There will be a new State AA football champion, and the Flathead Bravettes have as good as shot as any.

Ask Flathead wrestling coach Jeff Thompson, who gave a “why not us?” speech to the 7-1 Bravettes before they headed to Billings for the two-day tournament.  

“The girls are excited and we’re ready,” said second-year Bravettes coach Jess Hensley, ahead of Wednesday’s 1 p.m. game with Bozeman High. “We’re excited because we know there will be somebody new.” 

Glacier won last year’s AA title and the previous three all-class championships in the sport, which has expanded to all 16 Class AA schools despite not (yet) being sanctioned by the Montana High School Association. 

The Wolfpack fell in a Saturday play-in game against Missoula Big Sky; Bozeman sprung a similar upset on the Eastern AA’s third-place team, Billings Skyview. 

Hensley, whose club earned the top seed out of the Western AA, had spent time scouting the 4-5 teams in the East, Billings West and Great Falls High.  

“It’s a double-edged sword,” Hensley said. “You get the week to prepare but you don’t really know who you’re going to play. Then when both six seeds upset the three seeds, that really shook it up.” 

The streaming service NFHS.com helped make up some ground; meanwhile the Bravettes come in with the top-scoring team in the field, at 160 points over eight games.  

Triggering this offense is senior quarterback Gracie Mae Kilmer, who has thrown for 1,618 yards and 19 touchdowns, with nine interceptions. She also has run for 460 yards and all three of Flathead’s rushing TDs. 

Top pass catchers are sophomore Lexi Herion (40 receptions-522 yards) and junior Violet Close (33-326). Herion has caught 14 of the touchdowns; Danica Hennell has three receiving TDs, and Close and Aubrie Lindsay one each. 

Herion has another touchdown via interception return; so does teammate Mia Skees. Kilmer and Herion have picked off four passes each on defense; Teagan Hayek leads the team with 32 flags pulled. 

The defense has allowed two second-half touchdowns all season, a fact Hensley credits to defensive coordinator Carl Hennell’s adjustments. 

The tournament will mostly be played at Sam McDonald Stadium, formerly called Daylis Stadium, next to Billings Senior High School. The championship is set for 11:45 a.m. Thursday. 

Win a couple games and Flathead, which was runner up to Glacier in 2022 and ‘23, is back in it. 

“We feel ready for Bozeman, and we’re just going to do what we’ve done all season,” Hensley, whose team was third at last year’s State AA, said. “We’ll control what we can control. Like I tell the team, ‘You don’t know the outcome; all you can do is your best.’ ” 

State AA 

Wednesday 

Sam McDonald Stadium/Daylis (unless noted) 

Billings 

Game 1 — Gallatin (7-1) vs. Missoula Big Sky (3-6), 8 a.m. 

Game 2 — Helena Capital (9-1) vs. Billings West (4-3), 10:30 a.m. 

Game 3 — Flathead (7-1) vs. Bozeman (3-6), 1 p.m. 

Game 4 — Billings Senior (6-1) vs. Missoula Hellgate (5-3), 3:30 p.m. 

Semifinals 

Game 5 — Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 4:45 p.m. 

Game 6 — Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 6 p.m. 

Thursday 

Game 7 — Loser 1 vs. Loser 2, 8 a.m. (Lockwood) 

Game 8 — Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, 9:15 a.m. (Lockwood) 

Game 9 — Loser 5 vs. Loser 6, third place, 8 a.m. 

Game 10 — Winner 5 vs. Winner 6, championship, 11:45 a.m.