Area Fall Sports Preview 2016

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FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

August 2016

BLUE PONY GOLF SCHEDULE Sept. 9

at Lewistown (V-JV) Pine Meadows 9:30 a.m.

Sept. 10

Havre - Beaver Creek 9:30 a.m.

Sept. 15

Billings Central - Eagle Rock

Sept. 16

at Laurel

Sept. 23

Divisional - Browning - East Glacier

Sept. 30-Oct. 1 State - Hamilton

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com One of the best things about the start of the high school golf season is it’s really a continuation of summer. Starting early means great summer weather and pristine golf conditions, and that’s exactly what the Havre High boys and girls golf teams are doing now — they’re continuing their summer.

The Blue Ponies, under fourth-year head coach Brett Gilman, opened their 2016 season two weeks ago with excellent showings at tournaments in Great Falls, Havre and Bozeman.

But, even with the excitement of a new season underway, there are also expectations, as well as new challenges.

The Blue Pony boys return three varsity players from last year’s team, which won the Central A team title, and placed fourth at state. Havre will certainly miss the experience of graduated standouts Jeff Miller and Jerod Boles, but 2015 All-Stater Dustin Haas is back for his fourth year of varsity golf, and he returns as one of the top players in Class A. Also back are fellow seniors Kane Gabrielsen and Aiden Passon, giving the Ponies a solid nucleus yet again. All three golfers have played in multiple state tournaments, and Haas and Gabrielsen are looking to make it four in a row this fall.

“On the boys side I've got three returning lettermen, all three of them competed at state last year, and we'll have a couple of newcomers so I’m eager to see how they fair,” Gilman said.

Newcomers to the varsity team this season will be plentiful. Included in the mix are seniors Kyle Kirkpatrick, Gavin Mosbrucker and Tommy Brown, all of whom have already played on varsity some this season. Bobby Personett, Hondo Owens, Tucker Carlson and Nik Keller round out the HHS boys roster this season.

The Pony boys will certainly be a strong team again this season and should do well, especially in the Central A. Of course, Class A stalwarts like defending champion Billings Central, as well as Laurel, Hamilton and Whitefish will also be strong again this year.

Still, with the experience Havre has, as its

top three players have all played in three consecutive state tournaments, Gilman says his boys team should do quite well this season.

"The boys can do well, they should be in the mix at divisionals again," he noted.

On the girls side, Havre has to replace very little. In fact, the Ponies have returned a strong roster back from a team which qualified for last year’s state tournament, though replacing last year’s seniors, Randi Gabrielsen and Payton Howard, will be tough.

Senior Mackenzie Tilleman, along with juniors Regan Lammers and Grace Litzinger give the Ponies plenty of experience, while sophomore Teagan Fee should be a standout this season. Kinzee Peterson and Marcee Murphy will also compete for varsity slots for an HHS girls team that Gilman has high hopes for, this season and in future years.

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Blue Pony golf teams already out on the course

“On the girls side we’ve got four returning lettermen that participated at state,” he said.

“They look to be in good shape."

And taking the next step for the Havre girls will be trying to win a divisional title. The Ponies’ top competition at divisionals will likely be Livingston and Lewistown, while Whitefish and Laurel boast really strong girls teams at the state level.

Still, with a young, but now experienced girls’ squad, Gilman said his team should be one to watch.

"I think the girls should have a real shot at divisonals this year," Gilman said.

And a reason both Pony teams will be tough this season is the schedule certainly prepares Havre well. The Ponies starteded with the Class AA Great Falls Invite, but also host their own Havre Invite on Thursday, be-

Havre Daily News/George Ferguson

The 2016 Havre High boys and girls golf teams pose for a photo in August at Prairie Farms Golf Course. The Blue Ponies are already deep into their fall season. fore playing such tough tournaments as the Belgrade Invitational in Bozeman, the Billings Central and Laurel Invites, and a trip to Lewistown as well. The season culminates with the Central A Divisional at East Glacier Golf Course Sept. 23 and the Class A state tournament Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the Hamilton Country Club.

"The beginning of the season is always exciting,” Gilman said. “I'm looking forward to seeing the kids get back out on the course and see what they can do."

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Beeters poised for more success Chinook looks to stay on top of area volleyball landscape George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Every year, it seems like the Chinook Sugarbeeters lose at least one or two AllState volleyball players to graduation. And yet, the Beeters just keep on winning.

Chinook did it last year when a talented group went all the way to the Class C state tournament in Bozeman. And veteran head coach Molli Rose’ team is hoping to do the same thing again this fall.

Once again, there are some big shoes to fill in Chinook with the likes of All-State player Brooke Nicholson, as well as others like Lauren Harshman now departed from the program. But Chinook never seems to look back. Instead, the Beeters are the team to beat in the District 6C East, and that’s not going to change this fall.

The Beeters return several key contributors from last year’s squad, which didn’t lose a single match until the Northern C Divisional championship. Included in that list is Brooke Elliot, who gives Chinook a strong and tall presence at the net, which, in Class C volleyball, is a distinct advantage.

Chinook will not only be tall and athletic this season, but, even with key losses to graduation, the Beeters will be experienced, too.

Kelsey Mathon, Nicole McCracken, Taylor Neibauer, Sierra Swank and Carrie Hofer have extensive volleyball experience, and many of the aforementioned players have tons of experience from last year’s magical run to the state tourney.

But one thing that always seems to make the Beeters so tough is, their depth. Chinook usually has a strong junior varsity program, and that keeps churning out players who end up making a major difference at the varsity level.

And this season, Rose has plenty of depth to choose from.

Kourtney Hanson, Ashley MacLeod, Jaye Christensen, Kendra McMaster, Lincy Johnson, Maloney Young, Megan Molyneaux, Rachel Gunderson, Raynee Hasler, Sally Halinstead, Shayna Rebbavarapu and Whitney Doney round out Chinook’s great numbers out for volleyball this season — and at least some of those players will wind up being key

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Box Elder aims to be a true football powerhouse now Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/Chris Peterson

The 2016 Chinook volleyball team poses for a photo in August in Chinook. The Sugarbeeters are the defending District 6C East champions, and are looking strong again this fall. varsity contributors this season, and, providing the depth that always makes the Beeters so tough to beat.

Of course, being tough to beat doesn’t translate automatically into winning, and in order for the Beeters to win their fourth straight district title, they’ll have to contend

with strong teams from North Star, as well as up-and-comers like Box Elder and Big Sandy.

Chester-Joplin-Inverness will also be strong this season, meaning the 6C East will be as tough as it’s ever been.

Still, until someone dethrones the Beeters, they are the champs of the 6C East, and, with

the lineup Rose has again this season, there’s no reason to think Chinook won’t contend for that crown, and possibly a lot more, again this season.

Chinook continues its season with its own tournament this weekend. The Chinook Invitational runs Friday-Saturday in Chinook.

The Box Elder football team had a historic season in 2015. The question now is, with almost all of its starters graduated and gone, what can the Bears do for an encore?

For decades, Box Elder was nothing more than a doormat in football, until a few years ago, when last year’s seniors turned the program around. The 2015 team was the culmination of those efforts as the Bears went 11-2 and made it all the way to the Class C SixMan state championship game, before falling to Denton-Geyser-Stanford.

But, with Brandon The Boy, Shane Ketchum, Jerrod Four Colors, Bodis Duran and Jake Jones all lost to graduation, Box Elder will need to reload quickly if it’s going to have any chance of repeating last season’s success.

“Obviously, it would be great to get back to the state championship game,” Box Elder co-head coach Neal Rosette Jr. said. “But that is going to be a difficult thing to do. But one thing, is we have a lot of kids out this year. I think they were inspired by what we were able to accomplish last season and it’s great to see. We have kids coming out that have never played football before.”

In addition to estimating that he will have close to 20 players out for football when school starts, Rosette Jr., does have some playmakers returning from last season, highlighted by Pernell Morsette, who played both receiver and linebacker for the Bears. This season, Morsette will still play a key role on defense, but will play multiple positions on offense, including quarterback. Other players who played last season and will be expected to contribute heavily again this year are Lane Caplette and Seth Duran.

“Lane Caplette is a guy that played some defense for us last year and he is looking really good,” Rosette Jr. said. “He has really bulked up in the offseason, and we will look to get him on offense, maybe at receiver, but he is looking tough. Pernell is another key guy that we have coming back, but he is dealing with a little bit of an injury, so we might not have him right away.”

One thing that should help the Bears is the departure of Denton-Geyser-Stanford from the North Division of Six-Man football, as DGS was moved up to Class C 8-Man football. That leaves the Bears, as well as a number of other teams competing for the top four spots in the conference race.

Sunburst and Geraldine/Highwood are each considered contenders in the North, but the other teams that could potentially push for a playoff spot also include Valier, North Star and Big Sandy. Augusta and Heart Butte combined to win one game a season ago and figure to be at the bottom of the division once again.

“I think things are going to be very com-

petitive in the North,” Rosette Jr. said. “I think losing the powerhouse in DGS, that opens thing up a bit, but it’s still going to be tough.

Sunburst is a good and you got North Star, which has some younger kids that played a lot last year. Geraldine/Highwood is a great program. They were really young last year and I think they will surprise some people this year.

So it’s going to be wide open.

“For us, it’s going to be the old cliche, of one game at a time,” He added. “We just want to keep progressing as the season goes along and I would be disappointed to not see us in the playoff hunt at the end of season. But right now, our ultimate goal is to get into the postseason and then, you never know what

Havre Daily News/Chris Peterson

The 2016 Box Elder football team poses for a team photo in August in Box Elder.

The Bears lost key players from the 2015 team, which advanced to the SixMan state title game. But, interest in football is high in Box Elder right now, and the Bears should have another solid team this fall. can happen and we should be fully healthy by then.”

Box Elder opened the season at home against Hot Springs, in a rematch of last year’s Six-Man state semifinals.

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Bears should be tough on the court

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Beeters looking for more of the same Defending state champs don't need to rebuild, they just need to reload Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Over the past two seasons, the Chinook football team has established its dominance in Class C 8-Man football and even with the loss of many valuable seniors, the Sugarbeeters are hoping to maintain their perch at

the top after a state championship in 2015.

Last season, Chinook didn't just win football games, the Beeters dominated them. On the way to a perfect 12-0 mark, Chinook won its games by an average of 34 points. In the playoffs, that number was 27.5. Only once last season, did the Beeters win a game by a margin in single digits and only three times did the defense allow opponents to score more than 20 points, while the Chinook offense managed at least 34 in each outing and put up more than 50 seven times.

The Beeters have been so dominant since the middle of the 2014 season, that they have won 17 of their last 18 games and 13-in-a-row at home, with five of those wins coming in

Havre Daily News/Chris Peterson

The 2016 Box Elder volleyball team takes a team photo in August in Box Elder. After a spectacular season on the basketball floor last winter, the Bears are hoping for the same kind of success this fall in volleyball.

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com The Box Elder Bears are coming off one of the best girls basketball seasons the program has had in two decades. A Class C state championship game appearance will do that.

But, this fall, don’t be surprised if the Bears succeed in another sport with a ball.

That’s because Box Elder is primed to move up the District 6C East ranks in volleyball.

Box Elder, which has struggled in recent times in volleyball, is hoping this season will be different, and they certainly have the players to make that happen according to new head coach Mickey Pansch.

"We have a pretty good group of kids," Pansch said. "I think that things are going really so far. They are working really hard and we have been having really good practices. I would say by the time everyone gets here, we should have close to 25 kids."

With great numbers, that creates depth, something that’s important for the Bears

this season, and in the future. But, the Bears don’t just have numbers, they have talent, too.

Returning standouts Tai Russell, Tia Russell, Lily Gopher, Maddie Wolf Chief and Eve The Boy should give the Bears a solid nucleus to work with. While they won’t be the tallest team, they’ll be quick and athletic, and that will go a long way toward the Bears achieving success in the 6C East — a league that has long been dominated by Chinook and North Star — two teams expected to compete for the district title again this

season.

"My hope for this season is that we make it out of districts fairly easily," Pansch, who previously coached at Big Sandy, said. "Another goal I have for this team is that I want to see them attack more. I want them to be more aggressive, especially around the net.

I want good serves and everyone being aggressive around the net, even the short girls.

That's something I think they lacked last season and I think that's really important."

Box Elder continues its season with this weekend’s North Star Showcase in Rudyard and Gildford.

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Havre Daily News/Chris Peterson

The 2016 Chinook football team poses for a photo in August inside the Chinook Gymnasium. The Sugarbeeters enter the new season as the Class C 8-man defending state champions.

playoff games.

Yet, as head coach Scott Friede stressed, this is a new season for the Beeters and with so many new faces expected on the field this season, staying at the top will be easier said than done.

"This is a whole new season," Friede said.

"But we are optimistic. These guys know what kind of kids we had, but they have been here working in the weight room and in practice.

They practiced against those kids, some of these guys for the last two years. We are like a lot of teams in the league; we lost a lot of good seniors, but it's the time of the younger guys. It's time to step up and see what they can do and give them their chance to per-

form. We are excited. There are some kids that are stepping forward, so we'll see how it goes."

One key player comes at quarterback, after Ian McIntosh graduated after leading the Beeters to back-to-back state championship games. But Chinook also had to make up for key losses up front to the offensive and defensive lines, which were each arguably the best in the state at the 8-man level.

"That will probably be the biggest question mark for us," Friede said referring to line play. "If you compare us to last year's team, we have a ways to go, but every team has positions that it needs to fill. It will just be exciting to see how (younger players) come along. We have been developing them for the past two seasons and it's their time to step up."

Fortunately for Chinook, the backfield will not be completely inexperienced. At running back, Chinook returns All-State performer Tate Niederegger, who notched more than 1,200 yards rushing and 18 total touchdowns a season ago. The senior also had seven games in which he ran for more than 100 yards.

Kade Friede is another experienced player set to return after being the starting fullback and backup quarterback a season ago. Friede may have only attempted nine passes, but he threw a touchdown pass and also ran 24 times for 107 yards and a score. Friede also played some wide receiver, catching three passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, and on defense he had 41 tackles, which trails only Niederegger (93) among returning players Coach Friede said he is looking for a number of other players to become contributors this season including Kyler Johnson, Kyle McMaster, Michael Warburton, Trevor Reid and Tamer Jamieson. The coach also said he expects another challenging race in the Northern C, but added that despite entering the season as the defending state and conference champions, there is no added pressure.

"I think the only pressure that we have, is the pressure that we put on ourselves," Friede said. "It's no different than any other season, we have to still take it one week at a time, one game at a time and we have to believe in each other as a team and put the team first and see what happens. Hopefully, we will just keep improving as we go along through the season and can be a contender by the end of it."

