: vs. Sidney, lost 25-8, lost 28-15
1995: vs. Glendive, won 17-7, won 13-12
1996: vs. Sidney, lost 26-22, won 14-7
2008: vs. Billings Central, lost 14-8, won 20-7
2009: vs. Belgrade, won 20-13, lost 7-0.

The biggest difference I see, on paper at least, is that the Cowboys win over Havre earlier this season, was a much bigger win than the regular season games listed above.

But, having said that. It is very difficult to beat a good football team twice in the same season.

I still like the Cowboys to win this won, 27-7

which team(s) have handed Frenchtown its only other two conference losses?

I think Sacred Heart played them in the state class B championship in 81 or 82. Maybe it was just a divisional game. Kenny Lang was the running back. I don't remember who won, which probably mean Frenchtown won.

Yeah, I know this thread is supposed to be about the upcoming playoff game vs. Havre, but if Sacred Heart comes-up in the conversation, you KNOW I'm gonna jump in!

the game you refer to, Richard, was in 1980 and the Shamrocks won what would would turn-out to be their only state B championship in that game. The final score was 28-8. Kenny Lang was a sophomore on that team..he didn't score any touchdowns but as the fullback he did help open some good running lanes for Tom Jas, who scored 2 TD's that day. Lang also was pretty effective on D.

Back to the game at hand - GO COWBOYS! Keep your heads in-check, concentrate, play they way you've been playing and winning should not be a problem.

I was at that cold weather game. I was in Elementary School at the time. I thought we lost, are you sure about that Brian?

Positive. The Cowboys played four home playoff games in the 1980s.

1982 (semifinals) - lost to Stevensville, 26-22.
1983 (semifinals) - beat Polson, 12-6.
1985 (semifinals) - beat Polson, 20-16.
1987 (quarterfinals) - lost to Whitefish, 16-7.

The Cowboys' next home playoff game was when we were freshmen (1991), Jeremy. We lost to Lewistown, 12-7. It was a very cold game, but I don't recall that it was snowing.

The Cowboys' next home playoff game was when we were freshmen (1991), Jeremy. We lost to Lewistown, 12-7. It was a very cold game, but I don't recall that it was snowing.

I actually remember this game pretty well from my KATL days. It wasn't snowing but there was a lot of snow already on the ground and it was, indeed, FREEZING. That game sticks-out to me because I remember doing some research on that Lewistown team and was impressed that they came into the game 6-2 and that 4 of their wins were shutouts - they had only allowed 12 points on the year coming in to that game, so they were obviously very solid on D. They had a kid named Monte Harrison who was built like a tank. He played fullback and mid-linebacker and basically he just pounded the ball straight up the gut the whole game. The Cowboy D was able to stop him at times, but he wore them down as the game went on. Tom Peila scored Miles City's only TD on a busted pass play that went something like 80 yards...I remember how slow everyone was moving because they were wearing 10 layers of clothing.

Getting back to Havre, I am starting to wonder how cold it will be for the game tomorrow and how much of a factor that will be? Probably not much, but we shall see...meanwhile, I'm going to be at TCF Stadium tomorrow night to see my first Gopher game there vs. Ohio State. I'll have to bundle-up.

Speaking of cold games and Havre, the coldest game I ever sat through was the 2002 semifinal game in Havre. The temperature might not have been the lowest (it sure felt that way), but trying to keep stats while shivering under a blanket with a couple of inches of snow on it is not fun. Especially when the Cowboys lost to a team they likely would have annihilated at Denton Field. Very few fond memories of that whole trip.

Shu - The Eric Christopherson to Tom Peila touchdown was 84 yards, to be exact. The pass play accounted for more than a quarter of Christopherson's passing yardage (308) for the season. It was the Cowboys' playoff record until the 99-yard Matt Gittings to Ace Berry connection in the 2002 quarterfinals against Polson.

[This message has been edited by Brian A. Reed (10/29/2010)]

For some reason, the cowboy coaching staff implemented a couple of new defensive looks in the week prior to the Lewistown game. Personally, I wouldn't have conceived the notion of having a defensive end (or perhaps, this particular defensive end) drop back into pass coverage, but what do i know?

Well, I do know that we punted a lot that game, so I got to see plenty of playing time as the long snapper.

[This message has been edited by Bridgier (10/29/2010)]

Yep, not a good end to our senior year. It was a very cold game and we just couldn't move the ball our team was very flat (on offense)

as I recall the long-snapping was some of the best...

Oh well, still better to be a Cowboy than an Eagle.

Actually come to think of it, I think it was Whitefish. I recall me and my friends went and there were hardly any fans at the game because it was so cold.

anyone know the score?

C'boys 21; Havre 6

Cowboys are running away with it now - 2 TD's in 2 minutes has them 34-13 in the 3rd. The rout is on!...

...OOPS! Perhaps I spoke too soon. Havre just scored....

...NOW it's back to a rout! Cowboys 47-20 in the 4th...

