Six-man football in Montana is unique on its own - and is about to see something never done in a six-man game, or rather, it will play in a stadium never used for six-man prior to this weekend.
Washington Grizzly Stadium in Missoula has seen plenty of football where 12 men on the field is usually a penalty, but this Friday, that won’t be the case because that will be how many players will always be on the field, when Valley Christian takes on Geraldine-Highwood on the big stage.
Head Coach Brandon Gondeiro is a Griz alum so he is familiar with Wa-Griz but knows his team isn’t as much.
“It will be fun for all of us, but the important thing is to not get caught up in the atmosphere and just focus on every down and every rep like normal,” Gondeiro said.
The Rivals are young with only two seniors, one from each town, but they are confident they can put on a show for Chouteau County.
Ian Moline is the Geraldine senior and says the team is a bit nervous but they’re ready to play.
“It’s a little nervewracking but exciting. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for high school football, especially for Geraldine and Highwood,” Moline said.
C.W. Forder is the Highwood senior and says the team has been scouting Valley Christian intensely this week but are still a little unsure of what they’ll see on the turf.
“What we’ve seen from the scout defense is they have a pretty unorthodox offense with a lot of overload and spread and things we’re not used to always seeing. We’ve done everything we can to get ready for this game,” Forder said.
Geraldine Highwood is coming off a 67-44 win against West Yellowstone and Valley Christian is coming off a 36-26 loss to Custer-Hysham.
The nonconference game kicks off at 7 pm Friday night in Missoula.
