How I have missed you football season. You have been gone too long. Today is the first day high school football teams can practice. The 2019 high school football season is officially open! In this article I will talk about what to watch for in each Class AA teams training camp. The biggest change to this season is that everyone will make the playoffs. We have two conferences now East AA and West AA. I think another story line is, can anyone take the state championship out of Billings? The last time the AA trophy wasn't in Billings was 2015 and Bozeman won the title. The last time a West team held it was Glacier in 2014. Can a West team bring the trophy back to this side of the state? Many questions that will only be answered over the next 4 months.
EAST AA
I think the East starts with Defending Champs Billings West, followed by Bozeman. I think Senior and Great Falls will be challengers. I think Belgrade can mix it up as well. Skyview, CMR have their work cut out for them.
Billings West Golden Bears
Defending State Champions; (12-1) in 2018
Key Returners: QB Josh Erbacher; RB Demarcus Carr; WR/DB Connor Ryan;
OL/DL Jaden Bienvenue.
What to watch for in camp- The back seven on defense. The Golden Bears will have to replace every starter at LB and DB. They had some great play-makers back there a season ago. Lucas Gibb, Trevin Gradney and Jesse Owens come to mind right away. Gradney and Owens are doing nice things at Montana right now. Who will emerge to take these positions and make plays for coach Rob Stanton? Communication will be key as well. The offensive line also has to replace four out of five guys. Coach Stanton likes the guys he has there so how quickly can they work as a unit and open lanes for Carr and protect Erbacher?
Billings Senior Broncs
Playoff team; (6-5) in 2018
Key Returners: WR/DB Oran-Nash Bergen; WR/DB Junior Bergen; DE Garrett Dostal;
What to watch for in camp- The QB position. Senior and Coach Murdock have had some pretty good QB's since my first year in Montana in 2016. Nathan Dick, Noah Askelson, and Matt Plasterer last season. Matt could toss it around the field with ease. The two guys battling for the position are Michael Ohlin (6-1 Jr) and Christian Emineth (6-2 So). The good news for either QB is they have weapons to get to the ball to. In the trenches will also be interesting for the Broncs and something to keep an eye on.
Billings Skyview Falcons
(0-10) in 2018
Key Returners: ATH Josh Macy; DL Colin Skinner; OL/DL Conor Reitler;
MLB Brenden Concepcion; ATH Brenner Bushfield.
What to watch for in camp- The QB position, who will be taking snaps and helping the team try to win games this season. From what I hear it is between Bushfield and (So) Cole Allison. How much will this team improve in year 2 of Head Coach Nathan Wahl. The offense is now a full year removed from the triple option and I am very curious to see what they unleash this season. I believe Skyview will improve this season but how much will be decided when the season starts.
Belgrade Panthers
(6-4) Playoff team in Class A in 2018
Key Returners: MLB/RB Brylee Cage; QB Dyson Cheney; OL/DL Mason Jacobson
What to watch for- Belgrade has become the first team in Montana History to play in each classification. This will be the first season in Class AA. A lot of people are curious how this team will handle the transition to the AA. This football team under coach Eric Kinnamen has made the playoffs in five of the last seven seasons. This team has its QB one of the few teams in class AA. Mason Jacobson could be another Ken Eiden type guy. This kid played as a freshman and has impressive size already as he enters his sophomore season. The game of football really doesn't change from classification. Depth is the biggest difference. I have seen though a class 1A school in Florida beat a 7A school. What to watch will be Belgrades depth.
Bozeman Hawks
Playoff Team (11-1) in 2019.
Key Returners: TE/DE Ken Eiden; RB/LB McCade O'Reilly; OL/DL Tom Walkup;
OL/DL Cameren Spencer.
What to watch for- The QB position. Tough to replace Kris Brown who was one of the best QB's last season and already spinning the football nicely at Montana. The QB battle seems to be between (Jr) Jordan Jones or (Sr) Jake D'Augostino. Which guy will command the huddle and can get the ball to play makers like O'Reilly and Eiden. The corner position will have battles as both guys are gone. A couple OL spots as well up for grabs. This team will be tough.
Great Falls Bison
(5-5) Playoff Team in 2018
Key Returners: RB Gabe Longin; LB Ben Held; LB Kael Richards; OL/DL Quintin Greer.
What to watch for in camp- The QB position. Almos is the starter can he match what Balke Thelen did for this team last season? He will have help in the form of Gabe Longin. This kid can do so many things for a QB. He can catch and and run the ball effectively. The secondary will have battles, who can take over at Safety and Corner? They are fine at LB with tackling machines like Ben Held and Kael Richards.
