08/26/2026
š 2026 Montana Class A ā Week 1 Previews
Class A wastes absolutely no time giving us storylines in Week 1. We have rematches from 2025, experienced quarterbacks returning, young players ready to take bigger roles and several teams trying to prove that last season was either the beginning of somethingāor something they're ready to leave behind.
All player classes below are listed for 2026; the statistics referenced are from 2025.
Fergus at Columbia Falls
This might be one of the better Week 1 games on the Class A schedule.
Fergus escaped last year's matchup with a 17-13 win, part of a 7-3 season in which the Golden Eagles averaged 34.2 points per game. Columbia Falls finished 5-4, but the Wildcats return two of Class A's most productive players.
Senior QB Banyan Johnston is back after throwing for 1,858 yards and 17 TD as a junior. Beside him is senior Trip Ross, who rushed for 775 yards and 8 TD while also piling up an incredible 123 tackles and 3 sacks defensively.
That's a ton of proven production.
Fergus loses significant offensive production but does return junior Chaz Walsh, who averaged nearly seven yards per carry while rushing for 327 yards as a sophomore.
KEY TO THE GAME: Can Fergus prevent Johnston and Ross from controlling the game? Columbia Falls has the more proven returning stars, but Fergus held this offense to 13 points last year.
WHAT TO EXPECT: A much tougher opener than either team probably wants. Columbia Falls has a real opportunity to flip last year's result at home.
Sidney at Park
Sidney absolutely controlled this matchup in 2025, winning 59-7.
And unfortunately for Park, many of the players responsible are coming back.
Senior Gradin Sukut returns after accounting for 1,212 passing yards and 702 rushing yards, scoring 12 rushing touchdowns. Junior Aaron Schmitz rushed for 853 yards and 11 TD as a sophomore.
Senior receiver Brody Keysor added 540 receiving yards and 6 TD, while Evan Erickson caught six touchdowns of his own.
That's a tremendous returning offensive core from a Sidney team that finished 7-3.
Park, meanwhile, is trying to rebound from a brutal 1-8 season in which the Rangers averaged only 5.4 points and surrendered more than 49 per game.
KEY TO THE GAME: Park has to prevent Sidney's rushing attack from taking control immediately.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Sidney enters as a heavy favorite. The bigger question may be whether Park can show early evidence that its rebuilding process has taken a meaningful step forward.
Miles City at East Helena
Circle this one.
Miles City pulled off a wild 50-47 victory over East Helena in last year's opener.
Now East Helena gets the Cowboys at homeāand the Vigilantes return two absolute stars.
Senior quarterback Bearek Shuman threw for 2,396 yards and 26 touchdowns last season.
Senior Leo Longcake rushed for 1,298 yards and 20 TD.
That's nearly 3,700 combined passing/rushing yards and 46 touchdowns coming back between two players.
Miles City counters with junior quarterback Warren Venable, who threw for 1,063 yards and 10 touchdowns despite playing only six games as a sophomore.
East Helena eventually finished 9-3 while Miles City went 2-6, making that Week 1 loss one of the strangest results of East Helena's season.
KEY TO THE GAME: Can Miles City create another shootout? Trying to completely shut down Shuman and Longcake may be unrealistic. The Cowboys need points.
WHAT TO EXPECT: East Helena hasn't forgotten 50-47. With Shuman and Longcake back, expect the Vigilantes to come out with something to prove.
Lockwood at Butte Central
Last year's matchup couldn't have gone much worse for Butte Central.
Lockwood won 27-0.
But the rest of the season went in very different directions. Butte Central recovered to finish 5-4, while Lockwood finished 3-6.
Now Lockwood brings back senior QB Raider Kalfell, who threw for 957 yards and 13 touchdowns last year. Junior Parker Rollins also returns after catching 31 passes for 317 yards and 2 TD as a sophomore.
Butte Central has much more replacing to do. Its leading passer Ryan Peoples and several of its most productive receivers were seniors in 2025.
KEY TO THE GAME: Can Butte Central's new offensive leaders emerge immediately? Lockwood has the advantage of bringing an experienced quarterback into Week 1.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Don't automatically assume last year's 27-point margin carries over. Butte Central improved considerably after that opener. This should tell us a lot about both programs.