Chinook opened its season last weekend against Centerville.

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Pioneers back in the 6C East volleyball hunt George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Once upon a time, Shersteen Cline was a dominant volleyball player for the Big Sandy Pioneers.

She also went on to have a fine career with the Montana Tech Orediggers.

Now, Cline is home and she’s gone from being one of the best players the Pioneers have ever had, to their new head coach.

Cline enters her first season at the helm of the Pioneers by inheriting not just an athletic and talented team, but a team that has gone through some tough times in recent years. Two years ago, Big Sandy saw its numbers plummet, and a talented, but inexperienced group of freshmen had to shoulder the load of rebuilding the program.

Fast forward two years however, and those freshmen are now upperclassmen and, with solid numbers overall, the Pioneers appear to not only be in good shape, but also headed back toward competing for a District 6C East title.

Big Sandy’s now veteran group is led by the likes of Jenna Leader, Jaylyn Cline, Jessica Roth, Dakota Terry, Andrea Rutledge and Cally DeMontiney, all of whom have ex-

tensive experience at the varsity level. Those aforementioned players are also standout athletes who should give the Pioneers a very solid lineup this season.

But the buck doesn’t stop there either. Big Sandy will have something else it hasn’t had in recent years — depth. Adding to the Pioneers’ talented lead group is the likes of Jasmine Genereaux, Bailey and Hope Gasvoda, Lainey Gregory, Alex Richter, Abby Herley, Grace Finke, Georgia Wortman, Stacey Alderdice and Seanna DeMontiney, and that group will not only give the Pioneers depth at the varsity level but also give them an outstanding junior varsity program in which to continue to build from.

And while the Pioneers are certainly on the upswing, and will benefit greatly from the knowledge and experience Cline brings to the program, they will still have their work cut out for them if they want to advance past the 6C tourney, which will take place Oct. 29-30 in Rudyard, and into the Northern C Divisional, which, outside of a District title, is always the goal. In order to do that, Big Sandy will have to compete with Chinook and North Star, the two stalwarts of the 6C, as well as CJI, and a very talented and up-and-coming Box Elder squad.

“We have a young group this

year, with only one senior, which is exciting,” coach Cline said. “There is so much room for growth and improvement. This team has great potential, and I’m excited to watch them push themselves to a new level of play. We have a lot of work ahead

of us, but I truly believe we will be a team to watch this year.”

The Pioneers opened their season at last weekend’s Belt Invitational. They play in the North Star Showcase Friday and Saturday in Rudyard and Gildford.

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Wildcats growing on the gridiron

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson

The 2016 Big Sandy volleyball team poses for a photo in A u g u s t i n B i g S a n d y. T h e Pioneers have a new head coach in Shersteen Cline.

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson

The 2016 Harlem football team poses for a team photo in August in Harlem. The Wildcat's second-year head coach Kelly Mills says the program is making strides, and the Wildcats will look to be very competitive in the District 2B this season.

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Harlem head football coach Kelly Mills knew when he took over the job at the helm of the Wildcats, that rebuilding the program wouldn’t be an overnight thing. And after a season in which the team won just one game, there is still plenty of work to be done.

Yet, Mills, who had a young team a season ago, said his Wildcats are progressing and if they keep working, they are hoping to get back to respectability and possibly contention in the Class B ranks sooner than expected.

“Right now, if we are realistic, it’s going to be tough to contend for the playoffs,” Mills said. “We have a ways to go before we reach that level, but we have some talent and some experience coming back, so we will see how

much we can improve. Our first goal is to win more games this year than we did last year, but right now, if you look at it, our conference is still about Malta and Glasgow and Conrad.

Those are still the teams to beat.”

One thing the Wildcats have going for them is the return of their starting quarterback in Tevon Messerly, who ran the team as a sophomore a season ago. Mills, who runs an up-tempo system that uses no-huddle principles, said that having Messerly as his starter for two more seasons is a big plus.

“Him getting that year of experience is going to be huge for him,” Mills said. “He really came along last season and he’s such a good athlete. I am expecting him to have a good season for us.”

However, Messerly isn’t the only key skillposition player coming back for the Wildcats, Harlem is also fortunate to be returning its starting running back Damon Adams, who

had a strong junior season running the football. Adams is also simply one of the fastest sprinters in all of Class B right now. Other players who will see regular playing time for Harlem this season include Corbin Brockie, Noah Lawrence and Lane Allen. The Wildcats will also benefit from having senior wide out Tyus Hammett and the talents of those three players combined, should help Harlem do a better job of putting points on the board than the team did a season ago.

Harlem did score a 30-0 win over Poplar and also scored 22 and 16 points, in losses to Wolf Point and Roundup, respectively, but in the Wildcats’ other five games, they were shut out three times and scored just six points twice.

“I think the kids having another year in our system is really going to help,” Mills said. “I think that the kids are buying in. We

have a lot of them out playing football this year, and we have a lot of good athletes and a lot of them got some really good experience playing last season. Now, we are still going to be pretty young, but getting to work with a lot of those young players really gives you a chance to build something for the future.

That’s what it’s all about.”

Harlem will have to face a difficult schedule once again in 2016, with traditional opponents such as Shelby, Glasgow, Malta, Conrad and Cut Bank all on the slate once again. Yet, with games against Rocky Boy, Wolf Point and Poplar, there is a chance for Harlem to make some inroads in the win column, even if reaching the playoffs is still a long shot.

Unlike many teams across the state, Harlem will not play until Sept. 3 when the Wildcats will pay a visit to conference rival Shelby in its season-opener.

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Harlem netters looking to make a big jump this fall

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Volleyball has never come easy in Harlem.

Whether its low numbers in participation, or, just having to play in the always-tough District 2B, the Harlem program has had a hard time finding success.

And yet, year-after-year, the Wildcats keep trying, keep working hard and keep battling. And that’s exactly what they’ll do this fall under the guidance of veteran coach Kim Faulkinberry.

Once again, Faulkinberry will have a young team to work with, but she does have good numbers, with nearly 20 players out for the team this season.

Those 20 include returning standouts Kinsey Cornell, a senior middle hitter, and Jazzamyn Benson, a senior libero.

“We are looking to grow and mature throughout this season,” Faulkinberry said. “We lost six girls from last year’s team to graduation. Jazzamyn and Kinsey are the only returners that saw solid varsity time last year. We do have some talented younger girls who spent some time in the weight room and came to every open gym that we

had, so we appreciate their commitment to bettering the volleyball program.”

Also looking to make an impact for Harlem this season is, Tamica Cole, Skylee Dirden, Kristyn Kittelson, Lyla Skidmore, J’Lynn Stiffarm, Elyssa Horn, Shantelle Talks Different, Shailee Fetter, Michael Ann Humphreys, Cippy Guardipee, Caria Owens, Taeshon Schaeffer, Mackenzie Doney, Heaven Boushie and Cali Brien.

Of course, to make in impact in the 2B, the Wildcats will have to contend with some regular volleyball powers. Malta is always a very good team, as is Glasgow, while Wolf

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Big Sandy ready for a bounce-back season

Point is usually strong as well. The Wildcats will also have regular battles with rival Rocky Boy this season, which makes their schedule tough and challenging.

Still, Faulkinberry said her team will work hard and always play hard, adding that she’s excited to see what the Wildcats can do on the court this year.

“The attitudes of the girls are great,” Faulkinberry said. “They have all come in to practice with great enthusiasm and work ethic.”

Harlem opened its season at last weekend’s Malta Invitational, and will compete in the Chinook Invitational this weekend.

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson

The 2016 Big Sandy football team poses for a photo in August in Big Sandy. The Pioneers' boys and girls basketball coach, Ronnie Simpson, is now the head coach of the football program as well. And Simpson should have a strong team that will compete well the Northern Six-Man Division.

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson

The 2016 Harlem volleyball team poses for a team photo in August in Harlem. The Wildcats have had their share of struggles on the court, but with good numbers and some senior leadership the Wildcats are looking like a much-improved team this fall.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Big Sandy Pioneers were playing for the Class C SixMan state football championship. Yet, that seems like ages as the Pioneers have struggled the past few seasons.

However, the Pioneers have a new head coach in Ronnie Simpson, as well as a renewed hope of contending for the playoffs.

Simpson, who was the head football coach at Box Elder as recently as 2014 and coached both the Big Sandy boys and girls basketball teams last season, said he is looking forward to the challenge.

“I just love the game of football,” Simpson said. “So I jumped at the chance to get back into it. We have a young team, but I think we

are progressing.”

However, turning the Pioneers back into a playoff team will be easier said than done after the team won just two games a season ago. One positive for the Pioneers is the return of Laurence Alderdice, an all-around talent who has been a key player for Big Sandy throughout his career. Alderdice will lead the senior class for the Pioneers, while his brother, Weston Alderdice, will be another important player on the team as he enters his junior season.

“Laurence is a good athlete,” Simpson said. “He’s going to be playing all over for us, quarterback, running back, end, linebacker.”

Alderdice scored plenty of touchdowns for Big Sandy a season ago, both rushing and receiving. Weston Alderdice, who plays running back, was also a crucial part of the

ground game for the Pioneers and looks to have a big role again in 2016.

Other players who will be on-field contributors for the Pioneers this season under Simpson will be Duke Darlington, Ryan Roth, Brock Prouix, Dylan Darlington, Clint Darlington, Jordan Schwarzbach, Everett Sipler, Dallas Geyer, Nick Diacon, Elijah Wagoner and Hunter Joppe.

"We are building right now," Simpson said.

"Things have been going well and this year, I think that the North is really wide open, so we are expecting to be in the playoff hunt at the end of the season."

Of course, the Pioneers are home to the North Division of Class C Six-Man football.

Last season, Big Sandy got off to a promising start, with a 2-2 mark thanks to wins over Heart Butte and Augusta. But after knocking off Augusta 32-6 in Big Sandy on Sept. 18, the

Pioneers didn’t win another game and ended on a four-game losing streak.

Yet, there is no doubt that a big shakeup has taken place. For starters, Denton-Geyser-Stanford, the 2015 Six-Man state champions, are no longer in the division. Secondly, the Box Elder Bears, the state runner-up, graduated most of their starting lineup from a season ago, leaving teams like Valier, Geraldine/Highwood, Sunburst, North Star and Big Sandy a chance to catch the Bears and earn a spot in the postseason.

"I think Box Elder will be good again," Simpson said. "Sunburst will be tough, Valier will be tough, and Geraldine/Highwood, they were young last year, but they have a great program. I think it will be an interesting season."

Big Sandy opens the season Friday at Noxon.

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Blue Ponies ready to embrace brand new challenges Ryan Gatch era at Havre High begins

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Change is a constant in high school football or any high school sport for that matter. Yet, as far as changes go, the Havre High football has undergone just about as many as any team in the state since last season.

Not only do the Blue Ponies have a new head coach after the departure of Mark Samson to Great Falls High, and the hiring of Ryan Gatch, formerly the head coach at Forsyth. Havre also lost a ton of talent off last year’s team, including All-State quarterback Dane Warp, as well as All-State wide receiver Nate Rismon.

Warp started every game at quarterback the last four years for HHS and along the way set state records for passing yards and touchdowns for 11-man football. Rismon was no slouch either, starting for three years and earning a football scholarship to the University of Montana-Western.

Havre will also be without the talents of former All-State wide out and linebacker Parker Filius, who is not playing football this season, as well as others such as Travis Adams, Logan Pleninger, Cole Keller and Thomas Keith, who graduated off last year’s team.

In addition to replacing a number of key components from last year’s squad, Gatch is also tasked with installing a new system, while at the same time evaluating his personnel.

“I am fortunate that I have a lot of great football minds helping me,” Gatch said. “Every day after practice that’s something that we talk about. We talk about personnel. But those are just some of the challenges you face as a first-year coach. You have to get your system in and get everyone up to speed and those are some of the things we are focusing on right now.”

Certainly, the biggest question facing Gatch right away is who will replace Warp as the team’s starting quarterback. Trey Murphy, who backed up Warp the past two seasons, appears to be the leading candidate, but he is competing against fellow junior Ivar Aageson, who also plays wide receiver and cornerback.

“We have two guys competing and learning the offense,” Gatch said. “We are playing an even number of reps through practice to give them different plays to run. They each have different strengths, but we are still using the base offense that we run. Right now, they are both doing a great job. We are just trying to figure out the strengths of each one. We do an evaluation on the position each day, just like we do at every position.”

Havre may have a few question marks in

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BLUE PONY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sept. 2 Sept. 9 Sept. 16 Sept. 23 Sept. 30 Oct. 7 Oct. 14 Oct. 21 Oct. 29 Nov. 5 Nov. 12 Nov. 19

at Hardin vs. Miles City at Sidney vs. Browning at Park at Belgrade at Fergus vs. Polson 1st Round Playoffs - TBA Qtr. Finals - TBA Semi-Finals - TBA Finals - TBA

the passing game, but when it comes to running the football, the Ponies should be more than solid. HHS returns both First-Team Central A All-Conference fullback Jase Stokes, along with Second-Team All-Conference running back Jazz Schroeder.

Stokes rushed for 547 yards and scored three touchdowns in 2015. The senior also caught 21 passes for 219 yards and another score. Schroeder, on the other hand, racked up 379 yards and led the Ponies with seven rushing touchdowns.

Having a pair of experienced ball carriers helps, but so does having a deep and talented offensive line, which is exactly what Gatch and the Ponies believe they have. The line did lose three starters in Adams, Keith and Keller, but with the return of Jared Sienkowski, who earned Second-Team All-Conference honors in 2015 and Chris Gabrielsen, along with Brock Smith, Tyler Schaub and Cody Rennick, the group looks solid.

“We have a deep group there,” Gatch said.

“We have a few other kids that are competing there too, so that’s nice to have. We had to replace three good players there, but we moved Tyler Schaub to left tackle and he has really bought in and all those guys are looking good.”

Defensively, Havre will be led by Stokes, an All-State inside linebacker a season ago, who

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totaled 100 tackles (nine tackles for loss), four sacks, one interception, one fumble recovery and an incredible eight forced fumbles.

The Ponies also return a slew of experienced defenders such as safety Nate Korb, Aageson at cornerback and Dane Flammond at linebacker. Sienkowski, Gabrielsen and Schaub are all back to lead an experiencedladen defensive front.

“I think we are going to be solid on both sides of the ball,” Gatch said. “Right now, we are just trying to get prepared. You don’t have a lot of time and so you feel like your installation could be better and things could be smoother, but we just have to focus on improving every day.”

