The Western B football teams have an abundence of talent up front this fall, and perennial powers Eureka and Florence are no exception.

Eureka, in its second year under coach Kenny Kindel, needs to replace a talented senior group that helped the Lions push eventual State B champion Manhattan to the wire in a 14-12 semifinal loss. 

“We lost six seniors from last year and a lot of folks aren’t expecting much from us,” Kindel, a Eureka graduate, said. “A lot of skill positions are going to be new, but we have a pretty solid line.” 

Guards Joe Banks and Declan Peterson lead the way up front, along with tackle Travis Lane. That adds up to 725 pounds of blocking, which should help the Lions (8-3 last year) as they work in new people at quarterback, running back and receiver. 

“So far, we’re looking at a two-quarterback system, at least until things settle down,” said Kindel, referring to seniors Tyce Van Orden and Hunter Grieve. “We will have a good running attack, but it might a quarterback-centered one.” 

That worked a year ago with QB Rogan Lytle and Josh Lambertsen; Lambertsen’s running back spot could be filled by Colton Colver, Teegan Judd and Wyatt Williams. 

Another loss was back Ayden Helgert, who graduated high school early. But the Lions have generally been able to reload; Kindel figures this season should be different, not with a solid senior class of 10. 

“We had a good preseason and we’re just ready to play, as everybody is this time of year,” he said. 

Florence, 6-4 overall but 5-0 in the league a year ago, remains the favorite. The Falcons, winners of three straight State B titles from 2021-23, have the lone returning All-State pick in the league: Running back and linebacker Christian Englund. 

Four Western B teams will make the playoffs, and Anaconda and Thompson Falls have as good a shot as anyone. Both return plenty of beef on the front lines.  

Reid Maes plays up front on offense and linebacker on defense for the Copperheads, who were 6-4 and made the playoffs last fall. For Thompson Falls, Riley Reum and Jesse Buchanan should clear lanes for running back Michael Koskela. 

Missoula Loyola is a puzzle: After going 6-4 in 2024, the Rams co-op’d with Valley Christian — which had gone 8-1 in 8-man football that same fall — and slipped to 3-7 (with a playoff loss) in 2025.  

Now NFL legacy Rick Hoaglin has taken over for Todd Hughes as coach, and numbers aren’t great. Just 25 Rams are on the maxpreps.com roster. 

Deer Lodge, in its second season back in Class B after a successful 2024 in 8-man, was 0-8 last fall. 

Prediction

1. Florence 

2. Eureka 

3. Anaconda 

4. Thompson Falls  

5. Missoula Loyola 

6. Deer Lodge 

Players to Watch: 

Ryder Anderson, QB-DB, Anaconda; Joe Banks, OL, Eureka; Kavika Bates, OL-DL, Loyola; Lee Blair, OL, Florence; Grant Brown, OL, Eureka; Jesse Buckhanan, OL-DL, Thompson Falls; Fletcher DeGroot, OL-DL, Loyola; Christian Englund, RB-LB, Florence; Nathan Karvanti, WR-DB, Loyola; Soren Keeland, LB, Anaconda; Michael Koskela, RB-LB, Thompson Falls; Carson Lacey, WR-DB, Anaconda; Ethan Lamb, WR-DB-KOR, Loyola; Nolan Lippy, DE-TE, Florence; Reid Maes, OL-LB, Anaconda; Tash Murray, WR-DB, Florence; Jason Myers, WR-DB, Thompson Falls; Decland Peterson, OL, Eureka; Riley Reum, OL-DL, Thompson Falls; Tyce Van Orden, WR-DB, Eureka; Brylon Van Alswyk, QB-DB, Thompson Falls; Jonathan Williams, OL-DL, Florence; Jacobe Wood, OL-DL, Thompson Falls.