Dillon at Billings Central
The defending Class A champion begins its season with a familiar opponent.
Billings Central blasted Dillon 64-28 in last year's opener and eventually finished 11-1, averaging a ridiculous 44.9 points per game while allowing only 11.9.
But the Rams graduated a huge amount of offensive production.
Dillon, meanwhile, brings back senior QB Canin Christiansen, who threw for 1,567 yards and 15 TD as a junior. Senior Paxton Puyear also flashed big-play ability, averaging 27 yards per reception.
Billings Central does return senior Michael Thomas, who rushed for 449 yards and 7 TD on only 50 carriesāan impressive 9.0 yards per attempt.
KEY TO THE GAME: How quickly does Billings Central reload? The Rams have established a championship-level program, but replacing major pieces is still replacing major pieces.
Dillon's key is Christiansen. An experienced senior quarterback gives the Beavers a chance to test Central's new starters immediately.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Central deserves respect, but this matchup could tell us whether Dillon is ready to make a significant jump in 2026.
Frenchtown at Bigfork
Last year: Frenchtown 28, Bigfork 7.
The Broncs went on to finish 11-1 and won the state championship!
But 2026 presents an interesting challenge.
Frenchtown must replace 1,334-yard rusher Cole Johnson, but senior quarterback Dawson Rodoni returns after throwing for 1,126 yards, and senior receiver Cooper Michaud is back after producing 357 yards and 5 TD.
Bigfork finished 5-4 and loses its leading rusher, Treker Hickey, who ran for 827 yards and nine touchdowns.
That puts pressure on a new group of Vikings to emerge quickly.
KEY TO THE GAME: Frenchtown's identity. The Broncs rushed for nearly 200 yards per game last season. Can they maintain that physical style without Johnson?
WHAT TO EXPECT: Bigfork gets this one at home and should be motivated after last year's 21-point loss. But Frenchtown has become one of Class A's most consistent programs and enters 2026 expecting another deep November run.
Corvallis at Polson
Polson won this matchup 26-6 last season, but this one is particularly interesting because the Pirates' best offensive players were extremely young.
Junior quarterback Case Cox threw for 1,382 yards and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore.
Junior Eli Evenson caught 19 passes for 293 yards and 2 TD, while fellow junior Merick Ramesar added 192 yards and two scores.
That's a young passing attack that should be considerably more comfortable in 2026.
Corvallis finished just 1-7 and averaged only 8.8 points per game, but junior defender Marshall Jessop is one young player to watch after recording 28 tackles in only two listed games as a sophomore.
KEY TO THE GAME: Corvallis has to make Cox uncomfortable. If Polson's junior quarterback gets comfortable early, the Pirates have enough returning weapons to create problems.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Polson has a chance to be one of Class A's notable improvement teams because so much of its offensive production came from sophomores.
Libby at Browning
Libby dominated this game 54-8 in 2025.
The Loggers finished 4-4 and averaged more than 27 points per game, while Browning went 1-7 and surrendered more than 49 points per contest.
The challenge for Libby is replacing several senior offensive leaders, including quarterback Tristan Andersen and receivers Bransen Holzer and Isaac Lamere.
For Browning, this is about establishing a new tone immediately.
KEY TO THE GAME: Can Browning force Libby's new offensive starters to earn everything instead of allowing the early avalanche that defined too many games in 2025?
WHAT TO EXPECT: Libby is the favorite, but we're going to learn much more about its new offense than we did from last year's matchup.
Ronan at Hamilton
Last year's score tells the story:
Hamilton 51, Ronan 0.
Hamilton finished 8-2 and fielded one of Class A's best offenses and defenses.
And here's the scary part:
Junior QB Cooper Weston is back.
As a sophomore, Weston completed 66.4% of his passes for 1,997 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Senior Jude Widmer rushed for 720 yards and 8 TD.
Senior Kaeden Gum caught 40 passes for 518 yards and 7 TD, while Easton Hollis added 434 yards and 3 TD.
Hamilton does lose 843-yard receiver Jackson Lubke, but this offense still has serious firepower.
Ronan's young quarterback Aaron Luke is now a junior after receiving varsity experience as a sophomore.
The Chiefs desperately need offensive improvement after scoring only 14 total points in nine games last season.
