MHSA Postseason: Who’s playing and how you can watch in Granite County
GRANITE COUNTY – The week leading up to Halloween will be filled with some tricks and treats for local sports teams as they head into the postseason. From team match-ups to Covid-19 attendance precautions to viewing games online, we’ve got you covered.
Girls Volleyball
The Lady Trojans and Lady Prospectors had solid seasons, with Drummond tying Seeley Swan for first place at 10-2 and Granite tying Valley Christian at 8-4. The local teams fell on the short side of the tiebreakers, but still get to host first round matches Tuesday.
The No. 2 Lady Trojans will host No. 7 Lincoln at 6:30 p.m. in Drummond. The Lady Trojans have easily handled the Lynx in both matches this year, sweeping each 3-0.
The winner will face the survivor of the No. 3 Valley Christian versus No. 6 Victor on Thursday at the site of the higher seed.
The No. 4 Lady Prospectors will face off with No. 5 Darby at 6:30 p.m. The two squads played just once this year Sept. 10 in Darby, with Granite escaping with a five-set win. Their second contest became a no contest due to Covid-19.
The winner gets a road trip to No. 1 Seeley Swan Thursday as the Blackhawks had a first-round bye.
8-Man Football
The Titans enter the postseason on a roll and as the No. 1 team in the Western Division. They will host No. 4 Belt from the Northern Division. That game will be played in Drummond at 1 p.m. October 31.
The winner would advance to the quarterfinals and face the survivor of the Ennis (No. 3 South) at Fariview (No. 2 East) matchup.
Covid-19 Attendance Limitations
The Montana High School Association issued new rules for fan attendance October 13, 2020 that limit the amount of people that can attend postseason games. Issued for Football, Volleyball and Soccer, those rules include maximum tickets of:
6 spectator passes per uniformed player for both home and visitor
4 spectator tickets for alternates and managers
2 spectator tickets for coaches
2 spectator tickets for cheerleaders (up to a maximum of 12 cheerleaders)
No more than the maximum can be distributed
Student sections will not be allowed during post season play.
Bands will not be allowed during post season play.
Tickets must be distributed equally for home and visitors.
These rules are pursuant to the approval of county health officials, which can impose stricter standards if they so choose. Drummond and Granite have indicated they will use the MHSA guidelines.
Online Viewing
Both Granite and Drummond have cameras installed in their gymnasiums that are part of the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) network. Games will be broadcast on the network, typically coming online 15-30 minutes prior to the start.
Drummond’s football field, the site of the Flint Creek Titans’ first round playoff game, also has an NFHS camera mounted to broadcast games.
Subscriptions for the NFHS network come in one month and one year levels. Because the cameras were donated to the schools, the institutions receive no benefit from the $10.95 monthly subscriptions for the first three years (until 2023). The schools receive $20 of each $70 annual subscriptions.
For volleyball games played at Seeley Swan and Victor high schools, their respective booster clubs are planning to broadcast their home games online through their Facebook pages. The Blackhawk games can be viewed by clicking on the Seeley-Swan High School Activities page and the Pirates can be viewed by clicking the Victor Booster Club page.
