Butte Central’s football team has been on a roll.

The Maroons have won four straight games, and the last three have been blowouts. They beat Ronan, Corvallis and Stevensville by a combined score of 133-35. At 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Southwestern A play, BC is off to its best start since before the COVID pandemic.

But things are about to get decidedly more difficult for the Maroons. Head coach Don Peoples Jr. called Central’s remaining schedule a “three-game gauntlet.”

That starts Friday when the Maroons hit the road to take on Frenchtown (5-1, 2-0). Next week, the Maroons play at Hamilton (4-1, 1-1) before returning home Oct. 24 to close the regular season against nemesis Dillon (1-4, 1-1).

After Friday’s 58-22 win over Stevensville on the Bob Green Field, though, BC is not about to back down from anybody.

Senior quarterback Ryan Peoples had another big game to lead the BC offense that has turned into a bona fide juggernaut. He threw touchdown passed of 42 and 75 yards to junior Joshua Sutton. He also hit Jack Nagle for a 26-yard score.

Peoples, Henly Mansanti, GG Fantini and Jaxon Hiatt ran for scores behind an offensive line made up of J.J. Taylor, Burkley Lakkala, Colt Hassler, Jack Nylund and Bobby McCarthy. Sutton added a kickoff return for a score.

On the season, Peoples has tossed 13 touchdowns compared to just two interceptions. He is averaging 219 yards passing per game.

Taylor, Mansanti, Treigh Hollow and Parker Kellicut each have two sacks to lead the BC defense. Sutton picked off three passes, while Hiatt intercepted two. Fantini, Tony Stajcar and Manny Weang each have one.

Frenchtown enters the game with three straight wins following a 35-7 loss at Billings Central, which is destroying everybody. The Broncs rolled Florence-Carlton 23-8, beat Dillon 38-7 and edged Hamilton 21-14 in Hamilton.

A strong running attack leads the Broncs into battle. Senior Cole Johnson is averaging 122.7 yards per game. He ran for 100 yards four times in six games, and he found the endzone six times. Senior Bailey Corrett and Michael Rummel have each scored twice.

Junior quarterback Dawson Rodoni has passed for nine touchdowns and five interceptions.  Senior Jordan Warner leads the team with five TD receptions.

Senior Konnor Klimpel leads the Frenchtown defense with 8.3 tackles per game. Classmates Henry Griffin and Jaxon Haynes each got in on three sacks, and junior Cooper Michaud picked off three passes.

Click here for a story and boxscore on BC’s win over Stevensville by Bruce Sayler on ButteSports.com.

Bulldogs head to Kalispell

Butte High’s football team just can’t seem to buy a break.

The Bulldogs dropped their fourth straight game Friday, falling in a 35-28 shootout against Helena High at Naranche Stadium. That followed a 10-7 loss on a last-second field goal to Missoula Sentinel the week before.

Butte (1-5 overall, 0-4 conference) will head to Kalispell to take on Flathead (1-4, 0-4) in a Western AA game at Legends Stadium. Flathead also enters the contest looking to snap a four-game losing streak.

The Braves fell 27-20 at Helena Capital on Friday. The week before, they dropped a 64-20 decision at home to Missoula Big Sky.

Senior quarterback Eli Coopman leads a strong Flathead running attack. He has racked up 572 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. He has six touchdowns on the season He has also passed for six touchdowns compared to seven interceptions.

Senior Nolan Campbell and sophomore Leum Saisbury are also weapons in the running game. Both have scored a pair of touchdowns.

Senior Matthew Lewis, junior Oliver Rossenberg and Saisbury have each picked off a pair of passes to lead the Flathead defense.

Despite the tough loss, the Bulldogs had some bright spots to build on in the loss to Helena High. Junior quarterback Raeder Grey heated up in the fourth quarter and passed for 324 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 21 of 29 passes.

All-State senior Hudson Luedtke had another big game for the Bulldogs, hauling in 12 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. His receiving yards were a season-high for Luedtke.

Classmate Kaleb Celli caught four passes for 35 yards, and Koyde Kjersten hauled in two passes, including a 52-yard touchdown reception.

Senior Peyton Johnson averaged 4.0 yards per carry for the Bulldog running game. Senior Gunner Bushman ran for his first varsity score.

After a film review by coaches, senior Mitch Verlanic led the team with 10 tackles. Junior Jaeger Hansen collected nine, six of which were solo. Luedtke racked up three tackles for a loss.

The Bulldogs will be on the road again next week, taking on Missoula Hellgate Thursday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Bulldogs will then close the regular season Oct. 24 at home against Helena Capital.

Flag football season ends

Butte High’s flag football team bowed out of the State tournament last Wednesday with a first-round loss to Kalispell Glacier, which won another title in Hamilton.

The Wolfpack have won every title since the sport came to Montana high schools in 2022.

While the Bulldogs did not hoist the trophy, Butte High first-year coach John Stenson said he liked the progress his team made during the season.