Havre opened its 2016 season against Whitefish, and travels to Hardin for its second game of the season. The Ponies make their home debut Sept. 9 against Miles City.

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Stars stepping up to the varsity level Rocky Boy makes longawaited Class B football debut this season

The 2016 Havre High football team takes its annual team photo in August.

The Blue Ponies, who won the Central A Conference a year ago, have a new head coach in Ryan Gatch, and expectations and goals are once again high for this season.

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

It has been quite some time since Rocky Boy high school has fielded a varsity football team, but after the long wait, the Stars will finally take part in 11-man football at the Class B level this season.

Of course, Rocky Boy head football coach Rick Sunchild has been talking for years about bringing the program back to the varsity level and now, it's finally happened, even if it came a year earlier than the coach would have hoped.

"I still wanted to wait for another year," Sunchild said. "But, we were finally forced to do it. It was just getting too hard to find teams to play. A lot of teams wouldn't want to play their freshman or sophomores or juniors against our team, because we had some seniors playing with us. Or we would have teams that would schedule games and cancel them. So I would have rather waited one more year, because we have a mountain of eighth-grade football players, but we were finally just forced to do it this year."

While the Stars have been competing at football at the 11-man level for the past few seasons, they have only done so at the junior varsity level. Yet, after having just 13 players out for football last season, this year, Sunchild has close to 20. And he said the big eighth-grade class coming, along with a strong freshman class this year, Rocky Boy football should be playing varsity for many years to come.

"I definitely think that we will be playing varsity for a the next few years at least," Sunchild said. "When we get that army of kids up here (referring to middle school football team) and add them to this freshman and sophomore class we have now, we could be pretty tough and have a pretty talented team."

One thing that will help right away is the return of starting quarterback Jerell Gopher, who was a key player on the team a season

ago. Gopher will take most of the snaps at quarterback but will also see time at running back and maybe even wide receiver.

Kordell Small is another player who will see the ball in his hands, maybe even at quarterback. Chase Corcoran is another guy who will make in impact offensively at the skill positions, while John Windy Boy and Kendall Windy Boy will hold down the line on both sides of the ball.

"We have some talented kids," Sunchild said. "People think we aren't going to be very good and then sometimes, we turn out be a lot better than they expected when they come play us."

Certainly, the Stars will not have an easy time this season, as they will be in the 1B conference for football, which is part of the

larger Northern Division. That means Rocky Boy will be competing against teams such as Fairfield, which is the current defending Class B state champion, as long as other football powerhouses such as Cut Bank, Shelby, Choteau and Conrad.

"The 1B is always tough," Sunchild said.

"That makes it tough for a program like us.

At one time or another, every team in there was a power in football at one point. But the biggest thing for us is just going to be for the kids to have fun and gain some experience and who knows, we might end up being a little tougher than everyone expects us to be. I wouldn't take us lightly."

In addition to challenging themselves against the 1B, Rocky Boy will also take on Harlem, Poplar and Roundup. The Stars will visit

Roundup Sept. 2 in their first varsity game of the season. Rocky Boy will then return home on Sept. 9 for its first varsity game in years at home against Harlem. Sunchild said the team will also be looking forward to renewing its rivalry with Poplar, which is used to play at the JV level.

"It will be fun to renew that old rivalry with Poplar," Sunchild said. "They went to varsity, so we had to stop playing them, so it will be fun to play that game. But, I think the community will support us. It supported us when we have JV and I think if we can win a game or two, that would really change things."

The Stars play their first varsity game this season this weekend on the road against Roundup.

Havre Daily News/Chris Peterson

The 2016 Rocky Boy football team poses for a photo in August in Rocky Boy. After playing a junior varsity schedule for nearly a decade, the Stars will finally play in the Class B ranks this season. Rocky Boy will play in the 11-man District 2B this season, and the Stars make their season debut this weekend.

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Morning Stars love to play the game HHS cross country teams stride into the fall season Rocky Boy head coach Ty Watson still loves coaching volleyball after all these years Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

The Rocky Boy volleyball program is not one that wins a lot of matches year in and year out. But, according to head coach Ty Watson, winning and losing isn't the best thing about the program, the best thing is simply giving kids a chance to do something and to further their education.

And in those departments, regardless of the win-loss record, Watson, who has been teaching and coaching at Rocky Boy High School for more than 20 years, says the volleyball team has been a success.

"The reason I am still doing this after 20 years is just to give these girls the chance to come out and play," Watson said. "It gives them something to do and it also gives them a reason to go to class and to keep their grades up. It helps give them that purpose to try to better themselves and that's all that really matters to me. That's why I'm still here doing this."

Under the direction of Watson, the Rocky Boy volleyball team had another difficult season on the court, winning few games and getting bounced early from the District 1B tournament. Yet, with the level of competition that the Morning Stars face in the District 1B and the Northern B itself, it's no surprise that they have had a hard time making headway.

"No matter what, the 1B is always very difficult, it's just one of those things," Watson said. "You have teams like Fairfield and Choteau and they are always going to be tough.

No matter what you do, you can't get away

from it. Even in their rebuilding years they are tough. They do things that we don't do like play club volleyball or go to team camps. We focus on basketball here. But we keep our kids busy and give them something worthwhile to do and at the end of the season, we are successful and that's the bottom line."

Watson said that he will once again have a very young team, but the team is blessed to have some returning players, including Sean Henry and Leiani Denny, who each saw time with the varsity team last season. Some other players who will be contributing to the team this season, Watson said, are Jaylnn Mitchell, Rosie Parker, Kristie Parker, Sasha Coffee and Tess Big Knife.

"Let me say it this way," Watson said. "I have a couple of players that played varsity for me last season coming back. One senior and one junior, after that, it's pretty much all young kids. One thing though, is that we do have some athleticism. We had some freshmen transfer in from Box Elder and they are athletic. That also gave us some good numbers and stabilized things a little bit. But with those freshmen and what we have coming back, we have a chance to be competitive. And if we can get some of them going in the right direction, they should be able to help us quite a bit, especially in the middle."

The Morning Stars opened their jampacked schedule at the Malta tournament in Malta on Aug. 27 and then they will battle it out through a tough conference schedule that will lead up to the District 1B volleyball tournament, which takes place Oct. 28-29 in Fairfield.

"I think the biggest thing for us is going to be our inexperience," Watson said. "We have some athleticism, but only time will tell. Our inexperience could be our biggest benefit.

Our girls will go out there and play and expect to play, and if we play hard, we will be alright. But if we can keep girls playing and give them a reason to stay in school, then more power to them."

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BLUE PONY CROSS-COUNTRY SCHEDULE Sept. 2 Sept. 10 Sept. 16 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 3 Oct. 6 Oct. 15 Oct. 22

at Cut Bank at Malta at Lewistown at Mountain West - Missoula at Havre at Browning at Helena (Preview Meet) Divisionals at Belgrade State at Kalispell

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Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 Havre High cross country teams pose for a team photo in August in Havre. The Blue Ponies are young again this season, but head coach Josh Holt is excited about what his runners can do.

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The Havre High cross country teams are coming off a solid season, in which they each competed respectably at the state level. Now, in the second season under head coach Josh Holt, both teams are hoping to take their performance to a bit of a higher level.

"I think we had a good season last year," Holt said. "We started to get where we need to be in terms of training and working out.

We had some kids that worked really hard this summer and it shows with the ones that did. But it's hard to get everyone to do that, with jobs and family vacations and everything that goes on during the summer."

The Blue Pony boys finished 12th at the Class A state meet in 2015 and they were led

by Austin Jones, who finished 19th. Jones, who was a sophomore last season, is back again for HHS and will lead the way for the team for the second straight year.

Jakob Keller, who had the second-best finish on the team as a freshman last year, finishing 65th at state, is also returning. Ryan Stewart, who was a varsity runner in 2014,but wasn't part of the team in 2015, is also back, as is Barrett Kilgore.

The rest of the team includes a few new faces such as freshman Quinn Reno, who Holt said has been impressive, as well as Noah Azure, Trevor Williams, Riley Kilgore, Ethan Lines, Vander Swensen, Andrew Vandenbos, Aylan Pratt, Torek Swensen and Ammon Lines.

"We have some new kids out that are looking good," Holt said. "We have a couple kids that are wrestlers in Quinn Reno and Ryan

Stewart, and they are both looking really strong right now."

The Havre girls team will also need to replace some runners from last year's team, most notably, All-State performer Rachel David, who finished seventh at state in 2015.

She and Rainey Stoner, who was 92nd at state, third-best on the team, both graduated.

That means the top returning runner from last season is Nicole Parsons, who was 56th at state. Amelia Miller, who finished 101st is also back, as are Hannah Lunak (114) and Meggie Zook (117). Another candidate who has emerged for a varsity spot on the girls team, is freshman Kadia Miller, who has impressed in training, Holt said.

"Kadia Miller has looked really good," Holt said. "She works extremely hard and she is very competitive. She was running with the second group of boys the other day, which tells you something about her. I think she has the chance to be a very good runner."

Other girls who will compete for spots this season on varsity are Rhoda Peterson, Melanie Jones and Hannah Pratt.

"I have really young teams again this year," Holt said. "I have a lot of freshman girls and many of the boys are just in their first or second year. But it really gives us a chance to build things over the next couple of years.

This year, we are just hoping to improve. We want to start out strong and improve throughout the year and get better results than we had last year. We are not to the point, where we are going to be competing for the No. 1 spot in the state, but I am hoping, we can at least be top-10 teams, and we have enough kids returning on both sides that we should be able to make an impact this year."

Havre will open its season Friday in Cut Bank at the annual Cut Bank Time Trial.

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As usual, North Star netters will be tough CJI reloading this football season Hawks are young, but they will be talented Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 North Star volleyball team poses for a photo in August in Gildford. The Knights will be somewhat younger this season, but they're expected to again be one of the top teams in both the District 6C East and the Northern C. The Knights host their North Star Showcase this weekend.

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com There’s only two fall sports at North Star High School. And one of them is volleyball.

So, naturally, the sport is very popular, and when a sport is popular, the program is usually very good. And for years now, that’s been the case with the North Star volleyball team, as year-after-year, the Knights excel in the District 6C East.

They did it last year, once again advancing deep into the Northern C volleyball tour-

nament, and though they return a young team in 2016, returning head coach Mackenzie Jenkins has the same expectations yet again.

“We are a young team this year, but if we get everything put together right, the girls have the ability to succeed,” Jenkins said.

“Our practices have been great so far; there is a ton of energy and excitement in the gym.”

North Star may be younger, but the Knights aren’t devoid of two things needed in volleyball: athleticism and talent.

Seniors Sheridan Spicher, Mystic Farinas and Sheridan Pena give the Knights a vet-

eran nucleus, while juniors Katelyn Hansen, Jewel Wicks, Chelsea Donaldson and Lily Pedersen have plenty of experience, too.

Sophomore Paij Peterson is also expected to play a key role on the Knights’ squad this season as well.

“I'm excited for competition to start because I think these girls are going to do great things and surprise some people,” Jenkins said. “Right now we are focused on one game at a time, but our overall goal is to go as far into the postseason as we can.”

Of course, if the Knights succeed, it won’t be a surprise, it’s what they do. But, succeeding in the tough 6C East is never easy

to do, especially as the league appears to be even deeper this year, with Box Elder possibly being a surprise team.

“I think Chinook and us will be the top teams in the 6C this year,” Jenkins said “We did lose some impactful players from last year, but that doesn't mean we don't have the girls to compete this year. CJI has a new coach, and I think they are going to be young like us. Anything could happen.”

North Star opened its season with the Belt Showcase and the Knights host their own North Star Showcase this weekend. Rudyard is also the sight of the 2016 District 6C East Tournament, Oct. 29-30.

Like many teams in the Northern C Division of 8-Man football, the Chester-JoplinInverness Hawks lost a lot of talent from last year’s team. Yet, like he has done many times before, head coach Jim Vinson is ready to reload — not rebuild.

“I have never looked at any season as a rebuilding one,” Vinson said. “I don’t believe in that mentality. I have never believed in playing a younger kid or anything just to get experience. I have always played the older kids, even if they are just marginally better.

We want to be competitive every season and try to win as many games as we can, that’s how I look at it.”

Vinson, who has been a staple on the sideline for the Hawks for years now, will be one of the few familiar faces on the field for CJI this season as key seniors such as Justin May, Brandon Richter and Troy Harmon all graduated from last year’s team, which went 8-2 and made it to the quarterfinals of the 8-Man playoffs.

That means other players such as Cory Richter, a former wide receiver and backup quarterback, will need to step up and help fill the void. However, it won’t be easy for Richter, who is taking over as the starting quarterback after throwing just one pass for three years last season.

“It will be a little bit of an adjustment for Cory,” Vinson said. “Coming back from receiver, but he has been the backup quarterback for the past few years, so he’s familiar with it.”

One thing about Richter is that he’s a stellar athlete and last season earned Northern C All-Conference Honorable Mention as a wide out after hauling in 35 receptions for 511 yards. He also scored a total of nine touchdowns.

While Richter will play a key role, there are other standout returners for the Hawks, namely Cory Kelly, the team’s only All-State player from 2015. Kelly, who earned All-State honors as a guard and was named Second Team All-Conference in the Northern C at defensive end, is poised for another big season for CJI after six sacks a year ago.

Brett Henke, who was a Second Team AllConference linebacker for the Hawks last season, is also returning. He had 77 tack-

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 Chester-Joplin-Inverness football team poses for a photo in August in Chester. The Hawks had a great run a season ago but will be a much younger team this fall.

les and after rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns, he should make more of an impact on offense too.

“We had a really good senior class last year,” Vinson said. “But I think we have a good one this year too. I think these kids have heard everybody talk about the class ahead of them and I think they are ready to show they are just as good or better and that’s what I appreciate about how kids operate.”

In addition to some personnel changes on the field, the Hawks will also have a slight

change in their schedule. That’s because Hays-Lodge Pole has moved from the Eastern C back into the Northern C, which will extend the season from eight games to nine.

“I am happy that HLP is back in the Northern C,” Vinson said. “I think the league will be the same as it’s always been. I like it because you have to show up ready to compete every week. It was nice to have that bye week, I know some coaches didn’t like it, but when you are a small school and have limited numbers, that bye week can be a good thing.”

Despite his heavy losses, Vinson said he is optimistic that his team can compete for a playoff spot in the rough-and-tumble Northern C and that the drop off for his program won’t be as big as some think.

“We are optimistic,” Vinson said. “I know there are a lot of other teams that lost some really good kids, too. That’s high school football, every year is different. But we are excited and expect to be in that playoff race and if you can get in, you never know what can happen.”

