GREAT FALLS — Choteau beat Belt 34-14 during the regular season. But neither team is treating that as a head start for Saturday’s 8-Man semifinal rematch.
The Bulldogs haven’t lost since early September and are two wins from a state championship, a goal they set during summer workouts. The Huskies haven’t lost on the field since falling to Choteau and are one win from the title game.
“It’s a new game. It’s a new day. Anything could happen,” Choteau wide receiver and cornerback Rusch Yeager said. “There’s nothing from that last game that’s going to change how we think.”
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Choteau coach Scott Hadlock said the postseason is a clean slate.
“Starting first round of the playoffs, the season basically starts over again,” Hadlock said. He expects Belt to be physical. “We know that they’re going to come out and they’re going to hit hard, and they’re going to be physical with us, and we’ve got to match and do a better job with that.”
For Choteau’s seniors, the stakes go beyond the next game.
“It’s something we’ve never done,” Yeager said. “It’s something nobody on this team has ever done. Something that just about everybody in this town hasn’t done.”
Senior tight end and middle linebacker Dax Yeager said the team has worked toward this since the offseason.
“It’s been a common goal of ours ever since summer workouts,” he said. “We’ve always agreed that the state title is one of our goals, so it’d feel really good. But we still know there’s a job to finish.”
Belt coach Matt Triplett is asking his players for the same balance. “I tell the guys, just play with confidence. Not necessarily a chip on your shoulder, but with confidence and humility,” Triplett said. He said an overconfident team can come apart after taking a punch.
“We’re going to get hit,” he said. “So we’ve got to play with confidence, but with humility, knowing that we might be on our heels a little bit at times. But if we just dig in and play hard together, we’ll overcome.”
Belt is playing this season without the quarterback who left for Billings Central. Triplett moved running back Greyson Garza to the position, and Garza said the offensive line has made the switch easier.
“Our linemen have been great,” he said. “They’ve been flawless.”
Garza, a senior, has played in two state title games and lost both.
“Not everyone even gets to make it this far,” he said. “Getting to the semifinals and potentially playing in a state championship is a great feeling.”