KEY TO THE GAME: Ronan needs early successāanything that creates confidence and prevents Hamilton from turning this into another runaway.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hamilton looks like a legitimate championship contender. Weston now has two full varsity seasons behind him, and Week 1 is his first opportunity to show what Year 3 looks like.
Glendive at Laurel
Laurel dominated last year's matchup 46-6 and eventually finished 8-2.
But this game could be more intriguing in 2026 because Glendive returns a young quarterback who put up excellent numbers.
Junior Ethan Rivas threw for 1,635 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore, completing more than 62% of his passes.
Junior Caleb Phalen rushed for 375 yards and 7 TD, while senior Nicolas Reske caught 40 passes for 468 yards and 6 TD.
Laurel, meanwhile, must replace monster production from 1,306-yard, 20-touchdown rusher Curtis Fox.
Senior Davin Graves and senior receiver Luke Maack are among the returning pieces who could step into bigger roles.
KEY TO THE GAME: Can Glendive protect Rivas? Laurel allowed just 13.4 points per game last season.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Laurel still deserves favorite status, but Glendive has considerably more returning offensive firepower than the 46-6 score from last year might suggest.
This has sneaky upset-watch potential if Rivas starts hot.
Whitefish at Havre
Here's another revenge game.
Havre went into Whitefish last year and won 21-7.
Whitefish responded by eventually finishing 8-4 and making a postseason run, while Havre finished 4-4.
Now Whitefish brings back one of Class A's most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks.
Senior Luke Dalen threw for 1,288 yards while rushing for 872 yards and 20 touchdowns.
That's 2,160 yards of offense, and the 20 rushing scores jump off the page.
Senior receiver Vlad Shestak also returns after catching 37 passes for 584 yards and 3 TD.
Whitefish loses leading rusher Cole Moses, but Dalen's ability to create with his legs makes this offense difficult to defend.
KEY TO THE GAME: Havre solved Dalen and the Bulldogs a year ago. Can it do it twice?
Whitefish needs to prove its late-2025 improvement carries directly into 2026.
WHAT TO EXPECT: One of Week 1's most fascinating games. Whitefish has revenge, experience and an established quarterback. Havre has the confidence of knowing it already beat this group.
Hardin at Stevensville
Hardin won this matchup 40-14 last season.
The Bulldogs eventually finished 3-6, while Stevensville went 1-7.
Both teams have major reasons to view this opener as an opportunity.
Hardin brings back senior Carlos Pisano, who caught 40 passes for 593 yards and 5 touchdowns last season.
But the Bulldogs must replace quarterback Darrell Lefthand, who accounted for a huge percentage of their offense.
Stevensville has one of the most interesting young quarterbacks in Class A.
Sophomore Luca Schmidt was only a freshman last season and still threw for 792 yards.
That's valuable experience for a player who still has three high school seasons remaining.
Senior Josh Pfister returns after catching 21 passes for 277 yards and 4 TD.
KEY TO THE GAME: Hardin needs to figure out its post-Lefthand offense, while Stevensville needs Schmidt's freshman experience to translate into a major sophomore jump.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Don't judge this matchup solely by last year's 40-14 score. Stevensville's quarterback is a year older, while Hardin is replacing its primary offensive engine.
This could be much more competitive.
š„ Week 1 Storylines
The biggest theme across Class A is quarterback experience. East Helena has Bearek Shuman. Hamilton has Cooper Weston. Columbia Falls has Banyan Johnston. Whitefish has Luke Dalen. Sidney has Gradin Sukut. Glendive has Ethan Rivas. Polson has Case Cox. Dillon has Canin Christiansen. Several of those players were already productive in 2025āand they're a year older now.
Then there are the revenge games: Columbia Falls gets another shot at Fergus, East Helena gets Miles City after that 50-47 stunner, and Whitefish travels to Havre after losing 21-7 last season.
And don't overlook the teams replacing stars. Billings Central, Frenchtown and Laurel were three of Class A's best teams last year, but all three lost major offensive production. Week 1 gives us our first look at whether they're simply rebuildingāor reloading.
The projections are almost over. Now we find out who's ready.
š 2026 CLASS A FOOTBALL STARTS NOW.