The Hawks opened their season against Belt.

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Hawks hoping to fly high again HLP excited to move to the Northern C

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 Chester-Joplin-Inverness volleyball team takes a team photo last month in Chester. The Hawks have a new head coach this season.

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Volleyball has been one of the biggest sports in the town of Chester for a long time.

The Chester Coyotes had a long-standing tradition of volleyball excellence, and so have the more recent Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks.

However, times change, and the Hawks have been going through a transitional period in recent years. And, the upcoming season will be another one.

Make no mistake, CJI has still been strong on the volleyball court recently, but it’s been

a while since the Hawks nabbed a District 6C title. And now, heading into a brand new season, the Hawks are facing a season with low numbers, a definite challenge for new head coach, and former CJI standout Jimi Sanguin.

“We only have 10 girls out this year,” Sanguin said. “So we won’t be having a JV team this season. So that’s kind of 10. But, we do have girls who love volleyball,, they work hard, they have fun and they love to play.”

And while 10 isn’t a big number, even for a Class C school, the Hawks also have plenty of talent. Seniors Kylee Vinson and Jereca Tempel have played plenty of volleyball over the years, and they’ll be looked upon, both as standout players, and as leaders. CJI also has some experience returning with the likes of Kayona Fraser, Abby Mangold and Kimmy Ghekiere, all who saw time last season at the varsity level.

And, there’s also talent in the classes coming up. Sophomores Payton Hawks, Khloe Kammerzell, Jaqueline Cole and Elyssa Tempel will all see significant varsity time this season, while freshman Samantha May will too.

“We have a lot of athletes,” Sanguin said.

“We don’t have a lot of height, but we are athletic and quick to the ball, so I think we’ll be very strong on defense. I think our servereceive will be a big strength.”

Of course, the Hawks will need to rely on their strengths if they want to advance past the 6C East tourney this season, which is slated for Oct. 29-30 in Rudyard. And that’s because the district will again be tough.

“I expect Chinook will have a really good team again, and North Star is always very good too,” Sanguin said. “I haven’t been around the district in a while, but I know it’s always very tough, and I think it will be again this season.”

CJI will hope to be one of those tough teams too. The Hawks opened their season at the Sunburst Showcase.

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

The past few seasons have been forgettable for the Hays-Lodge Pole football team.

But with a new conference and a slew of returning players, head coach Shawn Mount believes this is the year the Thunderbirds finally get back into the win column.

“I know I say this every year,” Mount said.

“But I really believe that we have a good chance to win some games this season and compete for the playoffs. I think the biggest thing is confidence. I think we were a more competitive team last year and we have a lot of kids back. We just need to get that first win and if we can get that and erase some of the doubt we have, I think we could surprise some people.”

Last season, HLP went 0-7 in the challenging Eastern Division of Class C 8-Man football. But this season, after years of lobbying, the T-Birds have finally been relocated to the Northern C, which gives the program what feels like a fresh start.

“I have been really trying for that for

years,” Mount said. “And we finally got back to where we should be. We are in the Northern C for other sports, we should be in there for football. It just makes sense. So we are glad that finally happened, that will lessen a lot of travel burden on us.”

While HLP will have to travel less to get to its games, it will need to play more of them

in 2016, nine in fact, as the 10-team Northern C uses a round-robin schedule, meaning everyone plays everyone.

The T-Birds did suffer some tough losses last season, but at times they showed promise and had three games in which they scored 20 points or more. A big reason for that is the play of quarterback Tyson Shambo.

“Tyson is just a great athlete,” Mount said. “He has been dealing with some injuries, so we might move him around a little bit, but we are going to make sure we get the ball in his hands.”

Shambo, who also stars on the basketball team, will be another key contributor this season and may even see snaps at running back or wide receiver. Jace Shambo, a junior, is another player coming back that will see multiple roles on offense, while serving as the top pass rusher on defense.

The T-Bids also have a number of other talented athletes such as Frank Runs Above, Chance Main, Tough Snow, Jeremy Pretty Paint and Tyrus Brockie, who are all expected to add to the team in a multitude of ways.

“I think we have some talent,” Mount

said. “I have a lot of seniors and guys that have played for me the last few years. We have some good athletes and I think we are ready. I think the community support is growing and that we can start getting people excited about football again.”

Of course, getting wins in the Northern C is never easy and with the likes of Chinook, the defending 8-Man state champion on the schedule, as well as other traditional powers such as Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Belt, Power-Dutton-Brady and Simms, the T-Birds will have their work cut out for them.

“I think we have a good chance to be competitive in the Northern C,” Mount said. “We played in some camps this summer and we were very competitive. And I think a lot of teams lost a lot. Chinook lost a great group of seniors; CJI lost a very good class and Simms also lost some good kids. I know they will all have good kids and will be tough, but I think the Northern C is going to be wide open. And I know it sounds crazy, but I really think we have a chance to win a few games and get ourselves into the playoff hunt, I really do.”

Longhorns after more this season With good numbers, football starting to make a comeback in Fort Benton Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Last season, the Fort Benton football team made its return to varsity-level football, after playing only junior varsity the year before.

As expected, it was a difficult season for the Longhorns, but it was also the start of a the rebuilding process. A process that continues in 2016.

The Longhorns play in the Northern C, one the toughest divisions of Class C 8-Man football and last season, it left them beaten up. Fort Benton finished 2-6, but despite its record, the team was competitive.

The Longhorns were shutout only twice,

by Chinook and Chester-Joplin-Inverness, two teams that combined to go 15-1 in conference play. Those two games were also the only time the mercy rule was applied. Com-

ing back this season, head coach Skip Ross said that the program is in solid shape with a total of 19 kids out to play football.

“We have got good numbers,” Ross said.

“We are still going to be a young team and we only have two seniors and four juniors, so we will need to have some sophomores and freshmen come in and play for us.”

The Longhorns did lose four seniors a season ago and this season they will be led by junior quarterback Landon Taylor. Ty Hasbrouck, a running back and middle linebacker will be another key part of the Fort Benton team, along with senior Joe Bauer and junior Ryan Scott, who each play both offensive and defensive line.

“I think, so far, we have looked pretty good,” Ross said. “We have a totally new offense and a totally new defense and right now, I think the offense is actually a little ahead of the defense. We put this in right before the season, so everyone is still trying to learn everything.”

Fort Benton does have some talent and experience, but winning games will be difficult again this season in the Northern C. Yet, the Longhorns will get one more chance at a victory as they will play nine games this sea-

son instead of eight, thanks to the addition of Hays-Lodge Pole to the league.

The Longhorns schedule will once again be challenging and made even tougher by the fact that they face three daunting road games, at Chinook, Sept. 16, at Power-Dut-

ton-Brady, Sept.30, and at Simms to open the season.

“The Northern C is always tough,” Ross said. “And this year will be no different. I know there are teams that have lost some kids, but teams like Chinook and Simms, they are still going to be good. Power-Dutton-Brady has their old coach back and they should be good again and Cascade should be pretty solid too. It’s going to be very, very competitive.”

While Ross admitted that a run at the playoffs may be difficult to achieve this season, he said the future of Fort Benton football is in good shape and that if some of the young players can come along quickly, the team has a chance to be better than expected.

“I think right now we are in good shape,” Ross said. “We have good numbers this year.

We lost a few kids that played last year that didn’t come out, but we have eight freshmen and this year’s freshman class is a salty group of kids. We have also have a nice eighth-grade class coming up after them, so I think we are pretty good. Those few years hurt us, but I think we have recovered from that.”

Fort Benton opened the season on the road

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BLUE PONY VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE Sept. 2 Sept. 3 Sept. 9 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Sept. 29 Sept. 30 Oct. 6 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 21 Oct. 22 Oct. 27 Oct. 28 Nov. 3-5 Nov. 10-12

at Belgrade vs. Belgrade 4:00 p.m. vs. Park 6:00 p.m.

Windy City Classic - Belgrade 10:00 a.m.

Electric City Classic - Great Falls 10:00 a.m.

Electric City Classic - Great Falls 10:00 a.m. at Conrad vs. Choteau vs. CMR 5:30 p.m. at Lewistown at Browning vs. Conrad at Choteau vs. Park vs. Belgrade vs. Browning vs. Lewistown Divisionals at Laurel State at Bozeman

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The Havre High volleyball team put together a triumphant season in 2015, qualifying for the Class A state tournament for the first time in nearly a decade. Yet, after

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 Blue Pony volleyball team will have some new contributors, but, the Ponies, under head coach Tamecia Jarvis, should be good again.

suffering heavy graduation losses, the Blue Ponies will have some big shoes to fill if they are going to replicate that success.

HHS went 14-10 a year ago in the first season under the direction of head coach Tamecia Jarvis, but after the losses of Dani Wagner, Reggie Bernard, Megan Erickson and Madison Huebsch, all four of whom, received postseason honor, the Ponies will be a newlook team this season.

Wagner was named First Team Central A All-Conference and also to the All-State team for the second consecutive year. Bernard was a First-Team All-Conference selection, while Huebsch and Erickson both made Second Team All-Conference.

However, one thing that will make that transition easier for Havre is a senior class that features Claire Worm, Jacey McDonald, Naomi Terry and Ceyara Plante, all players who saw significant time with the varsity team a season ago.

"I think we are going to be really athletic this season," Jarvis said. "And we have multiple girls that can play multiple positions, so if we have girls that aren't getting it done, I will have other options that I can go to. But I am excited about the athleticism that we are going to have on our team this year."

Although having experience helps, the Pony volleyball team will also need to see some production from newer players this season. One who will be counted on to contribute is Paige Nelson, who saw some time on varsity a season ago. Others include Kiara Christensen, Katie Donaldson, Alex Donaldson, Logan Huebsch and Alex Barkus, who will take up the remainder of the varsity spots to open the season.

"I think that our girls are really excited for this season," Jarvis said. "I think the juniors and seniors are really excited, especially some of the ones that are coming up from JV.

www.havredailynews.com

Havre High spikers take aim at more success on the court

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 Havre High varsity volleyball team poses for a photo in August at the HHS gymnasium. The Blue Ponies are hoping to build on last year's run to state.

We still need to put some of the fundamentals together, to go along with our athleticism, but I think we are going to be fine."

Jarvis also said the team may play a little differently than it did a season ago, when Wagner and Bernard racked up a majority of the kills. This year, that responsibility will fall to some others, at other positions.

"One thing this year is that I have some more size in the middle," Jarvis said. "Kiara Christensen is there. She got cut last season but has come back really strong. Ceyara Plante is also ready to take on a role in the middle. I am really excited for her and the height of our team, which should really help with our blocking as well."

Havre will be back competing in the Central A conference, which features perennial powers, Lewistown and Belgrade. The Ponies will also be gunning to earn a spot in the

Eastern A Super Divisional for the second straight season, a tournament they finished second in last year.

But at the start of the year, Jarvis said, she was simply looking to see what her team can do. She said she still doesn't have a solid rotation and that it will be up to the players to show who deserves to be on the floor and who doesn't.

"Ultimately, it's going to be up to them," Jarvis said. "There is a lot to be determined and I want to see how everyone plays with each other and see how everyone fits, so there are a lot of things still to be decided."

Havre opened its season in Lewistown at the Central A/Eastern A preseason tournament. The Blue Ponies head to the Windy City Classic for their next tournament. They open their home schedule Sept. 24 against the Choteau Bulldogs at the HHS gymnasium.

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Knights should be good on the field, even with coaching changes Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The North Star Knights have had a strong football tradition in recent years and even though the program has undergone some changes recently, the Knights are hoping to remain one of the top teams in the Northern Division of Class C Six-Man football.

Last season, North Star went 4-4 and just missed out on the Six-Man state playoffs, after being a consistent participant in previous seasons. That was a change for North Star, but another change the program is going through is a change in leadership.

Steve Simonson, who was the long-time head coach of the Knights, is not back at the helm for the 2016 season which, for a time, left things in a little bit of disarray. And while the Knights have a head coach or coaches now, at one time, superintendent Bart Hawkins had to step in and take the interim title.

“Our athletic director, Brian Campbell, he submitted my name as the head coach to the MHSA just so we could have someone listed,” Hawkins said. “So I have been helping out.

The biggest thing I wanted to do was just to get things going and help with that. With all the responsibilities of being a superintendent, I just don’t think I would have the time to do it the right way.”

Hawkins said that he was assisting the coaching staff, at least until the school year starts and when that time rolls around, former assistant Shawn Rettig and Tyler Han, a former graduate and player at Carroll College, will take over as co-head coaches for this season.

“I think that Shawn and Tyler will do a nice job for us,” Hawkins said. “Shawn has been around the program for a long time and Tyler has a good background, having played for Chester and at Carroll.”

Along with the Knights’ change at the top of their program, there is plenty of change with their players as well as a number of key contributors from a season ago who graduated, in Payton Peterson, Gavin Spinler and Matthew Helmbrecht. Spinler, earned SixMan All-State honors and is playing football at Rocky Mountain College this fall. Peterson, on the other hand, earned All-Conference honors in his final season for the Knights and is on the team at MSU-Northern.

Those players will be hard for the Knights

to replace, but one thing they don’t have to do is find a quarterback. Jade Chvilicek, who was the team’s starter a season ago, is back again under center, and he will be looking to get the football to some of the best athletes on the team, including Devon Miller and Keevan Borlaug. Miller, who is a standout basketball player for the Knights, will have a more versatile role on the team this season, and Hawkins said he will see time at both tight end and running back on offense. He will also be the starting middle linebacker on defense.

Borlaug will also be moving around a bit. On

the offensive side of the ball, he will mainly be on the end, but on defense, he will split his time between defensive end and outside linebacker.

“We graduated quite a few guys,” Hawkins said. “Some of the players are pretty new, but we have some strong athletes and with the way the division is stacking up, with lots of other teams losing players to graduation, I think we have a good shot to be in the playoff hunt at the end of the season.”

Certainly, the Knights will benefit from Denton-Geyser-Stanford, the 2015 Six-Man

state champs moving up to 8-Man football.

Also, Box Elder, the state runner-up, is without a number of key players returning, which could open the door for the Knights to vault back into contention. North Star will be competing with not only Box Elder, but also Valier, Big Sandy, Sunburst, Gerladine/Highwood and others for a spot in the top four of the conference standings, which guarantees a playoff berth.

North Star opened its season at home against White Sulphur Springs, and it continues its season this Saturday.

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The North Star Knights pose for a team photo last month in Rudyard. The Knights will have co-head coaches this season after longtime head man Steve Simonson retired.

