By Danny Waldo
For Bozeman’s final two remaining Fall sports teams, the end has finally come. In what began with summer two-a-days in the grueling August heat, the end was probably more painful thanks in part to a runner-up finish in the State AA volleyball tournament, and a semifinal upset in the last game at Van Winkle Stadium.
Hawk Volleyball
The season-ending loss for Bozeman’s volleyball team was bittersweet. Certainly, the Lady Hawks were disappointed to come up one victory short of a state title, but there was a great sense of accomplishment for having made it to the final match of the 2018 season. Bozeman was playing in its first state title game since winning it all in 2015, and it was an accomplishment in itself just to be there.
The Lady Hawks fell into the consolation bracket after losing a hard-fought five set thriller on the opening night versus a heavily favored Helena Capital squad. Bozeman was the only team to win a set on Capital all weekend, as the Bruins swept their opening round and semifinal matches. However, the loss meant the Hawks had to win two matches on Day 2 of the tournament, followed by a consolation final on championship Saturday just to earn a rematch with the Bruins.
The Hawks were game, defeating Missoula Hellgate and Kalispell-Flathead in four sets before sweeping past Billings West in three to set up the rematch. In the final, Bozeman appeared ready to shock the state as they rushed out to a 1-0 leading after winning the first set, but Helena Capital’s firepower proved to be too strong, and the Bruins won in convincing fashion, 3 sets to 1.
“The journey was fun,” senior outside hitter Mara Lynch said.
Hawk Football
The end for Bozeman’s football team was more of a shock.
Head coach Levi Wesche’s crew had run roughshod over the AA competition all season, averaging well over 30 points a game, and rarely being tested by its opponents.
But that all changed in the State AA football playoffs when the Hawks ran into a game Kalispell-Flathead team. The Braves employed a ball-control offense that responded to an early 10-0 hole to take a 14-10 halftime lead, and they responded again in the fourth quarter after falling behind 17-14 by scoring the game’s final touchdown late in the fourth quarter to secure their first trip to the state title game since the early 2000s.
For Bozeman, miscues and mistakes derailed a once promising season and left the Hawks thinking what-if. Bozeman was looking to return to the state title game for the first time since last winning it all in 2015.
Not only is the loss the end of the season for Bozeman, it’s also the end of an era, as the semifinal loss to Flathead was the final game to be played in Bozeman’s Van Winkle Stadium. The Hawks will move across Ruth Thibeault Way and into their new stadium in 2019.
