Hunting from daylight to dark for 10 days straight is hard…no matter how much you like it. Halfway through my recent trip to Montana, we had an opportunity to take a break to see something that hasn’t happened in 100 years.
The small towns of Grass Range and Winnett, Montana (total population 289) qualified for the Montana 6-on-6 State Championship in football. Grass Range has 32 students (K-12) and Winnett has 55 students (K-12) for a total of 87 kids. They combined schools to field a championship caliber team, going undefeated (10-0) for the regular season and qualifying for the Montana State 6-on-6 Championship. Their opponent was the Chester-Joplin-Inverness team with a total enrollment of 62 students.
Needing a break from the hunting and being extremely curious, we purchased our tickets and settled in to watch the Grass Range-Winnett Rangers (10-0) play the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks (9-1). Surprisingly enough, for schools with a combined student body of just 149 students, the crowd was estimated to be around 1,500 spectators.
The appeal of Montana’s six-man football goes beyond the scoreboard. Games draw enthusiastic community support, often involving local fans who may never have had ties to the team. For many small towns, Friday-night 6-man football embodies a sense of identity and belonging, with families, neighbors, and longtime residents turning out to cheer.
The place was electric with all the thrills of a championship game. Cow bells, air horns, music, food, and lots of supportive signs were scattered throughout the crowd. The local Air National Guard had already committed its jets to the Montana vs. Montana State game so a local rancher volunteered to fly his crop-dusting plane over the field (very low) as 3 lovely ladies sang the national anthem.
The setting was very nostalgic, with brown grass and a small scoreboard with several burned-out lights…I didn’t see a play clock so I’m guessing it didn’t exist. The bleachers were small with seating for just about 100 people. There were no locker rooms, no bands, and each team just went to the nearest endzone for final game preparation (and halftime).
I was able to get some answers to my very confused questions from a local rancher. The field is only 80 yds X 40 yds, first downs are every 15 yards, and touchdowns are 6 points. However, running for the extra point is worth 1 point and kicking it is worth 2. All players are eligible to catch a pass…however the player who receives the ball from the center is not eligible to run with it.
It was almost like watching a pick-up game, only with really, nice uniforms (You only have to buy 10-12 of them). However, the play was just as intense as any 11-on-11 games I have ever watched…lots of hard hitting and tackling.
In Montana, “six-man” high school football is a thriving tradition. The sport is governed by the Montana High School Association, which offers a Class C classification specifically for schools whose small enrollments make full 11-man teams impractical. These games are often the social and athletic centerpiece of rural towns.
Because there are fewer players on the field, the game tends to be fast-paced and high-scoring. This championship would be no different and the teams were tied at 30 at the end of regulation. After two OT periods, the Rangers, unfortunately, lost their first game of the season (46-38) and the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks were crowned the champions of the 6-on-6 state tournament.
Hopefully, for the hometown Rangers team, it will not take another 100 years to reach the championship game again.