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BLUE PONY VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE Sept. 2 Sept. 3 Sept. 9 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Sept. 29 Sept. 30 Oct. 6 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 21 Oct. 22 Oct. 27 Oct. 28 Nov. 3-5 Nov. 10-12

at Belgrade vs. Belgrade 4:00 p.m. vs. Park 6:00 p.m.

Windy City Classic - Belgrade 10:00 a.m.

Electric City Classic - Great Falls 10:00 a.m.

Electric City Classic - Great Falls 10:00 a.m. at Conrad vs. Choteau vs. CMR 5:30 p.m. at Lewistown at Browning vs. Conrad at Choteau vs. Park vs. Belgrade vs. Browning vs. Lewistown Divisionals at Laurel State at Bozeman

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The Havre High volleyball team put together a triumphant season in 2015, qualifying for the Class A state tournament for the first time in nearly a decade. Yet, after

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 Blue Pony volleyball team will have some new contributors, but, the Ponies, under head coach Tamecia Jarvis, should be good again.

suffering heavy graduation losses, the Blue Ponies will have some big shoes to fill if they are going to replicate that success.

HHS went 14-10 a year ago in the first season under the direction of head coach Tamecia Jarvis, but after the losses of Dani Wagner, Reggie Bernard, Megan Erickson and Madison Huebsch, all four of whom, received postseason honor, the Ponies will be a newlook team this season.

Wagner was named First Team Central A All-Conference and also to the All-State team for the second consecutive year. Bernard was a First-Team All-Conference selection, while Huebsch and Erickson both made Second Team All-Conference.

However, one thing that will make that transition easier for Havre is a senior class that features Claire Worm, Jacey McDonald, Naomi Terry and Ceyara Plante, all players who saw significant time with the varsity team a season ago.

"I think we are going to be really athletic this season," Jarvis said. "And we have multiple girls that can play multiple positions, so if we have girls that aren't getting it done, I will have other options that I can go to. But I am excited about the athleticism that we are going to have on our team this year."

Although having experience helps, the Pony volleyball team will also need to see some production from newer players this season. One who will be counted on to contribute is Paige Nelson, who saw some time on varsity a season ago. Others include Kiara Christensen, Katie Donaldson, Alex Donaldson, Logan Huebsch and Alex Barkus, who will take up the remainder of the varsity spots to open the season.

"I think that our girls are really excited for this season," Jarvis said. "I think the juniors and seniors are really excited, especially some of the ones that are coming up from JV.

www.havredailynews.com

Havre High spikers take aim at more success on the court

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 Havre High varsity volleyball team poses for a photo in August at the HHS gymnasium. The Blue Ponies are hoping to build on last year's run to state.

We still need to put some of the fundamentals together, to go along with our athleticism, but I think we are going to be fine."

Jarvis also said the team may play a little differently than it did a season ago, when Wagner and Bernard racked up a majority of the kills. This year, that responsibility will fall to some others, at other positions.

"One thing this year is that I have some more size in the middle," Jarvis said. "Kiara Christensen is there. She got cut last season but has come back really strong. Ceyara Plante is also ready to take on a role in the middle. I am really excited for her and the height of our team, which should really help with our blocking as well."

Havre will be back competing in the Central A conference, which features perennial powers, Lewistown and Belgrade. The Ponies will also be gunning to earn a spot in the

Eastern A Super Divisional for the second straight season, a tournament they finished second in last year.

But at the start of the year, Jarvis said, she was simply looking to see what her team can do. She said she still doesn't have a solid rotation and that it will be up to the players to show who deserves to be on the floor and who doesn't.

"Ultimately, it's going to be up to them," Jarvis said. "There is a lot to be determined and I want to see how everyone plays with each other and see how everyone fits, so there are a lot of things still to be decided."

Havre opened its season in Lewistown at the Central A/Eastern A preseason tournament. The Blue Ponies head to the Windy City Classic for their next tournament. They open their home schedule Sept. 24 against the Choteau Bulldogs at the HHS gymnasium.

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Knights should be good on the field, even with coaching changes Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The North Star Knights have had a strong football tradition in recent years and even though the program has undergone some changes recently, the Knights are hoping to remain one of the top teams in the Northern Division of Class C Six-Man football.

Last season, North Star went 4-4 and just missed out on the Six-Man state playoffs, after being a consistent participant in previous seasons. That was a change for North Star, but another change the program is going through is a change in leadership.

Steve Simonson, who was the long-time head coach of the Knights, is not back at the helm for the 2016 season which, for a time, left things in a little bit of disarray. And while the Knights have a head coach or coaches now, at one time, superintendent Bart Hawkins had to step in and take the interim title.

“Our athletic director, Brian Campbell, he submitted my name as the head coach to the MHSA just so we could have someone listed,” Hawkins said. “So I have been helping out.

The biggest thing I wanted to do was just to get things going and help with that. With all the responsibilities of being a superintendent, I just don’t think I would have the time to do it the right way.”

Hawkins said that he was assisting the coaching staff, at least until the school year starts and when that time rolls around, former assistant Shawn Rettig and Tyler Han, a former graduate and player at Carroll College, will take over as co-head coaches for this season.

“I think that Shawn and Tyler will do a nice job for us,” Hawkins said. “Shawn has been around the program for a long time and Tyler has a good background, having played for Chester and at Carroll.”

Along with the Knights’ change at the top of their program, there is plenty of change with their players as well as a number of key contributors from a season ago who graduated, in Payton Peterson, Gavin Spinler and Matthew Helmbrecht. Spinler, earned SixMan All-State honors and is playing football at Rocky Mountain College this fall. Peterson, on the other hand, earned All-Conference honors in his final season for the Knights and is on the team at MSU-Northern.

Those players will be hard for the Knights

to replace, but one thing they don’t have to do is find a quarterback. Jade Chvilicek, who was the team’s starter a season ago, is back again under center, and he will be looking to get the football to some of the best athletes on the team, including Devon Miller and Keevan Borlaug. Miller, who is a standout basketball player for the Knights, will have a more versatile role on the team this season, and Hawkins said he will see time at both tight end and running back on offense. He will also be the starting middle linebacker on defense.

Borlaug will also be moving around a bit. On

the offensive side of the ball, he will mainly be on the end, but on defense, he will split his time between defensive end and outside linebacker.

“We graduated quite a few guys,” Hawkins said. “Some of the players are pretty new, but we have some strong athletes and with the way the division is stacking up, with lots of other teams losing players to graduation, I think we have a good shot to be in the playoff hunt at the end of the season.”

Certainly, the Knights will benefit from Denton-Geyser-Stanford, the 2015 Six-Man

state champs moving up to 8-Man football.

Also, Box Elder, the state runner-up, is without a number of key players returning, which could open the door for the Knights to vault back into contention. North Star will be competing with not only Box Elder, but also Valier, Big Sandy, Sunburst, Gerladine/Highwood and others for a spot in the top four of the conference standings, which guarantees a playoff berth.

North Star opened its season at home against White Sulphur Springs, and it continues its season this Saturday.

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The North Star Knights pose for a team photo last month in Rudyard. The Knights will have co-head coaches this season after longtime head man Steve Simonson retired.

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Hawks hoping to fly high again HLP excited to move to the Northern C

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 Chester-Joplin-Inverness volleyball team takes a team photo last month in Chester. The Hawks have a new head coach this season.

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Volleyball has been one of the biggest sports in the town of Chester for a long time.

The Chester Coyotes had a long-standing tradition of volleyball excellence, and so have the more recent Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks.

However, times change, and the Hawks have been going through a transitional period in recent years. And, the upcoming season will be another one.

Make no mistake, CJI has still been strong on the volleyball court recently, but it’s been

a while since the Hawks nabbed a District 6C title. And now, heading into a brand new season, the Hawks are facing a season with low numbers, a definite challenge for new head coach, and former CJI standout Jimi Sanguin.

“We only have 10 girls out this year,” Sanguin said. “So we won’t be having a JV team this season. So that’s kind of 10. But, we do have girls who love volleyball,, they work hard, they have fun and they love to play.”

And while 10 isn’t a big number, even for a Class C school, the Hawks also have plenty of talent. Seniors Kylee Vinson and Jereca Tempel have played plenty of volleyball over the years, and they’ll be looked upon, both as standout players, and as leaders. CJI also has some experience returning with the likes of Kayona Fraser, Abby Mangold and Kimmy Ghekiere, all who saw time last season at the varsity level.

And, there’s also talent in the classes coming up. Sophomores Payton Hawks, Khloe Kammerzell, Jaqueline Cole and Elyssa Tempel will all see significant varsity time this season, while freshman Samantha May will too.

“We have a lot of athletes,” Sanguin said.

“We don’t have a lot of height, but we are athletic and quick to the ball, so I think we’ll be very strong on defense. I think our servereceive will be a big strength.”

Of course, the Hawks will need to rely on their strengths if they want to advance past the 6C East tourney this season, which is slated for Oct. 29-30 in Rudyard. And that’s because the district will again be tough.

“I expect Chinook will have a really good team again, and North Star is always very good too,” Sanguin said. “I haven’t been around the district in a while, but I know it’s always very tough, and I think it will be again this season.”

CJI will hope to be one of those tough teams too. The Hawks opened their season at the Sunburst Showcase.

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

The past few seasons have been forgettable for the Hays-Lodge Pole football team.

But with a new conference and a slew of returning players, head coach Shawn Mount believes this is the year the Thunderbirds finally get back into the win column.

“I know I say this every year,” Mount said.

“But I really believe that we have a good chance to win some games this season and compete for the playoffs. I think the biggest thing is confidence. I think we were a more competitive team last year and we have a lot of kids back. We just need to get that first win and if we can get that and erase some of the doubt we have, I think we could surprise some people.”

Last season, HLP went 0-7 in the challenging Eastern Division of Class C 8-Man football. But this season, after years of lobbying, the T-Birds have finally been relocated to the Northern C, which gives the program what feels like a fresh start.

“I have been really trying for that for

years,” Mount said. “And we finally got back to where we should be. We are in the Northern C for other sports, we should be in there for football. It just makes sense. So we are glad that finally happened, that will lessen a lot of travel burden on us.”

While HLP will have to travel less to get to its games, it will need to play more of them

in 2016, nine in fact, as the 10-team Northern C uses a round-robin schedule, meaning everyone plays everyone.

The T-Birds did suffer some tough losses last season, but at times they showed promise and had three games in which they scored 20 points or more. A big reason for that is the play of quarterback Tyson Shambo.

“Tyson is just a great athlete,” Mount said. “He has been dealing with some injuries, so we might move him around a little bit, but we are going to make sure we get the ball in his hands.”

Shambo, who also stars on the basketball team, will be another key contributor this season and may even see snaps at running back or wide receiver. Jace Shambo, a junior, is another player coming back that will see multiple roles on offense, while serving as the top pass rusher on defense.

The T-Bids also have a number of other talented athletes such as Frank Runs Above, Chance Main, Tough Snow, Jeremy Pretty Paint and Tyrus Brockie, who are all expected to add to the team in a multitude of ways.

“I think we have some talent,” Mount

said. “I have a lot of seniors and guys that have played for me the last few years. We have some good athletes and I think we are ready. I think the community support is growing and that we can start getting people excited about football again.”

Of course, getting wins in the Northern C is never easy and with the likes of Chinook, the defending 8-Man state champion on the schedule, as well as other traditional powers such as Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Belt, Power-Dutton-Brady and Simms, the T-Birds will have their work cut out for them.

“I think we have a good chance to be competitive in the Northern C,” Mount said. “We played in some camps this summer and we were very competitive. And I think a lot of teams lost a lot. Chinook lost a great group of seniors; CJI lost a very good class and Simms also lost some good kids. I know they will all have good kids and will be tough, but I think the Northern C is going to be wide open. And I know it sounds crazy, but I really think we have a chance to win a few games and get ourselves into the playoff hunt, I really do.”

Longhorns after more this season With good numbers, football starting to make a comeback in Fort Benton Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Last season, the Fort Benton football team made its return to varsity-level football, after playing only junior varsity the year before.

As expected, it was a difficult season for the Longhorns, but it was also the start of a the rebuilding process. A process that continues in 2016.

The Longhorns play in the Northern C, one the toughest divisions of Class C 8-Man football and last season, it left them beaten up. Fort Benton finished 2-6, but despite its record, the team was competitive.

The Longhorns were shutout only twice,

by Chinook and Chester-Joplin-Inverness, two teams that combined to go 15-1 in conference play. Those two games were also the only time the mercy rule was applied. Com-

ing back this season, head coach Skip Ross said that the program is in solid shape with a total of 19 kids out to play football.

“We have got good numbers,” Ross said.

“We are still going to be a young team and we only have two seniors and four juniors, so we will need to have some sophomores and freshmen come in and play for us.”

The Longhorns did lose four seniors a season ago and this season they will be led by junior quarterback Landon Taylor. Ty Hasbrouck, a running back and middle linebacker will be another key part of the Fort Benton team, along with senior Joe Bauer and junior Ryan Scott, who each play both offensive and defensive line.

“I think, so far, we have looked pretty good,” Ross said. “We have a totally new offense and a totally new defense and right now, I think the offense is actually a little ahead of the defense. We put this in right before the season, so everyone is still trying to learn everything.”

Fort Benton does have some talent and experience, but winning games will be difficult again this season in the Northern C. Yet, the Longhorns will get one more chance at a victory as they will play nine games this sea-

son instead of eight, thanks to the addition of Hays-Lodge Pole to the league.

The Longhorns schedule will once again be challenging and made even tougher by the fact that they face three daunting road games, at Chinook, Sept. 16, at Power-Dut-

ton-Brady, Sept.30, and at Simms to open the season.

“The Northern C is always tough,” Ross said. “And this year will be no different. I know there are teams that have lost some kids, but teams like Chinook and Simms, they are still going to be good. Power-Dutton-Brady has their old coach back and they should be good again and Cascade should be pretty solid too. It’s going to be very, very competitive.”

While Ross admitted that a run at the playoffs may be difficult to achieve this season, he said the future of Fort Benton football is in good shape and that if some of the young players can come along quickly, the team has a chance to be better than expected.

“I think right now we are in good shape,” Ross said. “We have good numbers this year.

We lost a few kids that played last year that didn’t come out, but we have eight freshmen and this year’s freshman class is a salty group of kids. We have also have a nice eighth-grade class coming up after them, so I think we are pretty good. Those few years hurt us, but I think we have recovered from that.”