CM Rustlers
(2-8) in 2018
What to watch for- This team is still grieving from the loss of a friend and good young man David Delcomte. My heart goes out to the family and community at CMR. I know this team will honor David through thier hard work and play in 2019.
WEST AA
Butte Bulldogs
(5-6) Playoff Team in 2018
Key Returners- QB Tommy Mellott; RB Kameron Moreno; WR Quin Sullivan; OL Konor McLafertty
What to watch for in camp-
The defense will be an area to watch as they have a lot to replace from last season. Five out of the seven players in the secondary and line-backing corp. Quinn Sullivan is going to be a main target this season but who will help stretch the field and take away some of the coverage that will go to his side. Tommy Mellott is the best QB in class AA. A lot will be on his shoulders as this team wants to make a deep run into the playoffs.
Big Sky Eagles
(2-8) in 2018
Key Returners- RB Colter Janacaro, WR Ben Maehl; WR Everett Fred
What to watch for in camp- Big Sky and head coach Matt Johnson are no stranger to struggles with numbers. Coach Johnson makes it work though every single season. When numbers are a problem big or small depth becomes a problem. This team will have to find depth with young players that will have to grow up fast. QB Draven Lincoln took snaps last year so it will be interesting with a full off-season what can we expect from him. The defense two seasons ago was stout and while they did bend they didn't break. Can they get back to that this season?
Capital Bruins
(4-6) in 2018
Key Returners- QB Bridger Grovom, LB Zane McCormick;
WR Cy Miller; WR Parker Johnston.
What to watch for in Camp-
The Bruins got a lot better as the season went on. This team was knocking on the door of a playoff spot at the end of the season despite starting 0-2. For Capital they are one of the few teams in Class AA that doesn't have a QB battle or a first year starter. Grovom matured and got better as the season went on as well. Capital has had really good offensive lines how will that position look to grow this season. How will the run game look? Will it be one back or running back by committee? This team isn't young anymore they have experience can they turn that into wins this season?
Flathead Braves
(9-4) State Runner-up in 2018
Standout Players- OL Max Anderson; WR Chance Sheldon-Allen;
DL Tanner Russell; WR/DB Tannen Beyl
What to watch for in camp- The Flathead Braves are under new management as former Coach Kyle Samson is at Tech. Matt Upham takes over and expect no change in expectations. The Braves want to get back to the final Friday of the season. This team brings back a lot on defense but Offensively who is running the football? Cooper Smith gets the reigns of the offense as the starting QB. The biggest thing to watch is the depth of this football team. Can the young guys help fill holes or spell guys playing both ways?
Glacier Wolfpack
(5-5) Playoff Team in 2018
Key Returners- WR Drew Deck; DL Kyler Baldauf ; DB Casey Pieffer
What to watch for in camp- The Wolfpack have had great RB talent. Who takes over this year for the wolfpack? If the NCAA Football video game was still around Deck would be your impact player. Who helps with the WR depth outside of deck will be an interesting battle. What will the offensive and defensive lines look like in 2019? The QB position will also be fun to watch as Grady has no shortage for talented signal callers.
Hellgate Knights
(2-8) in 2018
Key Returners- QB Rollie Worster; WR Brandan Caldonato;
What to watch for in camp- The streak is over! The Hellgate Knights won two games last season. Since Mick Morris took over this program they have been trending in the right direction. The arrow looks to go up once again this season. Rollie is back and what to watch for is, who will help him? As far as I know Rollie will still be the QB, can he get help in the running game? Can he cut down his turnovers this season? Outside of Caldonato who will catch passes from Worster? Defensively Worster racked up 143 tackles as a safety/hybrid linebacker who will help him get stops?
Helena Bengals
(9-3) Playoff Team in 2018
Key Returners- RB Logan Brown; ATH Hayden Ferguson;
What to watch for in camp- There could be a QB battle. Hayden Ferguson is the guy I keep hearing as the upperclassman but they also have a young guy in Hewitt that could potentially take the job if he impresses. Helena always has big physical lineman but this year who are the names up front? Defensively this team will be young and will have to learn on the fly. I don't expect much to change from Helena just new names.
Sentinel Spartans
(5-5) Team missed the Playoffs in 2018
Returning Players- ATH Jaxon Lee; OL Dylan Rollins; C Brandon Spencer; DL Torin Jackson
What to watch for in camp- The QB battle, between Crews and Bay will be interesting. Will the elder win out or the youngster? This team defensively will have to replace guys in the secondary and on the defensive line. Sentinel looks to be a tough team and a factor in the Western AA. While there are questions about the Spartans, this team will be tough week in and week out. Sentinel will also need to find skill position depth at Running back and Wide Receiver.
This season should be really interesting and I can't wait for it to start as we are two weeks away from week number one.