Small towns in Montana are generally asleep in the wee hours of a Friday morning, but anyone driving through Charlo or Arlee after midnight on Aug. 16 saw the brightest lights in town over the football fields.

Charlo head coach Mike Krahn and his team took the field the minute they legally could, beginning practice at midnight on Aug. 16—the first day of football practice in the Treasure State.

Krahn has a philosophy about midnight practices.

“Most of the teams we’re going to play are in there sleeping,” he explained. The Vikings football staff will use their first night of midnight mayhem as a tool for motivating his 25 young players.

Arlee’s Mike Rogers thought much the same way.

“It kind of gives the kids that Friday night lights atmosphere,” Rogers said. With only 14 boys out for football in Arlee, Rogers wants to keep them as enthusiastic as he can.

“I think the biggest thing I learned is I have 14 kids that want to play football,” the Warriors’ third-year coach added. “They’re athletes and they want to play, and that’s what I need.”

For Krahn, the midnight hour came with one surprise. Manuel Ammann, a Swiss exchange student who had never played organized football showed up for practice.

The rest was business as usual with the expected subjects. Krahn’s first practice was spent tuning up his highly touted running back tandem of Jacen Petersen and Tyler Delaney. Projected starting quarterback Michael Delaney, Tyler’s little brother, threw his first passes of the season.

The Viking practice ran like a well-oiled machine, operated by Krahn and offensive coordinator Jim Petersen.

Rogers and the Warriors staff focused on the mental side of the game a little more. He had his team running through the playbook, essentially performing an early-season walk through.

With only 14 players, Rogers’ staff donned the drill pads and took stand-in spots at linebacker and safety.

“[The players are] not necessarily looking at the fact that we have 14 kids,” Rogers said. “They’re looking at the fact that it’s football season, and they’re going to go out and play. … Our biggest thing is avoiding injuries and being able to come into that first game healthy.”

Both Arlee and Charlo begin their seasons on Saturday, Aug. 31 with conference games at home. The Vikings will host reigning state champion Superior while Arlee takes on Victor.