Fort Benton opened the season on the road

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As usual, North Star netters will be tough CJI reloading this football season Hawks are young, but they will be talented Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 North Star volleyball team poses for a photo in August in Gildford. The Knights will be somewhat younger this season, but they're expected to again be one of the top teams in both the District 6C East and the Northern C. The Knights host their North Star Showcase this weekend.

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com There’s only two fall sports at North Star High School. And one of them is volleyball.

So, naturally, the sport is very popular, and when a sport is popular, the program is usually very good. And for years now, that’s been the case with the North Star volleyball team, as year-after-year, the Knights excel in the District 6C East.

They did it last year, once again advancing deep into the Northern C volleyball tour-

nament, and though they return a young team in 2016, returning head coach Mackenzie Jenkins has the same expectations yet again.

“We are a young team this year, but if we get everything put together right, the girls have the ability to succeed,” Jenkins said.

“Our practices have been great so far; there is a ton of energy and excitement in the gym.”

North Star may be younger, but the Knights aren’t devoid of two things needed in volleyball: athleticism and talent.

Seniors Sheridan Spicher, Mystic Farinas and Sheridan Pena give the Knights a vet-

eran nucleus, while juniors Katelyn Hansen, Jewel Wicks, Chelsea Donaldson and Lily Pedersen have plenty of experience, too.

Sophomore Paij Peterson is also expected to play a key role on the Knights’ squad this season as well.

“I'm excited for competition to start because I think these girls are going to do great things and surprise some people,” Jenkins said. “Right now we are focused on one game at a time, but our overall goal is to go as far into the postseason as we can.”

Of course, if the Knights succeed, it won’t be a surprise, it’s what they do. But, succeeding in the tough 6C East is never easy

to do, especially as the league appears to be even deeper this year, with Box Elder possibly being a surprise team.

“I think Chinook and us will be the top teams in the 6C this year,” Jenkins said “We did lose some impactful players from last year, but that doesn't mean we don't have the girls to compete this year. CJI has a new coach, and I think they are going to be young like us. Anything could happen.”

North Star opened its season with the Belt Showcase and the Knights host their own North Star Showcase this weekend. Rudyard is also the sight of the 2016 District 6C East Tournament, Oct. 29-30.

Like many teams in the Northern C Division of 8-Man football, the Chester-JoplinInverness Hawks lost a lot of talent from last year’s team. Yet, like he has done many times before, head coach Jim Vinson is ready to reload — not rebuild.

“I have never looked at any season as a rebuilding one,” Vinson said. “I don’t believe in that mentality. I have never believed in playing a younger kid or anything just to get experience. I have always played the older kids, even if they are just marginally better.

We want to be competitive every season and try to win as many games as we can, that’s how I look at it.”

Vinson, who has been a staple on the sideline for the Hawks for years now, will be one of the few familiar faces on the field for CJI this season as key seniors such as Justin May, Brandon Richter and Troy Harmon all graduated from last year’s team, which went 8-2 and made it to the quarterfinals of the 8-Man playoffs.

That means other players such as Cory Richter, a former wide receiver and backup quarterback, will need to step up and help fill the void. However, it won’t be easy for Richter, who is taking over as the starting quarterback after throwing just one pass for three years last season.

“It will be a little bit of an adjustment for Cory,” Vinson said. “Coming back from receiver, but he has been the backup quarterback for the past few years, so he’s familiar with it.”

One thing about Richter is that he’s a stellar athlete and last season earned Northern C All-Conference Honorable Mention as a wide out after hauling in 35 receptions for 511 yards. He also scored a total of nine touchdowns.

While Richter will play a key role, there are other standout returners for the Hawks, namely Cory Kelly, the team’s only All-State player from 2015. Kelly, who earned All-State honors as a guard and was named Second Team All-Conference in the Northern C at defensive end, is poised for another big season for CJI after six sacks a year ago.

Brett Henke, who was a Second Team AllConference linebacker for the Hawks last season, is also returning. He had 77 tack-

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 Chester-Joplin-Inverness football team poses for a photo in August in Chester. The Hawks had a great run a season ago but will be a much younger team this fall.

les and after rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns, he should make more of an impact on offense too.

“We had a really good senior class last year,” Vinson said. “But I think we have a good one this year too. I think these kids have heard everybody talk about the class ahead of them and I think they are ready to show they are just as good or better and that’s what I appreciate about how kids operate.”

In addition to some personnel changes on the field, the Hawks will also have a slight

change in their schedule. That’s because Hays-Lodge Pole has moved from the Eastern C back into the Northern C, which will extend the season from eight games to nine.

“I am happy that HLP is back in the Northern C,” Vinson said. “I think the league will be the same as it’s always been. I like it because you have to show up ready to compete every week. It was nice to have that bye week, I know some coaches didn’t like it, but when you are a small school and have limited numbers, that bye week can be a good thing.”

Despite his heavy losses, Vinson said he is optimistic that his team can compete for a playoff spot in the rough-and-tumble Northern C and that the drop off for his program won’t be as big as some think.

“We are optimistic,” Vinson said. “I know there are a lot of other teams that lost some really good kids, too. That’s high school football, every year is different. But we are excited and expect to be in that playoff race and if you can get in, you never know what can happen.”

The Hawks opened their season against Belt.

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FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

Morning Stars love to play the game HHS cross country teams stride into the fall season Rocky Boy head coach Ty Watson still loves coaching volleyball after all these years Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

The Rocky Boy volleyball program is not one that wins a lot of matches year in and year out. But, according to head coach Ty Watson, winning and losing isn't the best thing about the program, the best thing is simply giving kids a chance to do something and to further their education.

And in those departments, regardless of the win-loss record, Watson, who has been teaching and coaching at Rocky Boy High School for more than 20 years, says the volleyball team has been a success.

"The reason I am still doing this after 20 years is just to give these girls the chance to come out and play," Watson said. "It gives them something to do and it also gives them a reason to go to class and to keep their grades up. It helps give them that purpose to try to better themselves and that's all that really matters to me. That's why I'm still here doing this."

Under the direction of Watson, the Rocky Boy volleyball team had another difficult season on the court, winning few games and getting bounced early from the District 1B tournament. Yet, with the level of competition that the Morning Stars face in the District 1B and the Northern B itself, it's no surprise that they have had a hard time making headway.

"No matter what, the 1B is always very difficult, it's just one of those things," Watson said. "You have teams like Fairfield and Choteau and they are always going to be tough.

No matter what you do, you can't get away

from it. Even in their rebuilding years they are tough. They do things that we don't do like play club volleyball or go to team camps. We focus on basketball here. But we keep our kids busy and give them something worthwhile to do and at the end of the season, we are successful and that's the bottom line."

Watson said that he will once again have a very young team, but the team is blessed to have some returning players, including Sean Henry and Leiani Denny, who each saw time with the varsity team last season. Some other players who will be contributing to the team this season, Watson said, are Jaylnn Mitchell, Rosie Parker, Kristie Parker, Sasha Coffee and Tess Big Knife.

"Let me say it this way," Watson said. "I have a couple of players that played varsity for me last season coming back. One senior and one junior, after that, it's pretty much all young kids. One thing though, is that we do have some athleticism. We had some freshmen transfer in from Box Elder and they are athletic. That also gave us some good numbers and stabilized things a little bit. But with those freshmen and what we have coming back, we have a chance to be competitive. And if we can get some of them going in the right direction, they should be able to help us quite a bit, especially in the middle."

The Morning Stars opened their jampacked schedule at the Malta tournament in Malta on Aug. 27 and then they will battle it out through a tough conference schedule that will lead up to the District 1B volleyball tournament, which takes place Oct. 28-29 in Fairfield.

"I think the biggest thing for us is going to be our inexperience," Watson said. "We have some athleticism, but only time will tell. Our inexperience could be our biggest benefit.

Our girls will go out there and play and expect to play, and if we play hard, we will be alright. But if we can keep girls playing and give them a reason to stay in school, then more power to them."

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BLUE PONY CROSS-COUNTRY SCHEDULE Sept. 2 Sept. 10 Sept. 16 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 3 Oct. 6 Oct. 15 Oct. 22

at Cut Bank at Malta at Lewistown at Mountain West - Missoula at Havre at Browning at Helena (Preview Meet) Divisionals at Belgrade State at Kalispell

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Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The 2016 Havre High cross country teams pose for a team photo in August in Havre. The Blue Ponies are young again this season, but head coach Josh Holt is excited about what his runners can do.

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The Havre High cross country teams are coming off a solid season, in which they each competed respectably at the state level. Now, in the second season under head coach Josh Holt, both teams are hoping to take their performance to a bit of a higher level.

"I think we had a good season last year," Holt said. "We started to get where we need to be in terms of training and working out.

We had some kids that worked really hard this summer and it shows with the ones that did. But it's hard to get everyone to do that, with jobs and family vacations and everything that goes on during the summer."

The Blue Pony boys finished 12th at the Class A state meet in 2015 and they were led

by Austin Jones, who finished 19th. Jones, who was a sophomore last season, is back again for HHS and will lead the way for the team for the second straight year.

Jakob Keller, who had the second-best finish on the team as a freshman last year, finishing 65th at state, is also returning. Ryan Stewart, who was a varsity runner in 2014,but wasn't part of the team in 2015, is also back, as is Barrett Kilgore.

The rest of the team includes a few new faces such as freshman Quinn Reno, who Holt said has been impressive, as well as Noah Azure, Trevor Williams, Riley Kilgore, Ethan Lines, Vander Swensen, Andrew Vandenbos, Aylan Pratt, Torek Swensen and Ammon Lines.

"We have some new kids out that are looking good," Holt said. "We have a couple kids that are wrestlers in Quinn Reno and Ryan

Stewart, and they are both looking really strong right now."

The Havre girls team will also need to replace some runners from last year's team, most notably, All-State performer Rachel David, who finished seventh at state in 2015.

She and Rainey Stoner, who was 92nd at state, third-best on the team, both graduated.

That means the top returning runner from last season is Nicole Parsons, who was 56th at state. Amelia Miller, who finished 101st is also back, as are Hannah Lunak (114) and Meggie Zook (117). Another candidate who has emerged for a varsity spot on the girls team, is freshman Kadia Miller, who has impressed in training, Holt said.

"Kadia Miller has looked really good," Holt said. "She works extremely hard and she is very competitive. She was running with the second group of boys the other day, which tells you something about her. I think she has the chance to be a very good runner."

Other girls who will compete for spots this season on varsity are Rhoda Peterson, Melanie Jones and Hannah Pratt.

"I have really young teams again this year," Holt said. "I have a lot of freshman girls and many of the boys are just in their first or second year. But it really gives us a chance to build things over the next couple of years.

This year, we are just hoping to improve. We want to start out strong and improve throughout the year and get better results than we had last year. We are not to the point, where we are going to be competing for the No. 1 spot in the state, but I am hoping, we can at least be top-10 teams, and we have enough kids returning on both sides that we should be able to make an impact this year."

Havre will open its season Friday in Cut Bank at the annual Cut Bank Time Trial.

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Blue Ponies ready to embrace brand new challenges Ryan Gatch era at Havre High begins

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Change is a constant in high school football or any high school sport for that matter. Yet, as far as changes go, the Havre High football has undergone just about as many as any team in the state since last season.

Not only do the Blue Ponies have a new head coach after the departure of Mark Samson to Great Falls High, and the hiring of Ryan Gatch, formerly the head coach at Forsyth. Havre also lost a ton of talent off last year’s team, including All-State quarterback Dane Warp, as well as All-State wide receiver Nate Rismon.

Warp started every game at quarterback the last four years for HHS and along the way set state records for passing yards and touchdowns for 11-man football. Rismon was no slouch either, starting for three years and earning a football scholarship to the University of Montana-Western.

Havre will also be without the talents of former All-State wide out and linebacker Parker Filius, who is not playing football this season, as well as others such as Travis Adams, Logan Pleninger, Cole Keller and Thomas Keith, who graduated off last year’s team.

In addition to replacing a number of key components from last year’s squad, Gatch is also tasked with installing a new system, while at the same time evaluating his personnel.

“I am fortunate that I have a lot of great football minds helping me,” Gatch said. “Every day after practice that’s something that we talk about. We talk about personnel. But those are just some of the challenges you face as a first-year coach. You have to get your system in and get everyone up to speed and those are some of the things we are focusing on right now.”

Certainly, the biggest question facing Gatch right away is who will replace Warp as the team’s starting quarterback. Trey Murphy, who backed up Warp the past two seasons, appears to be the leading candidate, but he is competing against fellow junior Ivar Aageson, who also plays wide receiver and cornerback.

“We have two guys competing and learning the offense,” Gatch said. “We are playing an even number of reps through practice to give them different plays to run. They each have different strengths, but we are still using the base offense that we run. Right now, they are both doing a great job. We are just trying to figure out the strengths of each one. We do an evaluation on the position each day, just like we do at every position.”

Havre may have a few question marks in

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BLUE PONY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sept. 2 Sept. 9 Sept. 16 Sept. 23 Sept. 30 Oct. 7 Oct. 14 Oct. 21 Oct. 29 Nov. 5 Nov. 12 Nov. 19

at Hardin vs. Miles City at Sidney vs. Browning at Park at Belgrade at Fergus vs. Polson 1st Round Playoffs - TBA Qtr. Finals - TBA Semi-Finals - TBA Finals - TBA

the passing game, but when it comes to running the football, the Ponies should be more than solid. HHS returns both First-Team Central A All-Conference fullback Jase Stokes, along with Second-Team All-Conference running back Jazz Schroeder.

Stokes rushed for 547 yards and scored three touchdowns in 2015. The senior also caught 21 passes for 219 yards and another score. Schroeder, on the other hand, racked up 379 yards and led the Ponies with seven rushing touchdowns.

Having a pair of experienced ball carriers helps, but so does having a deep and talented offensive line, which is exactly what Gatch and the Ponies believe they have. The line did lose three starters in Adams, Keith and Keller, but with the return of Jared Sienkowski, who earned Second-Team All-Conference honors in 2015 and Chris Gabrielsen, along with Brock Smith, Tyler Schaub and Cody Rennick, the group looks solid.

“We have a deep group there,” Gatch said.

“We have a few other kids that are competing there too, so that’s nice to have. We had to replace three good players there, but we moved Tyler Schaub to left tackle and he has really bought in and all those guys are looking good.”

Defensively, Havre will be led by Stokes, an All-State inside linebacker a season ago, who

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Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson

totaled 100 tackles (nine tackles for loss), four sacks, one interception, one fumble recovery and an incredible eight forced fumbles.

The Ponies also return a slew of experienced defenders such as safety Nate Korb, Aageson at cornerback and Dane Flammond at linebacker. Sienkowski, Gabrielsen and Schaub are all back to lead an experiencedladen defensive front.

