View from the sidelines

High school football champions were crowned around Montana last week as the fall prep sports seasons came to an end.

Perhaps of the most local interest, Eureka repeated as State B champs by destroying Shelby 47-7 in the championship game at Eureka. Led by Montana Grizzly recruit Garrett Graves, who was injured in the early going of the game but refused to come out, the Lions laid claim to being the best Class B team in Montana, and just maybe the best team at any level of prep football in the state.

Also of local interest out here in the hinterlands of western Montana, the Columbia Falls Wildcats of the Northwest A division knocked off Southwest A champion Hamilton 26-14 in Columbia Falls for the State A title, and Flint Creek, a co-op program between Drummond and Philipsburg, won the State C 8-Man championship by defeating the Forsyth Dogies 44-30 in Philipsburg.

One year after losing to Hot Springs in the State C 6-Man championship game, the Westby-Grenora Mon-Dak Thunder finally won their first State C title by defeating the Bridger Scouts 68-37 in Bridger.

The Billings Senior Broncs repeated as State AA champs by holding off the Helena Bengals 21-12 at Daylis Stadium in Billings Friday night.

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Uh oh, hell has finally frozen over in Missoula as the Montana Grizzlies have now lost two straight football games to the Montana State Bobcats, following Saturday’s 31-23 defeat in Bozeman.

Hold your breath Griz fans as this is the first time the Cats have won two games in a row in this long-running series in a very long time. It was also the Bobcats’ first win over the Griz in Bozeman since way back in 2005.

The Grizzlies would have most likely made the playoffs with a win over the Cats, but finish the season 5-3 in Big Sky play and 7-4 overall instead. MSU completes its season 5-3 in conference and 5-6 overall.

Although my former bosses here at the Ledger, ardent Bobcat supporters Tom and Bina Eggensperger undoubtedly love Saturday’s result, it has caused a lot of hand-wringing and worry about the state of the Griz football program out here in the western portion of the state.

So much so that earlier this week, Montana decided not to rehire coach Bob Stitt.

I guess Stitt is done happening with Grizzly football at least.

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Thanksgiving thanks

The following may not have much to do with the game of sports, but it does talk to the game of life in our neck of the woods, like I said earlier, out here in the hinterlands of western Montana.

For my Thanksgiving this year, I have decided to give thanks to some of the fine people of Sanders County. Working in largely thankless jobs that help the everyday world keep

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spinning for the rest of us, these folks, in my opinion at least, deserve some very real thanks for all that they do.

I will start right at the top with our Sanders County Sheriff Tom Rummel, mainly for his fine work during our extreme wildfire situation in late August and into the first few weeks of September.

Thank you Tom and here is why…

With wildfires burning all over the county, as our sheriff you were tasked with the incredibly difficult job of making sure everyone was safe and remained that way.

That meant being the final authority on some very important things, like on deciding who should be evacuated from their homes and when as the fires seemed intent on closing in on those homes and other important private properties. It was a volatile situation that required a cool head and calm thinking, and you came through in spades during our latest wildfire crisis.

And it required working closely with fire officials from the U.S. Forest Service and the Montana DNRC to determine an emergency strategy, and to carry that strategy out to the public.

When it came time to finally pull the trigger and call for evacuations, you did what you had to do and you did it in a compassionate, caring manner. I have a couple friends who live in an area where the Sheep Gap fire was bearing down on outside of Plains who said that they were moved by how you reluctantly, but correctly, induced them into leaving their home when the fire came too close.

Along those same lines, volunteer fire departments don’t seem very important until, that is, you really need them. All the VFDs in this area – from Noxon, Hot Springs, Plains, Dixon, Trout Creek ad Thompson Falls – play critical roles when fires, residential or out in the forest, break out.

Reflecting on an admiration for all you volunteer firefighters, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Thompson Falls Rural Fire Chief Mark Reeser.

Thank you Mark and here is why…

You and all your fellow volunteer firefighters from all corners of Sanders County are doing an incredibly important job for all of us who live in this fire-prone area. Although not paid for doing it, you take training on your own time (or away from your regular job) and become available to respond to fires at any time of the day or night.

I am singling out Mark because, let’s face it, he deserves it. He has been the Thompson Falls Rural Fire Chief for many years now and, speaking from my position as fire prevention specialist for the U.S. Forest Service, has always been more than helpful in helping me carry out my duties.

Another person who deserves gratitude from many of us and not just me, Janet Cox seems to be like our very own Florence Nightingale on wheels in her volunteer work with the Thompson Falls ambulance.

Thank you Janet and here is why…

Sure, Janet is only one of many people who volunteer their time and skills, but it seems like she puts a little more into it than would be nominally required.

Personally speaking, Janet was one of the folks who answered my distress call with the ambulance when I injured myself while out cutting firewood last year. Her calm, reassuring manner with me helped quiet my inner demons and allow her and the rest of the ambulance crew to promptly deliver my broken body to the Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains.

Upon relating this incident to some other folks who have worked on the Thompson Falls ambulance crew in the past, I learned that Janet is kind of a go-to person for the rest of the organization, and is counted on heavily to keep things running smoothly. The word is, Janet is especially valuable, and seemingly always available, when a midwife type of assistance is required.

Danielle Wood is not a board member of the Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce, but she is obviously an important member of that team as its secretary. Look no further than the Capitol Christmas Tree day in Thompson Falls last week for proof.

Thank you Danielle and here is why...

Although you reportedly don’t get paid much more than a volunteer, you took on the job of getting all the moving parts of the tree’s stopover visit in working order.

That meant coordinating the efforts of everyone involved – the contingent accompanying the tree, the sheriff’s office, the U.S. Forest Service office in Plains, the teachers and students from the Thompson Falls elementary school, and various other organizations – setting an agenda, publicizing that agenda and helping the event go the way it was intended.

On that score, you succeeded wonderfully, as it was a great event on Main Street in Thompson Falls last Wednesday and, for that, you should be held personally responsible, in a very good kind of way.