Fans will get the chance to watch both high school varsity football teams play this week.

That is because Butte High will play host to Missoula Hellgate on Thursday, and Butte Central will celebrate Senior Night against Hamilton on Friday.

The Bulldogs and Maroons will also play home matches in volleyball, and the cross country teams will hit the road for one final tuneup before the MHSA State meet. Butte High’s soccer season came to an end, and the Copper Sprockets closed out the mountain bike season in Lolo.

 We will look at that during this week’s lap around the Mining City prep sports scene.

Dogs eye winning streak

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming.

After near misses with Missoula Big Sky and Missoula Sentinel, Butte High’s football team ripped off back-to-back victories. That includes last Friday’s 35-7 Senior Day trouncing of Flathead at Naranche Stadium.

The Bulldogs look to officially make it a winnings streak Thursday as winless Missoula Hellgate comes to town for a Western AA game. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Naranche Stadium.

Butte High can clinch a playoff berth with a win, while Hellgate needs a victory to keep its very faint playoff hopes alive.

The 2026 campaign has not been kind to the Knights, who were hard by graduation after a playoff run a year ago. Hellgate is 0-7 overall and 0-5, and the Knights have been outscored 369-95 by their seven opponents.

After a 70-0 loss at Glacier and a 49-0 defeat to Big Sky, the Knights fell 56-26 to Helena Capital last week in Helena.

Hellgate junior quarterback Cannon Clark had a big game against the Bruins. He tossed two touchdown passes, and he ran for 162 yards and two scores in the loss. Both of his TD passes went to classmate Everett Roberts, who picked up 140 yards on five receptions.

Clark also picked off a pass and returned it 39 yards.

The Bulldogs (3-4, 2-3) enter the game full of confidence and looking to secure a home playoff game. The top six teams in the Western AA advance to the postseason. The top two teams get a bye, and the Nos. 3 and 4 teams host first-round games.

Butte High is sitting in fifth place, but the Bulldogs will pass Helena Capital for fourth place if they win Thursday and then take down the Bruins next Friday in Helena.

Things were going so well for the Bulldogs last week that the team threw a pair of touchdown passes, and neither came from senior starting quarterback Raeder Grey.

Sophomore receiver Ryan Bache tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to junior Hudson Steele on a trick play. Then junior backup quarterback Troy Samson dropped a dime to wide-open senior receiver Brady Walsh for 33-yard score.

With an offensive line made up mostly of Cooper Carter, Maxximus Pearston, Konner Hanni, Sawyer Casey, Karter Hall, Mason Swanson and Colton Nasheim, Grey and senior Miner Lee combined to run for 185 yards. Gray ran for 95 yards, while Lee broke free for 90 and a touchdown

Senior Jaeger Hansen added a pair of rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

After a coaches’ review of the film, senior linebacker Finn Wortham was credited with 12 total tackles, eight of which were solo. Grey racked up seven, while Hansen, Steele and senior Reece Cunneen got in on five.

Hansen, Grey and fellow senior Koda Schleeman each picked off a pass, and junior Kodye Kjersten, senior Kasen Snyder and Cunneen caused fumbles. Casey, a junior, recovered a fumble.

Senior Brady Doyle went 5 for 5 on PATs, and junior Tegan Duffy handled the kickoff and punt duties.

BC in must-win mode vs. Hamilton

For the second straight Friday, the Butte Central football team will play host to the Broncs on the Bob Green Field.

This time, it will be the Hamilton Broncs who come to town as the Maroons celebrate Senior Night for the 7 p.m. Southwestern A game.

After last week’s 35-12 loss to defending Class A State champion Frenchtown, the Maroons are officially in must-win mode as first-place Hamilton comes to town.

The Broncs are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in Southwestern A play. They hold a one-game edge over Frenchtown and Corvallis.

At 2-4 and 1-2, the Maroons are tied for fourth place with Dillon, and only the top three teams move on to the playoffs. That means BC needs to win out and get some help to qualify for the postseason.

That first part — beating Hamilton — will be no easy task.

The Broncs have won four straight games since their 29-28 home loss to Whitefish on Sept. 4 That includes a 41-0 win at Libby and a 46-0 home victory over Stevensville. After winning 21-20 at Frenchtown, the Broncs beat Dillon 41-21 at home last week.

Junior quarterback Cooper Weston had a huge game for the Broncs against the Beavers. In addition to passing for 201 yards, he ran 11 times for 76 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Jude Widmer ran 22 times for 171 yards and a score.

Weston has completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,176 yards. He’s thrown seven touchdowns compared to just one pick. Widmer is averaging 7.6 yards per carry. He’s racked up 651 yards and 10 touchdowns, matching Weston on the season.

Senior Easton Hollis is the top receiver. He has hauled in 24 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns. Trevyn Bakken and Widmer follow with 13 and 12 receptions. Senior Kaeden Gum has 11 catches. Bakken is averaging 20.4 yards per catch.

The score last week does not indicate how close the BC game with Frenchtown was. Sophomore quarterback Noah Sutton hit senior GG Fantini for a 42-yard touchdown pass, and the Maroons trailed just 14-6 at the half. Fantini added an 87-yar kickoff return for a score at the end of the game.

Sutton passed for 237 yards in the loss. Junior Jaxon Hiatt caught two passes for 84 yards, while Fantini racked up seven receptions for 60. Senior Joshua Sutton grabbed four catches for 594 yards, and senior Grady Button caught one pass for 39 yards.

