Of the many encouraging things about this football season in Columbia Falls, the biggest is that quarterback Cody Schweikert could be a one-way player.

An excellent linebacker, the 6-foot-3 Schweikert took over as starting QB partway through the 2021 season. It behooves the Wildcats to keep his uniform as clean as possible his senior year.

“It’s really key to keep him healthy,” Wildcats coach Jaxon Schweikert said. “He’s such a physical player at linebacker, he gets a lot of bumps and bruises. As a dad I’m like, ‘Yeah, send him out there.’ As a coach, you’re like, ‘No…’”

Columbia Falls figures as usual to be near the top of a tough league that saw Polson and Hamilton reach the semifinals last year, and Hamilton win the title in 2021.

The Broncs and Dillon Beavers should challenge the Wildcats, who played in back-to-back State A championships in 2016-17, winning it all in 2017.

It also behooves everyone to win early and often: The conference has 13 teams with the addition of Bigfork, but just six postseason berths after years of getting seven.

Schweikert, who recently committed to the Montana Grizzlies, gives the Cats an arm and two legs up: He threw for 2,380 yards and 23 touchdowns last fall, and ran for another 374 yards and 10 scores.

He has several seasoned targets back, led by Jace Hill (643 receiving yards, 19.2 a catch) and Mark Robison (30 catches, 416 yards), and including Chance Miller, Alihn Anderson and Lane Hoerner. Reggie Sapa, who carried 86 times for 465 yards (5.4 avg.) and six TDs in 2022, also returns as tailback.

All this happens behind a line with left tackle Hunter Goodman and guards Lane Voermans and Tristan Cranes leading the way.

Long story short: “We have a lot of kids that have played a lot of downs for us,” Schweikert said.

Then there’s the defense, where Hunter Goodman, the do-everything Miller, Billy Gustafson, Adler Waters and Blake Cronk all figure in at linebacker.

“Goodman, he is outstanding. He’s long and rangy, super strong. Just a great football player,” Schweikert said. “Chance Miller, he’s played defensive end outside backer. Just a really good senior football player that can play anywhere we need him.”

Sapa and Robison man the safety spots; Hill plays a corner along with Anderson.

“(Corner) is where he should have been all along,” Schweikert said of Hill. “But he moved to outside linebacker last year because we needed him there.”

You can somewhat divide the Western A’s haves and have-nots at the quarterback position: C-Falls, Hamilton (Tyson Bauder), Dillon (Kee Christiansen), Corvallis (Aydan Mayne) and yes, Bigfork (Tristan Herd) have their signal callers back — and we should note Hamilton also returns the Western A’s defensive player of the year, Andrew Burrows.

The Vikings are back in Class A after several seasons in Class B, the last two featuring deep playoff runs under veteran head coach Jim Benn.

Besides Herd, who threw for 1,528 yards and 21 touchdowns on a 10-1 season last fall, top running back Wyatt Johnson returns along with tight end Eli Thorness and wideouts David Jayme and Thomas Epperly.

“They’re not really long kids like we had last year, but Eli kind of makes up for that at 6-3,” Benn said.

Benn hopes for a midseason return from receiver/corner Cole Knopik (ACL), and that a line that has 6-5, 290-pound tackle Henry Carlson and center Andrew Wallen will continue to make holes.

Can the powerful Western B prepare a club for the Western A? We shall see.

“It’s really good football, obviously,” Benn said of the new league. “There’s no weekend off, and we’re going to have to be prepared to play every week.”

The Vikings have one booster: Schweikert.

“They’re stacked,” said the Wildcats’ coach. “I think they can be a playoff team. … They’ve got dudes.”

Frenchtown is perennially strong though the Broncs are working in a new QB (Brody Hardy). Whitefish had to replace four-year starter Fynn Ridgeway, and second-year coach Brett Bollweg went with Mason Kelch, while fellow senior Carson Gulick, a transfer from Glacier High, gives him a valuable backup and overall athlete. “He’s going to be a player for us, in some fashion,” Bollweg said.