“I think we are going to be solid on both sides of the ball,” Gatch said. “Right now, we are just trying to get prepared. You don’t have a lot of time and so you feel like your installation could be better and things could be smoother, but we just have to focus on improving every day.”

Havre opened its 2016 season against Whitefish, and travels to Hardin for its second game of the season. The Ponies make their home debut Sept. 9 against Miles City.

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Stars stepping up to the varsity level Rocky Boy makes longawaited Class B football debut this season

The 2016 Havre High football team takes its annual team photo in August.

The Blue Ponies, who won the Central A Conference a year ago, have a new head coach in Ryan Gatch, and expectations and goals are once again high for this season.

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

It has been quite some time since Rocky Boy high school has fielded a varsity football team, but after the long wait, the Stars will finally take part in 11-man football at the Class B level this season.

Of course, Rocky Boy head football coach Rick Sunchild has been talking for years about bringing the program back to the varsity level and now, it's finally happened, even if it came a year earlier than the coach would have hoped.

"I still wanted to wait for another year," Sunchild said. "But, we were finally forced to do it. It was just getting too hard to find teams to play. A lot of teams wouldn't want to play their freshman or sophomores or juniors against our team, because we had some seniors playing with us. Or we would have teams that would schedule games and cancel them. So I would have rather waited one more year, because we have a mountain of eighth-grade football players, but we were finally just forced to do it this year."

While the Stars have been competing at football at the 11-man level for the past few seasons, they have only done so at the junior varsity level. Yet, after having just 13 players out for football last season, this year, Sunchild has close to 20. And he said the big eighth-grade class coming, along with a strong freshman class this year, Rocky Boy football should be playing varsity for many years to come.

"I definitely think that we will be playing varsity for a the next few years at least," Sunchild said. "When we get that army of kids up here (referring to middle school football team) and add them to this freshman and sophomore class we have now, we could be pretty tough and have a pretty talented team."

One thing that will help right away is the return of starting quarterback Jerell Gopher, who was a key player on the team a season

ago. Gopher will take most of the snaps at quarterback but will also see time at running back and maybe even wide receiver.

Kordell Small is another player who will see the ball in his hands, maybe even at quarterback. Chase Corcoran is another guy who will make in impact offensively at the skill positions, while John Windy Boy and Kendall Windy Boy will hold down the line on both sides of the ball.

"We have some talented kids," Sunchild said. "People think we aren't going to be very good and then sometimes, we turn out be a lot better than they expected when they come play us."

Certainly, the Stars will not have an easy time this season, as they will be in the 1B conference for football, which is part of the

larger Northern Division. That means Rocky Boy will be competing against teams such as Fairfield, which is the current defending Class B state champion, as long as other football powerhouses such as Cut Bank, Shelby, Choteau and Conrad.

"The 1B is always tough," Sunchild said.

"That makes it tough for a program like us.

At one time or another, every team in there was a power in football at one point. But the biggest thing for us is just going to be for the kids to have fun and gain some experience and who knows, we might end up being a little tougher than everyone expects us to be. I wouldn't take us lightly."

In addition to challenging themselves against the 1B, Rocky Boy will also take on Harlem, Poplar and Roundup. The Stars will visit

Roundup Sept. 2 in their first varsity game of the season. Rocky Boy will then return home on Sept. 9 for its first varsity game in years at home against Harlem. Sunchild said the team will also be looking forward to renewing its rivalry with Poplar, which is used to play at the JV level.

"It will be fun to renew that old rivalry with Poplar," Sunchild said. "They went to varsity, so we had to stop playing them, so it will be fun to play that game. But, I think the community will support us. It supported us when we have JV and I think if we can win a game or two, that would really change things."

The Stars play their first varsity game this season this weekend on the road against Roundup.

Havre Daily News/Chris Peterson

The 2016 Rocky Boy football team poses for a photo in August in Rocky Boy. After playing a junior varsity schedule for nearly a decade, the Stars will finally play in the Class B ranks this season. Rocky Boy will play in the 11-man District 2B this season, and the Stars make their season debut this weekend.

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Harlem netters looking to make a big jump this fall

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Volleyball has never come easy in Harlem.

Whether its low numbers in participation, or, just having to play in the always-tough District 2B, the Harlem program has had a hard time finding success.

And yet, year-after-year, the Wildcats keep trying, keep working hard and keep battling. And that’s exactly what they’ll do this fall under the guidance of veteran coach Kim Faulkinberry.

Once again, Faulkinberry will have a young team to work with, but she does have good numbers, with nearly 20 players out for the team this season.

Those 20 include returning standouts Kinsey Cornell, a senior middle hitter, and Jazzamyn Benson, a senior libero.

“We are looking to grow and mature throughout this season,” Faulkinberry said. “We lost six girls from last year’s team to graduation. Jazzamyn and Kinsey are the only returners that saw solid varsity time last year. We do have some talented younger girls who spent some time in the weight room and came to every open gym that we

had, so we appreciate their commitment to bettering the volleyball program.”

Also looking to make an impact for Harlem this season is, Tamica Cole, Skylee Dirden, Kristyn Kittelson, Lyla Skidmore, J’Lynn Stiffarm, Elyssa Horn, Shantelle Talks Different, Shailee Fetter, Michael Ann Humphreys, Cippy Guardipee, Caria Owens, Taeshon Schaeffer, Mackenzie Doney, Heaven Boushie and Cali Brien.

Of course, to make in impact in the 2B, the Wildcats will have to contend with some regular volleyball powers. Malta is always a very good team, as is Glasgow, while Wolf

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Big Sandy ready for a bounce-back season

Point is usually strong as well. The Wildcats will also have regular battles with rival Rocky Boy this season, which makes their schedule tough and challenging.

Still, Faulkinberry said her team will work hard and always play hard, adding that she’s excited to see what the Wildcats can do on the court this year.

“The attitudes of the girls are great,” Faulkinberry said. “They have all come in to practice with great enthusiasm and work ethic.”

Harlem opened its season at last weekend’s Malta Invitational, and will compete in the Chinook Invitational this weekend.

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson

The 2016 Big Sandy football team poses for a photo in August in Big Sandy. The Pioneers' boys and girls basketball coach, Ronnie Simpson, is now the head coach of the football program as well. And Simpson should have a strong team that will compete well the Northern Six-Man Division.

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson

The 2016 Harlem volleyball team poses for a team photo in August in Harlem. The Wildcats have had their share of struggles on the court, but with good numbers and some senior leadership the Wildcats are looking like a much-improved team this fall.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Big Sandy Pioneers were playing for the Class C SixMan state football championship. Yet, that seems like ages as the Pioneers have struggled the past few seasons.

However, the Pioneers have a new head coach in Ronnie Simpson, as well as a renewed hope of contending for the playoffs.

Simpson, who was the head football coach at Box Elder as recently as 2014 and coached both the Big Sandy boys and girls basketball teams last season, said he is looking forward to the challenge.

“I just love the game of football,” Simpson said. “So I jumped at the chance to get back into it. We have a young team, but I think we

are progressing.”

However, turning the Pioneers back into a playoff team will be easier said than done after the team won just two games a season ago. One positive for the Pioneers is the return of Laurence Alderdice, an all-around talent who has been a key player for Big Sandy throughout his career. Alderdice will lead the senior class for the Pioneers, while his brother, Weston Alderdice, will be another important player on the team as he enters his junior season.

“Laurence is a good athlete,” Simpson said. “He’s going to be playing all over for us, quarterback, running back, end, linebacker.”

Alderdice scored plenty of touchdowns for Big Sandy a season ago, both rushing and receiving. Weston Alderdice, who plays running back, was also a crucial part of the

ground game for the Pioneers and looks to have a big role again in 2016.

Other players who will be on-field contributors for the Pioneers this season under Simpson will be Duke Darlington, Ryan Roth, Brock Prouix, Dylan Darlington, Clint Darlington, Jordan Schwarzbach, Everett Sipler, Dallas Geyer, Nick Diacon, Elijah Wagoner and Hunter Joppe.

"We are building right now," Simpson said.

"Things have been going well and this year, I think that the North is really wide open, so we are expecting to be in the playoff hunt at the end of the season."

Of course, the Pioneers are home to the North Division of Class C Six-Man football.

Last season, Big Sandy got off to a promising start, with a 2-2 mark thanks to wins over Heart Butte and Augusta. But after knocking off Augusta 32-6 in Big Sandy on Sept. 18, the

Pioneers didn’t win another game and ended on a four-game losing streak.

Yet, there is no doubt that a big shakeup has taken place. For starters, Denton-Geyser-Stanford, the 2015 Six-Man state champions, are no longer in the division. Secondly, the Box Elder Bears, the state runner-up, graduated most of their starting lineup from a season ago, leaving teams like Valier, Geraldine/Highwood, Sunburst, North Star and Big Sandy a chance to catch the Bears and earn a spot in the postseason.

"I think Box Elder will be good again," Simpson said. "Sunburst will be tough, Valier will be tough, and Geraldine/Highwood, they were young last year, but they have a great program. I think it will be an interesting season."

Big Sandy opens the season Friday at Noxon.

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Pioneers back in the 6C East volleyball hunt George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Once upon a time, Shersteen Cline was a dominant volleyball player for the Big Sandy Pioneers.

She also went on to have a fine career with the Montana Tech Orediggers.

Now, Cline is home and she’s gone from being one of the best players the Pioneers have ever had, to their new head coach.

Cline enters her first season at the helm of the Pioneers by inheriting not just an athletic and talented team, but a team that has gone through some tough times in recent years. Two years ago, Big Sandy saw its numbers plummet, and a talented, but inexperienced group of freshmen had to shoulder the load of rebuilding the program.

Fast forward two years however, and those freshmen are now upperclassmen and, with solid numbers overall, the Pioneers appear to not only be in good shape, but also headed back toward competing for a District 6C East title.

Big Sandy’s now veteran group is led by the likes of Jenna Leader, Jaylyn Cline, Jessica Roth, Dakota Terry, Andrea Rutledge and Cally DeMontiney, all of whom have ex-

tensive experience at the varsity level. Those aforementioned players are also standout athletes who should give the Pioneers a very solid lineup this season.

But the buck doesn’t stop there either. Big Sandy will have something else it hasn’t had in recent years — depth. Adding to the Pioneers’ talented lead group is the likes of Jasmine Genereaux, Bailey and Hope Gasvoda, Lainey Gregory, Alex Richter, Abby Herley, Grace Finke, Georgia Wortman, Stacey Alderdice and Seanna DeMontiney, and that group will not only give the Pioneers depth at the varsity level but also give them an outstanding junior varsity program in which to continue to build from.

And while the Pioneers are certainly on the upswing, and will benefit greatly from the knowledge and experience Cline brings to the program, they will still have their work cut out for them if they want to advance past the 6C tourney, which will take place Oct. 29-30 in Rudyard, and into the Northern C Divisional, which, outside of a District title, is always the goal. In order to do that, Big Sandy will have to compete with Chinook and North Star, the two stalwarts of the 6C, as well as CJI, and a very talented and up-and-coming Box Elder squad.

“We have a young group this

year, with only one senior, which is exciting,” coach Cline said. “There is so much room for growth and improvement. This team has great potential, and I’m excited to watch them push themselves to a new level of play. We have a lot of work ahead

of us, but I truly believe we will be a team to watch this year.”

The Pioneers opened their season at last weekend’s Belt Invitational. They play in the North Star Showcase Friday and Saturday in Rudyard and Gildford.

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Wildcats growing on the gridiron

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson

The 2016 Big Sandy volleyball team poses for a photo in A u g u s t i n B i g S a n d y. T h e Pioneers have a new head coach in Shersteen Cline.

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson

The 2016 Harlem football team poses for a team photo in August in Harlem. The Wildcat's second-year head coach Kelly Mills says the program is making strides, and the Wildcats will look to be very competitive in the District 2B this season.

Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Harlem head football coach Kelly Mills knew when he took over the job at the helm of the Wildcats, that rebuilding the program wouldn’t be an overnight thing. And after a season in which the team won just one game, there is still plenty of work to be done.

Yet, Mills, who had a young team a season ago, said his Wildcats are progressing and if they keep working, they are hoping to get back to respectability and possibly contention in the Class B ranks sooner than expected.

“Right now, if we are realistic, it’s going to be tough to contend for the playoffs,” Mills said. “We have a ways to go before we reach that level, but we have some talent and some experience coming back, so we will see how

much we can improve. Our first goal is to win more games this year than we did last year, but right now, if you look at it, our conference is still about Malta and Glasgow and Conrad.

Those are still the teams to beat.”

One thing the Wildcats have going for them is the return of their starting quarterback in Tevon Messerly, who ran the team as a sophomore a season ago. Mills, who runs an up-tempo system that uses no-huddle principles, said that having Messerly as his starter for two more seasons is a big plus.

“Him getting that year of experience is going to be huge for him,” Mills said. “He really came along last season and he’s such a good athlete. I am expecting him to have a good season for us.”

However, Messerly isn’t the only key skillposition player coming back for the Wildcats, Harlem is also fortunate to be returning its starting running back Damon Adams, who

had a strong junior season running the football. Adams is also simply one of the fastest sprinters in all of Class B right now. Other players who will see regular playing time for Harlem this season include Corbin Brockie, Noah Lawrence and Lane Allen. The Wildcats will also benefit from having senior wide out Tyus Hammett and the talents of those three players combined, should help Harlem do a better job of putting points on the board than the team did a season ago.

Harlem did score a 30-0 win over Poplar and also scored 22 and 16 points, in losses to Wolf Point and Roundup, respectively, but in the Wildcats’ other five games, they were shut out three times and scored just six points twice.

“I think the kids having another year in our system is really going to help,” Mills said. “I think that the kids are buying in. We

have a lot of them out playing football this year, and we have a lot of good athletes and a lot of them got some really good experience playing last season. Now, we are still going to be pretty young, but getting to work with a lot of those young players really gives you a chance to build something for the future.

That’s what it’s all about.”

Harlem will have to face a difficult schedule once again in 2016, with traditional opponents such as Shelby, Glasgow, Malta, Conrad and Cut Bank all on the slate once again. Yet, with games against Rocky Boy, Wolf Point and Poplar, there is a chance for Harlem to make some inroads in the win column, even if reaching the playoffs is still a long shot.

Unlike many teams across the state, Harlem will not play until Sept. 3 when the Wildcats will pay a visit to conference rival Shelby in its season-opener.