...HOLY BUTT-KICKING!!! Now it's 54-20 in the 4th!!! WOW!

[This message has been edited by Shu (10/30/2010)]

Congratulations, Cowboys! Good luck against (and safe travel to) Columbia Falls next week.

As far as history between Columbia Falls and Miles City is concerned, there isn't any. That was simple.

I haven't seen the full stats for the Havre game, but here are some initial tidbits:

- The 54 points scored by the Cowboys is the second-most they've posted in a playoff game. The record was set in a 56-9 thumping of Bigfork in 1997.

- The 28 point margin-of-victory is the most in a playoff game since Miles City's 48-7 win over Butte Central in the first round of the 2008 tournament. The record for margin-of-victory was set in the aforementioned Bigfork game.

- If the Gazette's stats are correct, Shane Cooley finished with 201 yards on 9-of-12 passing. The Cowboys' playoff record for passing yards was set by Jordan Bryant (9-12-208-3-0) in a 26-20 victory over Polson in the 2008 quarterfinals. Bryant also has the second-best passing game in Cowboy playoff history, set a week later against Frenchtown (12-19-202-5-0). Cooley's effort on Saturday marks just the 12th time that a Cowboy quarterback has passed for over 200 yards in a game.

- Cooley's 140 yards rushing is the most-ever by a Cowboy QB in the postseason, eclipsing the previous mark of 134 set by Matt Gittings in the 2002 quarterfinals against Polson.

- Cooley's 341 yards of total offense is a new CCDHS for any game. The previous record of 330 yards was set by Adam Sanchez against Billings Central in 1999. Gittings held the previous playoff record of 318 yards against Polson. Gittings was the first Cowboy quarterback to pass (5-9-184-3-0) and rush (10-134-2) for over 100 yards in a playoff game.

- There have now been 8 double-100 yard games in Cowboy history. Paired with Cooley's 109 yards passing and 133 yards rushing last week against Laurel, this marks only the second time the feat has been accomplished in back-to-back games (Gittings also had a double-100 game against Glendive in the contest prior to the Polson game).

- If the Gazette's totals are accurate, Cooley now has 1,001 rushing yards this season, marking just the third time (Jase Wagner, 1996 - 1,040; Pat Regan, 2005 - 1,017) that a Cowboy quarterback has topped the 1000-yard plateau. With 1,976 yards from the QB position (2,080 total) Cooley is now the all-time leading rusher among Cowboy signal-callers. Regan held the previous record of 1,839 yards.

- With 1,866 yards of total offense this season, Cooley is on the verge of setting another team record. Jase Wagner (1,932 yards in 1995) and Matt Gittings (1,877 in 2002) are the only players ahead of him on the single-season record list. Cooley has 3,599 combined passing and rushing yards in his career, ranking him second behind Wagner's 3,805.

- The Cowboys' 503 yards of total offense is the 12th most in a single game in team history and the second-most among playoff games (512 vs. Whitefish, 1993 quarterfinals). The last time the Cowboys racked up 500 or more yards of offense in a single game was in 2005 against Hardin (517). The record is 580 yards, set against Lewistown in 1982.

- The 80 points scored by both teams is a new record, breaking the previous mark of 70 set in a 42-28 loss to Hamilton in the 1997 semifinals that ended Miles City's run of three consecutive Class A titles.

That's what I've got for now.

In other playoff news, one of my favorite trivia questions has been rendered moot: Polson beat Frenchtown, 27-21 in double overtime. Oh well.

Here's hoping Belgrade (who thumped Laurel, 27-7) is able to post an upset against Dillon. Stranger things have happened.

And in the interest of full disclosure, I made an error earlier - the playoff game in 1991 against Lewistown was decided by a 13-7 score, not 12-7.

[This message has been edited by Brian A. Reed (10/31/2010)]

Lane "The Hammer" Johnson. His play at linebacker has been outstanding all season but yesterday he showed that he is the best back on the field behind Cooley. Cooley- what can you say about him other than he is an iron man athlete. His motor never stops running.

Defensively, we look absolutely vicious. Fly to the ball and gang tackle but what impresses me is the offenses and its improvement. The offensive line is blocking well. The amount of formations and looks that we give is dizzying to say the least. Awesome, devastating performance.

Good luck on the road Cowboys.

One last tidbit- The helmets from this playoff game were adorned with throwback logos. The old COWBOYS in calligraphy instead of the big MC. Good Look.

The throwbacks are the way the Cowboys logos are SUPPOSED to look. I am thrilled to hear they're being used again. Makes the one on my bumper look less anachronistic.

Brian,

as a fan I agree with you 100% about the Decal....but I also like the newer ones with the "MC"

I knew it was 13-7 but 12-7 sounded better maybe in 20 more years....maybe 10-7???

I don't hate the modern ones, Mike, but I wish there was more contrast with the blue helmets.

And I'm down with your plan, so long as in 20 years we would have beaten Sidney in the 1993 championship game.