Montana High School Football Quarterfinals Brings All the Top Teams Back Into the Action

The quarterfinal round of the Montana high school postseason sees most of the top teams in the top two classifications entering the fray, and High School on SI Montana will have all the scores you need in one place.

As we head into the weekend, with spots in the semifinals at stake, here are five games to watch around the state.

Hamilton (8-1) at No. 1 Billings Central Catholic (9-0), Friday

The defending champion Rams return from their first-round bye with a challenging quarterfinal matchup against the Broncs, whose only loss came in Week 5 against Frenchtown that dropped them to the Southwest’s No. 2 seed.

It’s also a matchup between the present — Rams senior QB Howie Martin, who’s thrown for 1,511 yards and 22 touchdowns — and the future — Hamilton sophomore QB Cooper Weston, who’s thrown for 1,887 yards and 17 touchdowns while also running for 10 scores. Seniors William Snell and Blake Skillestad have four interceptions apiece for Billings Central Catholic.

Whitefish (7-2) at No. 3 Laurel (8-1), Friday

The Bulldogs were one point away from avoiding the long bus trip to Laurel for their quarterfinal, falling 19-18 to Columbia Falls in the game that decided the Northwest A Conference title.

They blasted Butte Central Catholic 52-6 last week to earn their shot at the Central A champion Locomotives, who feature one of the state’s top running backs in senior Curtis Fox, who’s run for 1,240 yards and 19 touchdowns in his second season back from a lacerated kidney that threatened his junior season.

Fergus (7-2) at No. 6 Frenchtown (8-1), Friday

The Golden Eagles were ranked in the High School on SI Montana Top 10 for most of the season before falling out following their Week 9 loss to East Helena, but after winning at Sidney 35-13 last week, they earned their shot at the Southwest A champion Broncs. Fergus will need to find a way to slow senior RB Cole Johnson (1,032 yards, 12 TDs) if it hopes to keep its dream of winning its first state title since 2022 alive.

Malta/Whitewater/Saco/Dotson (9-1) at No. 5 Manhattan (9-0), Saturday

The marquee matchup of the Class B quarterfinals is a rematch of last year’s championship game, which saw the Mustangs beat Manhattan 13-8 to win their first title since 2006. The rematch was set up when Malta lost in Week 9 to Glasgow/Hinsdale/Nashua, dropping it to the North No. 2 seed. The Tigers will look to slow Mustangs sophomore QB Kazner Oxarart, who’s thrown for 1,644 yards and 23 touchdowns taking over this fall for older brother Stockton.

Belt (9-1) at Flint Creek (9-0), Saturday

Two storied 8-person programs square off in Philipsburg this weekend. With two-time defending champion Fairview having missed the postseason, that opens things up for Belt to win its first title since 2022 after losing to the Warriors in the last two finals. Meanwhile, the Titans have made the playoffs every year since the program — a co-op between Drummond and Philipsburg — was formed in 2014, winning titles in 2017, 2018 and 2020.