Praise the Lord and pass the basketball.

I’m open.

In Western Montana high school basketball circles, parochial schools rule the roost at an increasing pace.

As more and more parents enroll their children in church-run schools, more and more parochial sports programs are enjoying championship trophies for the school display case.

This is not a threat to the democratic republic that is the USA.

It is an interesting trend, when combined with a rise in the number of home school teams such as Flathead Valley Home School, which fielded very competitive boys’ and girls’ basketball teams this past season.

And it is certainly not a new phenomenon, schools like Billings Central, Great Falls Central and Butte Central have been around a long time and have enjoyed success of their own over the years.

In my sometimes-humble opinion, sports can use an infusion of religion. Did we really, as a society, fire a Washington football coach for leading a prayer circle after a football game a few years ago?

Yeah, we did. But the coach got his job back and a healthy paycheck from the courts to go with it.

And for some reason, this spiritual sports revival is particularly strong in the western parts of the Treasure State.

To wit, the two divisional basketball tournaments held in this part of the Big Sky, the Western B and C boys’ and girls’ tournaments in Hamilton and Butte respectively, were, to say the least, well-represented by church schools.

The most prominent examples this year: Missoula Loyola Sacred Heart and Manhattan Christian.

The boys from Loyola dismantled a very good Thompson Falls team 82-40 on their way to dominating the Western B tourney. The Rams beat St. Ignatius 88-25, rolled over Arlee 75-35 and won the title and a trip to the State tournament with a convincing 82-40 win over T Falls.

The Loyola girls, aptly named the Sacred Heart “Breakers”, ruled the roost in their competition. The Loyola girls beat Superior 66-19 in the first round, ran past a really good T Falls team 69-32 in the second round and beat Florence Carlton 65-43 in the championship game.

Class C was not much better for the non-parochial teams as Manhattan Christian continued its dominant play with the boys beating Lincoln 60-39 in the title game and the Lady Eagles rolling past Charlo 67-30 in the consolation championship game.

None of this is alarming, nor should it be. The muffled groans from fans and even coaches at many non-church schools, aka public schools, have been whispered for years: “those church schools recruit players and are not limited by district boundaries.

When I lived and worked in Spokane several years ago, Gonzaga Prep was widely known for “recruiting” football players, particularly very large, athletic lost souls from Canada and other regions.

As parents look increasingly for alternatives to standard public education, this trend is likely to continue.

But if it brings with it sportsmanship, the comradeship of prayer circles and impressive levels of athleticism, what harm is there in that?

I, for one, would rather see young athletes on their knees than chirping smack in the faces of their opponents.