Devils host Hornets in key 6-Man tilt

Up in smoke, the first big Western Conference 6-Man game of the 2020 season – the one between unbeaten, second-ranked Hot Springs and 1-0 Noxon – had to be rescheduled due to extremely unhealthy air in western Montana last week.

Originally scheduled for Hot Springs last Friday, the game has tentatively been moved to Oct. 9, but the coaches from both schools were unsure of exactly when the big game will be now played.

“There was a change of plan and we have had to roll with that,” Noxon coach Bart Haflich said Monday. “It would have been nice to get that game in but now we will turn our attention to White Sulphur Springs.”

Hot Springs coach Jim Lawson wasn’t happy about the game being cancelled either, but the thick, unhealthy wildfire smoke in the area forced the schools’ hands. There is now a possibility that the Heat will lose a game they had arranged with Valier later in the season, in order to make up the lost game with Noxon.

“It’s been frustrating, especially for the Western conference teams that had most of their games canceled at the start of the season,” Lawson said. “We have a few other issues with our schedule that we are now trying to get straightened out.”

In spite of the cancellation, the season goes on, for Noxon that means hosting White Sulphur Springs Friday while Hot Springs has another bye week. Given the strange season of 2020, the Devils and Hornets will both be entering the game with only 1-0 records although the season is now over a month old.

Noxon’s game with White Sulphur is a matchup rife with playoff implications. And the Hornets will likely be seeking revenge for the Devils’ exciting 36-35 road win over White Sulphur Springs in the final regular season game of the 2019 season last fall. That win gave Noxon a first-round playoff game in Noxon, but it also probably left a bitter taste in the Hornets’ mouths.

“I’m sure they will remember that last game we played, and most of their kids from that team are back,” Haflich said. “The early forecast is calling for rain and this could be a pretty physical game.

“We will need to take care of the football and limit our turnovers,” he added. “It’s pretty basic stuff really. We can only worry about what we can control and see where that gets us.”