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Bears should be tough on the court

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Beeters looking for more of the same Defending state champs don't need to rebuild, they just need to reload Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Over the past two seasons, the Chinook football team has established its dominance in Class C 8-Man football and even with the loss of many valuable seniors, the Sugarbeeters are hoping to maintain their perch at

the top after a state championship in 2015.

Last season, Chinook didn't just win football games, the Beeters dominated them. On the way to a perfect 12-0 mark, Chinook won its games by an average of 34 points. In the playoffs, that number was 27.5. Only once last season, did the Beeters win a game by a margin in single digits and only three times did the defense allow opponents to score more than 20 points, while the Chinook offense managed at least 34 in each outing and put up more than 50 seven times.

The Beeters have been so dominant since the middle of the 2014 season, that they have won 17 of their last 18 games and 13-in-a-row at home, with five of those wins coming in

Havre Daily News/Chris Peterson

The 2016 Box Elder volleyball team takes a team photo in August in Box Elder. After a spectacular season on the basketball floor last winter, the Bears are hoping for the same kind of success this fall in volleyball.

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com The Box Elder Bears are coming off one of the best girls basketball seasons the program has had in two decades. A Class C state championship game appearance will do that.

But, this fall, don’t be surprised if the Bears succeed in another sport with a ball.

That’s because Box Elder is primed to move up the District 6C East ranks in volleyball.

Box Elder, which has struggled in recent times in volleyball, is hoping this season will be different, and they certainly have the players to make that happen according to new head coach Mickey Pansch.

"We have a pretty good group of kids," Pansch said. "I think that things are going really so far. They are working really hard and we have been having really good practices. I would say by the time everyone gets here, we should have close to 25 kids."

With great numbers, that creates depth, something that’s important for the Bears

this season, and in the future. But, the Bears don’t just have numbers, they have talent, too.

Returning standouts Tai Russell, Tia Russell, Lily Gopher, Maddie Wolf Chief and Eve The Boy should give the Bears a solid nucleus to work with. While they won’t be the tallest team, they’ll be quick and athletic, and that will go a long way toward the Bears achieving success in the 6C East — a league that has long been dominated by Chinook and North Star — two teams expected to compete for the district title again this

season.

"My hope for this season is that we make it out of districts fairly easily," Pansch, who previously coached at Big Sandy, said. "Another goal I have for this team is that I want to see them attack more. I want them to be more aggressive, especially around the net.

I want good serves and everyone being aggressive around the net, even the short girls.

That's something I think they lacked last season and I think that's really important."

Box Elder continues its season with this weekend’s North Star Showcase in Rudyard and Gildford.

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Havre Daily News/Chris Peterson

The 2016 Chinook football team poses for a photo in August inside the Chinook Gymnasium. The Sugarbeeters enter the new season as the Class C 8-man defending state champions.

playoff games.

Yet, as head coach Scott Friede stressed, this is a new season for the Beeters and with so many new faces expected on the field this season, staying at the top will be easier said than done.

"This is a whole new season," Friede said.

"But we are optimistic. These guys know what kind of kids we had, but they have been here working in the weight room and in practice.

They practiced against those kids, some of these guys for the last two years. We are like a lot of teams in the league; we lost a lot of good seniors, but it's the time of the younger guys. It's time to step up and see what they can do and give them their chance to per-

form. We are excited. There are some kids that are stepping forward, so we'll see how it goes."

One key player comes at quarterback, after Ian McIntosh graduated after leading the Beeters to back-to-back state championship games. But Chinook also had to make up for key losses up front to the offensive and defensive lines, which were each arguably the best in the state at the 8-man level.

"That will probably be the biggest question mark for us," Friede said referring to line play. "If you compare us to last year's team, we have a ways to go, but every team has positions that it needs to fill. It will just be exciting to see how (younger players) come along. We have been developing them for the past two seasons and it's their time to step up."

Fortunately for Chinook, the backfield will not be completely inexperienced. At running back, Chinook returns All-State performer Tate Niederegger, who notched more than 1,200 yards rushing and 18 total touchdowns a season ago. The senior also had seven games in which he ran for more than 100 yards.

Kade Friede is another experienced player set to return after being the starting fullback and backup quarterback a season ago. Friede may have only attempted nine passes, but he threw a touchdown pass and also ran 24 times for 107 yards and a score. Friede also played some wide receiver, catching three passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, and on defense he had 41 tackles, which trails only Niederegger (93) among returning players Coach Friede said he is looking for a number of other players to become contributors this season including Kyler Johnson, Kyle McMaster, Michael Warburton, Trevor Reid and Tamer Jamieson. The coach also said he expects another challenging race in the Northern C, but added that despite entering the season as the defending state and conference champions, there is no added pressure.

"I think the only pressure that we have, is the pressure that we put on ourselves," Friede said. "It's no different than any other season, we have to still take it one week at a time, one game at a time and we have to believe in each other as a team and put the team first and see what happens. Hopefully, we will just keep improving as we go along through the season and can be a contender by the end of it."

Chinook opened its season last weekend against Centerville.

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Beeters poised for more success Chinook looks to stay on top of area volleyball landscape George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Every year, it seems like the Chinook Sugarbeeters lose at least one or two AllState volleyball players to graduation. And yet, the Beeters just keep on winning.

Chinook did it last year when a talented group went all the way to the Class C state tournament in Bozeman. And veteran head coach Molli Rose’ team is hoping to do the same thing again this fall.

Once again, there are some big shoes to fill in Chinook with the likes of All-State player Brooke Nicholson, as well as others like Lauren Harshman now departed from the program. But Chinook never seems to look back. Instead, the Beeters are the team to beat in the District 6C East, and that’s not going to change this fall.

The Beeters return several key contributors from last year’s squad, which didn’t lose a single match until the Northern C Divisional championship. Included in that list is Brooke Elliot, who gives Chinook a strong and tall presence at the net, which, in Class C volleyball, is a distinct advantage.

Chinook will not only be tall and athletic this season, but, even with key losses to graduation, the Beeters will be experienced, too.

Kelsey Mathon, Nicole McCracken, Taylor Neibauer, Sierra Swank and Carrie Hofer have extensive volleyball experience, and many of the aforementioned players have tons of experience from last year’s magical run to the state tourney.

But one thing that always seems to make the Beeters so tough is, their depth. Chinook usually has a strong junior varsity program, and that keeps churning out players who end up making a major difference at the varsity level.

And this season, Rose has plenty of depth to choose from.

Kourtney Hanson, Ashley MacLeod, Jaye Christensen, Kendra McMaster, Lincy Johnson, Maloney Young, Megan Molyneaux, Rachel Gunderson, Raynee Hasler, Sally Halinstead, Shayna Rebbavarapu and Whitney Doney round out Chinook’s great numbers out for volleyball this season — and at least some of those players will wind up being key

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Box Elder aims to be a true football powerhouse now Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/Chris Peterson

The 2016 Chinook volleyball team poses for a photo in August in Chinook. The Sugarbeeters are the defending District 6C East champions, and are looking strong again this fall. varsity contributors this season, and, providing the depth that always makes the Beeters so tough to beat.

Of course, being tough to beat doesn’t translate automatically into winning, and in order for the Beeters to win their fourth straight district title, they’ll have to contend

with strong teams from North Star, as well as up-and-comers like Box Elder and Big Sandy.

Chester-Joplin-Inverness will also be strong this season, meaning the 6C East will be as tough as it’s ever been.

Still, until someone dethrones the Beeters, they are the champs of the 6C East, and, with

the lineup Rose has again this season, there’s no reason to think Chinook won’t contend for that crown, and possibly a lot more, again this season.

Chinook continues its season with its own tournament this weekend. The Chinook Invitational runs Friday-Saturday in Chinook.

The Box Elder football team had a historic season in 2015. The question now is, with almost all of its starters graduated and gone, what can the Bears do for an encore?

For decades, Box Elder was nothing more than a doormat in football, until a few years ago, when last year’s seniors turned the program around. The 2015 team was the culmination of those efforts as the Bears went 11-2 and made it all the way to the Class C SixMan state championship game, before falling to Denton-Geyser-Stanford.

But, with Brandon The Boy, Shane Ketchum, Jerrod Four Colors, Bodis Duran and Jake Jones all lost to graduation, Box Elder will need to reload quickly if it’s going to have any chance of repeating last season’s success.

“Obviously, it would be great to get back to the state championship game,” Box Elder co-head coach Neal Rosette Jr. said. “But that is going to be a difficult thing to do. But one thing, is we have a lot of kids out this year. I think they were inspired by what we were able to accomplish last season and it’s great to see. We have kids coming out that have never played football before.”

In addition to estimating that he will have close to 20 players out for football when school starts, Rosette Jr., does have some playmakers returning from last season, highlighted by Pernell Morsette, who played both receiver and linebacker for the Bears. This season, Morsette will still play a key role on defense, but will play multiple positions on offense, including quarterback. Other players who played last season and will be expected to contribute heavily again this year are Lane Caplette and Seth Duran.

“Lane Caplette is a guy that played some defense for us last year and he is looking really good,” Rosette Jr. said. “He has really bulked up in the offseason, and we will look to get him on offense, maybe at receiver, but he is looking tough. Pernell is another key guy that we have coming back, but he is dealing with a little bit of an injury, so we might not have him right away.”

One thing that should help the Bears is the departure of Denton-Geyser-Stanford from the North Division of Six-Man football, as DGS was moved up to Class C 8-Man football. That leaves the Bears, as well as a number of other teams competing for the top four spots in the conference race.

Sunburst and Geraldine/Highwood are each considered contenders in the North, but the other teams that could potentially push for a playoff spot also include Valier, North Star and Big Sandy. Augusta and Heart Butte combined to win one game a season ago and figure to be at the bottom of the division once again.

“I think things are going to be very com-

petitive in the North,” Rosette Jr. said. “I think losing the powerhouse in DGS, that opens thing up a bit, but it’s still going to be tough.

Sunburst is a good and you got North Star, which has some younger kids that played a lot last year. Geraldine/Highwood is a great program. They were really young last year and I think they will surprise some people this year.

So it’s going to be wide open.

“For us, it’s going to be the old cliche, of one game at a time,” He added. “We just want to keep progressing as the season goes along and I would be disappointed to not see us in the playoff hunt at the end of season. But right now, our ultimate goal is to get into the postseason and then, you never know what

Havre Daily News/Chris Peterson

The 2016 Box Elder football team poses for a team photo in August in Box Elder.

The Bears lost key players from the 2015 team, which advanced to the SixMan state title game. But, interest in football is high in Box Elder right now, and the Bears should have another solid team this fall. can happen and we should be fully healthy by then.”

Box Elder opened the season at home against Hot Springs, in a rematch of last year’s Six-Man state semifinals.

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August 2016

BLUE PONY GOLF SCHEDULE Sept. 9

at Lewistown (V-JV) Pine Meadows 9:30 a.m.

Sept. 10

Havre - Beaver Creek 9:30 a.m.

Sept. 15

Billings Central - Eagle Rock

Sept. 16

at Laurel

Sept. 23

Divisional - Browning - East Glacier

Sept. 30-Oct. 1 State - Hamilton

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com One of the best things about the start of the high school golf season is it’s really a continuation of summer. Starting early means great summer weather and pristine golf conditions, and that’s exactly what the Havre High boys and girls golf teams are doing now — they’re continuing their summer.

The Blue Ponies, under fourth-year head coach Brett Gilman, opened their 2016 season two weeks ago with excellent showings at tournaments in Great Falls, Havre and Bozeman.

But, even with the excitement of a new season underway, there are also expectations, as well as new challenges.

The Blue Pony boys return three varsity players from last year’s team, which won the Central A team title, and placed fourth at state. Havre will certainly miss the experience of graduated standouts Jeff Miller and Jerod Boles, but 2015 All-Stater Dustin Haas is back for his fourth year of varsity golf, and he returns as one of the top players in Class A. Also back are fellow seniors Kane Gabrielsen and Aiden Passon, giving the Ponies a solid nucleus yet again. All three golfers have played in multiple state tournaments, and Haas and Gabrielsen are looking to make it four in a row this fall.

“On the boys side I've got three returning lettermen, all three of them competed at state last year, and we'll have a couple of newcomers so I’m eager to see how they fair,” Gilman said.

Newcomers to the varsity team this season will be plentiful. Included in the mix are seniors Kyle Kirkpatrick, Gavin Mosbrucker and Tommy Brown, all of whom have already played on varsity some this season. Bobby Personett, Hondo Owens, Tucker Carlson and Nik Keller round out the HHS boys roster this season.

The Pony boys will certainly be a strong team again this season and should do well, especially in the Central A. Of course, Class A stalwarts like defending champion Billings Central, as well as Laurel, Hamilton and Whitefish will also be strong again this year.

Still, with the experience Havre has, as its

top three players have all played in three consecutive state tournaments, Gilman says his boys team should do quite well this season.

"The boys can do well, they should be in the mix at divisionals again," he noted.

On the girls side, Havre has to replace very little. In fact, the Ponies have returned a strong roster back from a team which qualified for last year’s state tournament, though replacing last year’s seniors, Randi Gabrielsen and Payton Howard, will be tough.

Senior Mackenzie Tilleman, along with juniors Regan Lammers and Grace Litzinger give the Ponies plenty of experience, while sophomore Teagan Fee should be a standout this season. Kinzee Peterson and Marcee Murphy will also compete for varsity slots for an HHS girls team that Gilman has high hopes for, this season and in future years.

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Blue Pony golf teams already out on the course

“On the girls side we’ve got four returning lettermen that participated at state,” he said.

“They look to be in good shape."

And taking the next step for the Havre girls will be trying to win a divisional title. The Ponies’ top competition at divisionals will likely be Livingston and Lewistown, while Whitefish and Laurel boast really strong girls teams at the state level.

Still, with a young, but now experienced girls’ squad, Gilman said his team should be one to watch.

"I think the girls should have a real shot at divisonals this year," Gilman said.

And a reason both Pony teams will be tough this season is the schedule certainly prepares Havre well. The Ponies starteded with the Class AA Great Falls Invite, but also host their own Havre Invite on Thursday, be-

Havre Daily News/George Ferguson

The 2016 Havre High boys and girls golf teams pose for a photo in August at Prairie Farms Golf Course. The Blue Ponies are already deep into their fall season. fore playing such tough tournaments as the Belgrade Invitational in Bozeman, the Billings Central and Laurel Invites, and a trip to Lewistown as well. The season culminates with the Central A Divisional at East Glacier Golf Course Sept. 23 and the Class A state tournament Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the Hamilton Country Club.

"The beginning of the season is always exciting,” Gilman said. “I'm looking forward to seeing the kids get back out on the course and see what they can do."