Sophomore Henly Mansanti added an explosive play, picking up 43 yards on one carry.

Central will honor its seniors and their parents before the game. Those seniors are Joshua Sutton, Button, Fantini, Teghan Sparks, Cade Kelly, Danny McCarthy, Bobby McCarthy, Burkley Lakkala, Gunnar O’Brien and Jack Nylund.

The Maroons close out the regular season next Friday at Dillon.

Pirates win Blocktober Classic

The Polson Pirates were the last of 26 teams standing after the 15th Annual Blocktober Classic at the Maroon Activities Center and Butte Civic Center. (Results)

Polson beat Columbia Falls 25-18, 25-15 in the championship match at the Civic Center Saturday evening.

Host Butte Central went 1-7 in pool play. Then on Saturday, BC fell 25-15, 25-16 in the first round of the Copper Bracket. Central dropped out of the tournament with a 25-20, 25-18 loss to Anaconda.

The Maroons start a stretch of five Southwestern A matches in 13 days Thursday when the take on Frenchtown Thursday at the Maroon Activities Center. BC will play at Corvallis at 3 p.m. Saturday before heading to Stevensville Oct. 22.

Central will close out the season with two matches at home — oct. 24 against Hamilton and Oct. 27 against Dillon.

Bulldog spikers host matinee

With school out because of the MFPE Educator Conference, Butte High’s volleyball team will play a matinee Thursday at the Richardson Gym. The Bulldogs will take on Helena High at 3 p.m.

That comes after the Bulldogs have been showing signs of getting hot at the right time of the season.

Butte High split five-set weekend matches with the Kalispell schools before picking up a Western AA victory over Helena High on Tuesday night. The win lifted Butte High to 4-6 in conference play.

On Friday, Butte High beat Flathead 25-18, 23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-9. (Stats)

Seniors Allie Becker and Cadence Graham combined for 38 of Butte High’s 54 kills in that win. Becker tallied 21, and Graham spiked 17.

Sophomore Elli Graham led the backcourt with 23 digs. Senior Ellie Yates added 18, and Cadence Graham dug 11. The younger of the Graham sisters served up 42 assists to run the Bulldog attack.

Less than 24 hours later, the Bulldogs came out on the wrong side of a 23-25, 17-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-8 thriller with Glacier. (Stats)

Becker again led the Bulldogs with 16 kills. Cadence Graham spiked 11, while junior Stella Callaghan added nine, and senior Brittyn Klima tallied eight.

Elli Graham added three aces, 42 assists and 18 digs.

Cadence Graham’s 20 digs led the back court. Elli Graham (18), Yates (17), Callaghan (15) and Becker (13) also reached double figures in digs.

Butte High needed just four sets to beat Capital in Helena. The Bulldogs won 25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 25-17. (Stats)

Becker led three Bulldogs in double figures in kills with 16. Becker killed 12, and senior Avery Barsness spiked 10. Klima was next at eight.

Junior Kalee Wright served four aces in the win. Elli Graham dished 46 assists, and Yates had a huge match in the backcourt with 25 digs. Cadence Graham (14), Becker (12) and Elli Graham (10) joined Yates in double figures in digs.

The Bulldogs will be back at home Tuesday to celebrate Senior Night against Missoula Big Sky. They will honor their seniors and parents before the match.

Runners get one more tuneup

Butte High and Butte Central’s runners will get one final tuneup before next week’s MHSA State Cross Country Meet.

Butte High will run Thursday at the Gallatin Valley Invitational at Gallatin High School in Bozeman. The girls’ junior varsity and varsity will run at 11:30 a.m. The boys’ JV and varsity run at 12:15 p.m.

Butte Central will run Friday at the Western A Fall Classic at Wrangler Springs Ranch in Bigfork.

State is a week from Saturday in Billings.

Bulldog soccer season ends

Butte High’s soccer season came to an end with a pair of losses Tuesday at Missoula Hellgate. The powerful Knights won 10-0 in each match.

That came after the Bulldogs dropped a pair of matches to the Helena schools last week.

Butte High’s boys fell 9-0 last Thursday at Helena High. The Bulldogs dropped an 8-0 decision at home Saturday to Capital.

On the girls’ side, Butte High fell 10-0 at Helena before dropping a 10-1 decision Saturday at home.

That Senior Day loss included Butte High’s first goal of the season. That came on a penalty kick by sophomore Elsa Thieszen.

Butte High’s teams did not qualify for the playoffs.

Sprockets land in Lolo

The Montana NICA cycling series came to an end Saturday at the Lolo Final Landing. (Results)

Renzy LeProwse led the Butte Copper Sprockets. He won the JV1 boys’ race to secure the season title in the division.

Sprocket Paisley Jaksha took fourth in the JV3 girls’ race. She ended the season second overall in her division.

In the JV2 boys’ division, Copper Sprocket Luke Renouard took fourth to finish the season in fifth place.

A handful of Copper Sprockets also finished the season in the top five of the event. Paker Sullivan took third place in the fifth-grade girls’ race, finishing one spot ahead of teammate Addalin Hubbard.

Torsten Thieszen placed fourth in the sixth-grade boys’ race. Elise Walsh took fifth in the eight-grade girls’ race, and Kaspain Lutke placed fifth in the JV2 boys’ event.

The series began with two races in Bozeman Sept. 5-6. It also included stops in Kalispell and Butte.