“Overall, it was a great season,” Stenson said. “We didn’t get as many wins as we wanted, but the team learned a lot and grew by leaps and bounds throughout the season. We have a great group of girls coming back next season. We are excited to have a full offseason with camps and summer workouts. The expectations are high and the girls are excited. The sport is growing and it is great to see.”

Stenson said the team is really going to miss its seniors. They are Allie Ballensky, Megan Flanick, Charlee Griner, Laney Huizinga and McKenna LeCoure.

Other players on the Bulldog roster in 2025 are juniors Brooke Johnson, Jayda Gustafson, McKenna Ketchum, Alexis King, Jaydyn Mason and Mackenzie Read; sophomores Brylee Ballensky, Iszabella Dawson, Addisyn Lambrecht, Lilyi Malone, Audrey Moore and Chyanne Robinson; and freshmen Ellie Carey, Reaghan Denning, Rylee Erickson, Kolbie Erickson, Brooklyn Hettick, Jaydyn LaBuff, Kaydee O’Connor, Willow Rose, Bella Schrapps and Kynslee Wrampe.

Stenson is assisted by Mike McGurk, and Finley Gonzales is the manager.

Spartans sweep Bulldogs

Missoula Sentinel swept a Western AA volleyball match with Butte High Tuesday night in Missoula. The Spartans won 26-24, 25-12, 25-16. (Boxscore)

Senior Gracie Jonart’s seven kills paced the Bulldog attack in the loss Senior Audry McCafferty added five kills, while juniors Cadence Graham (11) and Ellie Yates (10) recached double digits in digs. Freshman Ellison Graham set 20 assists.

That came after the Bulldogs suffered a tough 25-22, 25-14, 19-25, 25-20 Western AA match to Missoula Big Sky Thursday in Missoula. (Boxscore)

The Bulldogs offered a balanced attack in the loss. Junior Avery Barsness led the way with seven kills. Jonart and junior Brittyn Klima each killed six, while junior Allie Becker put away five.

Cadence Graham’s 26 digs lead a balanced effort from the backcourt. Ellison Graham dug 22, while Becker followed with 21. Jonart added 11, and Yates dug 10. Ellison Graham set 23 assists.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs hosted a crossover tournament.  The Dogs dropped a 2-1 decision to Bozeman. They fell 2-0 to Great Falls High, Great Falls Russell and Gallatin.

Butte High is back in action Thursday when the Bulldogs play host to Missoula Hellgate at the Richardson Gym.

Maroons set for Blocktober Classic

Butte Central’s volleyball team dropped a three-set home match to Dillon Thursday at the Maroon Activities Center.

The Beavers won 25-16, 25-17 and 25-22. No statistics are available for that match.

The Maroons will host the annual Blocktober Classic tournament Friday and Saturday at the MAC. Teams competing with BC are Anaconda, Big Fork, Billings Central, Browning, Colombia Falls, Miles City, Dillon, East Helena, Lewistown, Florence, Frenchtown, Hamilton, Hardin, Havre, Boulder, Laurel, Libby, Lockwood, Livingston, Polson, Deer Lodge, Ronan, Stevensville and Whitefish.

Pool play begins at 9 a.m. Friday, and bracket play is set to start at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Volunteers are needed run the tournament. Jobs needed filled include the scorebook, scoreboard and line judge. Contact Chad Petersen at chadpetersen@gmail.com or (406) 498-5000 if you can help.

Click here to for the tournament schedule and to follow along with the scores and standings.

Looking ahead

Butte High and Butte Central’s cross teams will compete in the Capital City 7 of 7 meet Saturday at Helena’s Bill Roberts Golf Course.

That meet will include 59 teams and multiple races. A walk through of course will be held at 11 a.m.. The varsity No. 7 boys and girls run at 1:45. Races start every half hour until the No. 1 runners in boys and girls run at 4:45 p.m.

Butte Central’s last action was the Hamilton Invitational at Daly Mansion. (Results)

The Maroons sent four boys to compete in that meet. Junior Jack Holmes led the way for BC, finishing the 5-kilometer course in 21 minutes, 53 seconds.

Eighth grader Roman Terry finished in 24:58. He was followed by Juniors Joe Bradshaw (25:09) and Conan Holmes (26:12).

Polson runner David DiGiallonardo won the race in 16:14. Drummond’s Dawson Parke placed second at 16:39, less than a second faster than Hamilton’s Benjamin Beare.

On the girls’ side, Morgan Delaney of Polson won in 19:05. Polson’s Quinn Delaney was second at 19:21, and Hamilton’s Aleigha Child placed third in 19:34.

Butte High’s soccer teams will play host to Missoula Hellgate Thursday at Bulldog Memorial Stadium. The girls play at 3 p.m., and the boy play at 5.

Butte High’s teams played host to Helena High on Saturday before playing at Missoula Sentinel on Tuesday. Scores for those matches have not been provided.

The Bulldogs have three matches left in the regular season. After playing at Missoula Big Sky on Saturday, the Bulldogs will play host to Kalispell Glacier on Oct. 17.