The first weekend of October, if you extended it backwards to Thursday the 2nd, brought yours truly dangerously close to a football overdose.

That Thursday involved watching 1.5 semifinal games and 100 percent of the title game at the Class AA portion of the State Flag Football championships in Hamilton. 

Glacier’s girls, as they tend to do, won another state title. The Wolfpack beat Crosstown rival Flathead 28-20 in the semifinals and then, after a couple hours, “regrouped” to beat Missoula Hellgate 28-0 for its fourth championship in the four years Montana has had the sport. 

A few thoughts occurred during a 15-hour workday.  

1, The quarterbacks are critical to success in flag football and Glacier and Flathead — the two best teams on the field by my book — had the two best QBs in seniors Karley Allen and Julia Kay. Allen can boast about being the centerpiece on the last two state titles, with of course some help the likes of Rylee Galle, Addison Kauffman, Olivia Banzett and Remi Osler. 

2, Glacier shouldn’t print green numbers on blue jerseys or vice-versa. I can’t be the only fogie who had trouble figuring out who caught what pass or made which sack (hello, Jillian McGuire). Help us out. 

3, The games consist of four 10-minute quarters, and the running clock is troublesome. In the second semifinal between Hellgate and Missoula Sentinel, Hellgate took over possession with over 4 minutes left in the third quarter. The next four snaps featured three penalties, two on Hellgate; all that time ran off while the Knights ran one legit play. That’s a flaw. 

But I have come here to praise the sport, not bury it. It’s past time for the Montana High School Association to sponsor it.  

On Saturday the Big Sky Conference had plenty of highlights, like Eastern Washington quarterback Nate Bell running for 175 yards as the Eagles beat Portland State 35-27. Montana QB Keali’i Ah Yat threw for 350 yards against Idaho State, but his most impressive play might have been his 33-yard catch and run of a pass from Michael Wortham — cutting away from the boundary after hauling in a 20-yard pass. 

Montana’s 42-38 win in Pocatello brought to mind the Big Sky of the 80s and 90s, when the best teams had the sharpest QBs and the yards piled up by the thousands: The Griz and Bengals combined for 1,014 on Saturday. 

Allen — who said she will play football in college, at either William Woods University in Missouri or Milligan University in Tennessee — learned at the shoulder of Kai Johnson, who quarterbacked the first two Glacier titles. The girls can spin that football. 

Studly QBs that dominate the action. Where have we seen that (two days) before? It all begs the question: Who wore it better? 

Reach Fritz Neighbor at 758-4463 or at [email protected].