East Helena's first home playoff game was a doozy for the Vigilantes, while Lewistown got a huge game from a sophomore running back to pick up the lone road win as Class A opened its postseason on Friday night.
The Vigilantes stormed past Glendive 54-22 and earned its first postseason victory. Whitefish also rolled, clipping Butte Central 52-6; Lewistown eluded Sidney 35-13; and Hamilton had a big win over Bigfork, 46-20.
The playoff quarterfinals start next Friday.
East Helena 54, Glendive 22
Playing its first home postseason game in school history, the Vigilantes broke away from a tie game with 33 unanswered first-half points for a 47-7 lead at the break and went on to score a season-high in points. Leo Longcake had three rushing touchdowns in the first half for the Vigilantes (8-2). East Helena’s Conor Carpenter had two first-half interceptions and Hagen Paddock scored two rushing touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass to help end the Red Devils’ season at 4-5.
East Helena, the Central Division's second seed, will travel to Columbia Falls in next week's quarterfinal round. The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed from the Northwest Division.
Whitefish 52, Butte Central 6
Luke Dalen scoring runs of 28 and 38 yards started and ended the scoring in the first half as the Bulldogs methodically took control to beat the Maroons (5-4). Dalen added another touchdown in the second half and Cole Moses scored on two touchdown runs and a reception to aid the Bulldogs (7-2).
Whitefish, the second seed from the Northwest, will face Central Division No. 1 seed Laurel next week.
Lewistown 35, Sidney 13
Sophomore Madden Norslein had a standout game, scoring on long touchdown receptions and a kickoff return to power the Golden Eagles (7-2) to a road playoff win over Sidney (7-3). Norslein had a 54-yard reception from McKay Shobe for one score, a 92-yard catch for another, and he returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown after Sidney had trimmed a 28-0 deficit to 28-13.
Lewistown, the Central's third seed, is back on the road next week. The Eagles will play at Frenchtown, which won the Southwest Division.
Hamilton 46, Bigfork 20
Jackson Lubke's 95-yard kick return highlighted a big night for the Broncs (8-1), who have scored 42 points or more in each of their last four games following a midseason loss to Frenchtown. The Broncs spread their success around, with quarterback Cooper Weston throwing for a score and running for two more. Bigfork finished its season 5-4.
Hamilton, the second seed from the Southwest, will next meet undefeated Billings Central, the top seed from the Eastern Division.
