If you are a vegetarian, this is the sprouts, tomato and cucumber time of the high school sports season.

If you are a meat eater, this is your big, juicy rib, aka “meat sickle” time.

And if you are tired of inflation and looking for a cheap, family entertainment bargain….pssst. Hey buddy, have I got a deal for you.

The Montana high school basketball and wrestling seasons crank it back up this coming weekend following a frenetic round of season opening activity and a Christmas Holiday break.

Now is the time to dust off the high tops and come out to watch some of the area’s finest athletes in action. And with most adult ticket prices in the $5-$6 range you can beat inflation at the same time.

There are seven public high schools in the Sanders and Mineral counties boundaries and all of them play basketball, boys and girls. The lone exception is Alberton, which due to injuries and low turnout numbers decided to sit out the girls basketball season. But the Panthers still have a solid group of boys basketball players to watch in a great old school gym.

And if wrestling is your thing, the bi-county area has several wrestlers who have legitimate shots at becoming state class B or C champions. All three area wrestling teams (Plains, Thompson Falls and defending State Champion Superior) have gotten off to good starts this year.

Basketball gets underway this Thursday evening when the Victor Pirates come to Plains to take on the resurgent Horsemen and Trotters. Both Plains teams came out of the break with sparkling early season records, the Trotters are 6-1 so far, while the boys are 5-2.

Hot Springs girls have also been on an early season tear, finishing the pre-break schedule with a single loss so far, that to Plains.

Friday’s schedule for this week includes Mission at Thompson Falls (boys and girls); St. Regis Tigers and Lady Tigers at Seeley; Superior at Hot Springs; and, Noxon at Plains.

The St. Regis boys are also off to a torrid start with a talented young team and perhaps the top boys players in the region, senior John Pruitt. Hot Springs’ girls feature one of the top girl players in the area, sophomore Kara Christensen.

Saturday, Thompson Falls travels to Charlo to take on the always tough Vikings; Troy stops by St. Regis; Seeley visits Hot Springs; Noxon journeys to Missoula for a pair of games (boys and girls) with Valley Christian; and Darby travels to Superior to meet the Bobcats and Lady Bobcats.

For wrestling fans, one of the best invitational meets of the year, the Cut Bank Invite, gets underway this Friday and concludes Saturday at Cut Bank High.

Schedules for all teams are most often available on the school’s website and almost always listed in stories printed in the Valley Press and Mineral Independent.

A family of four, whether you have a child who plays on a team or not, can often spend less than $25 on tickets, pop/water and a big bag of popcorn while watching some really good high school basketball at some of the coolest gyms around.

The tickets are cheap, the food is inexpensive and the quality of play may surprise you.