The Bulldogs also have to replace graduated running back Ty Schwaiger; toting the rock will be Brady Howke, who is also a top linebacker. The receiving corps is led by Ryder Barinowski and Dane Hunt, along with tight end Scotty Dalen.

“Dane’s going to have a big year for us,” Bollweg noted. “I’m very excited for him.”

Up front are Henry Bennetts, Sam Akey and Jon Holien; Bennetts plays middle linebacker.

Polson enters the post-Jarrett Wilson Era with a new coach: Carson Oakland, who came over after leading Mission to last fall’s 8-man title game.

Holden Emerson steps into QB in place of the prolific Wilson. His job would be easier if tight end Brock Henriksen wasn’t a little banged up, though Oakland said he’ll be out just a couple weeks.

Tommy Sherry and Cason Graham fortify the receiving corps and there’s still strength up front in Seth Cunnigham, Lincoln Burrow and Astin Brown. Oakland also likes the looks of linebackers Cody Haggard and Eli Ulutoa; the latter is a transfer from Ronan.

Libby and Corvallis battled the last two years for what was the No. 7 seed and a final playoff spot. Now there’s one less spot and the seedings are dependent on a tie-breaking formula thanks to an unbalanced schedule. Hamilton and Columbia Falls don’t play this fall, for example.

The Loggers can still do damage, with running back Jace DeShazer returning. As a junior he ran for 585 yards in a backup role for run-first Libby, and he’s a standout at linebacker.

Prediction

Columbia Falls

Hamilton

Dillon

Frenchtown

Bigfork

Whitefish

Corvallis

Polson

Stevensville

Ronan

Libby

East Helena

Browning

Players to Watch

Alihn Anderson, CB, Columbia Falls; Cooper Anderson, DB, Dillon; Ryder Barinowski, K, Whitefish; Tyson Bauder, QB/DB, Hamilton; Henry Bennetts, OL, Whitefish; Astin Brown, OL, Polson; Andrew Burrows, OL/DL, Hamilton; Lincoln Burrough, DL, Polson; Henry Carlson, OL/DL, Bigfork; Kee Christianson, QB, Dillon; Ted Coffman, WR, Ronan; Tristan Cranes, OL, Columbia Falls; Scotty Dalen, DE, Whitefish; Jace DeShazer, RB/LB, Libby; Holden Emerson, QB, Polson; Andrew Frederick, RB, Hamilton; Kai Golan, K, Columbia Falls; Hunter Goodman, OL/LB, Columbia Falls; Brock Henriksen, LB, Polson; Tristan Herd, QB/K, Bigfork; Jace Hill, WR, Columbia Falls; Dane Hunt, WR, Whitefish; Landon Johansen, OL, Corvallis; Wyatt Johnson, RB/LB, Bigfork; Mason Kelch, WR/S, Whitefish; Cole Knopik, DB/WR, Bigfork; Kale Konen, RB/LB, Dillon; Taylor Kopp, LB, East Helena; Lucas Lant, TE/LB, Hamilton; Trevor Lewis, OL, Hamilton; Laurance Lozeau, LB, Ronan; Aydan Mayne, QB, Corvallis; Eli Nourse, CB, Dillon; Austin Oberwagner, OL, Polson; Ryleigh Plavonic, OL, Dillon; Dillen Potter, WR/DB, Corvallis; Layne Powers, OL, East Helena; Maurice Redhorn III, WR, Browning; Levi Reynoso, LB, Corvallis; Mark Robison, S/WR, Columbia Falls; Zach Sannar, DL, Stevensville; Reggie Sapa, RB, Columbia Falls; Cody Schweikert, QB/LB, Columbia Falls; Isaac Stoker, OL/DL, Corvallis; Eli Thorness, TE, Bigfork; Lane Voermans, OL, Columbia Falls;

Andrew Wallen, C, Bigfork; Tahj Wells, RB, Browning; Cy Williams, S, Libby; Jayden Wright, DL, East Helena.