Shelby (#2 North) at Eureka (#1 West)
Shelby Key Players – QB/S Aaron White (Sr.), OL/DL TJ Reynolds (Sr.), RB/DB Zach Torgerson (Sr.), OL/DL Curtis Conant (Sr.), WR/LB Barrett Hansen (Sr.)
Eureka Key Players – QB/S Garrett Graves (Sr.), RB/LB Jake Kindel (So.), WR/DB Hank Dunn (So.), RB/DB Chet McCully (So.), WR/S Brenton Pluid (Sr.)
These two teams didn't meet in 2017 but they played each other twice in 2016 with Shelby winning the regular season meeting 28-18 while Eureka won the playoff matchup 43-8. Frankly, I see this title game playing out similar to the playoff game between these two in 2016. Eureka has been dominant every game this season and last week's 31-6 win over Fairfield was one of the most impressive wins at any level of Montana football in quite some time. I've harped on here that if you want to have a shot at beating Eureka, you have to match their intensity and play mistake-free football for four quarters. Fairfield failed to do that last weekend and I don't see Shelby doing it this weekend. Eureka is an up-tempo team that will keep coming at you with the run or pass until you break so I just don't see how Shelby can keep up because of their lack of depth. The Coyotes definitely have arguably the best throwing quarterback in the state in Aaron White but Eureka matches that with arguably the best dual-threat quarterback in Garrett Graves. Shelby is definitely bigger up front on both sides of the ball but nearly every team has been bigger than Eureka and it just doesn't affect them. I do like how Shelby's defense has played in the playoffs, specifically their secondary. They struggled with Koppang last week but overall, they are a good tackling group that flows to the ball well. If Shelby can slow the game down and control the line of scrimmage with their big offensive line, they may have a shot. But Graves has played like a man possessed this season and he operates the Lions offense almost to perfection. The biggest hurdle in stopping Eureka is that Graves isn't the only dangerous player on their team which many believed to be the case this year. Pluid, McCully, Dunn, and Kindel (a senior and three sophomores) have raised their level of play this year and taken on a much bigger role than last year's state title team. Graves has allowed them to succeed by giving them opportunities with the football. I like Shelby's running back & receivers but no one has stopped Eureka's group yet and I don't see the title game going any different. I expect White to take his shots through the air and I see Eureka coming away with about four turnovers.Eureka defeated Fairfield 31-6 (My prediction was Eureka wins 34-30)
Shelby defeated Missoula Loyola 28-27 (My prediction was Shelby wins 24-21)
Semifinal Game Recaps from Montana Sports: http://www.montanasports.com/2017/11/11 ... fairfield/
Prediction: Eureka wins 34-7