Hawks moving on in the postseason
by Danny Waldo
The calendar has moved to November meaning the Fall sports season has come and gone for many Montana high school teams. Fortunately, that is not the case for the Bozeman Hawk football and volleyball teams as both continue their quest for a state title.
The Lady Hawks will once again return to the spacious confines of the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse for the MHSA All-Class State Volleyball tournament November 14-16. Bozeman edged out Great Falls High in a five-set thriller to earn the Eastern AA’s No. 4 seed. That’s the good news. The bad news is the Hawks will face the undefeated, No. 1 ranked, defending state champion Helena Capital Bruins in their opening-round match.
The Hawks and Bruins met in the finals of the 2018 state tournament, a contest the Bruins won easily, and nobody has been able to challenge Capital this season. However, postseason play brings added pressure, and Bozeman has the advantage of being the overwhelming underdog meaning they should be able to play loose, carefree volleyball with the goal of making it to Saturday night’s main event for the second year in a row.
For the Bozeman Hawk football team, redemption may be on the minds of many of Levi Wesche’s players after being knocked out of the state semifinals in 2018 by the Flathead Braves. Bozeman entered the postseason as the No. 1 ranking and a large bull’s eye. Expectations are not quite that high this season as the Butte High Bulldogs are the overwhelming favorite to claim the title this season, but that doesn’t mean Bozeman is any less motivated.
The Hawks avenged their lone loss on the season by defeating Missoula Big Sky in the opening round before knocking off Helena High in the quarterfinals. Now, Bozeman will hit the road for the semifinals as they take on the Missoula Sentinel Spartans. This will be the Hawks first matchup versus Sentinel in the playoffs since they met in the semifinals back in 1984.
If Bozeman wins and Butte wins, the Hawks would head to the Mining City for the state championship on November 22nd. However, if Bozeman wins and Billings West manages to knock off the Bulldogs, the Hawks would host the state title game. •
