Even Odds: Another election in the books

By Pat Ryan - 11/05/2008

The 2008 election is in the books, but it's another one of those results where we need to take a little time and let the dust settle before we know who will be our next president.

Or maybe we don't. Truth is, I'm writing this on Tuesday evening and there are only two states called either way, so I have no idea which way the pendulum swung.

Of course, if you were looking for election results, you likely looked at page A1. I know a lot of you come straight to B1 on Wednesdays to see what witty banter P.R. is blathering this week, but this is the wrong place for election results, though they're sometimes fun to discuss.

It's also special to see how many new voters are coming to the polls, and I'm not just talking about the 18-year-old kids. I know of at least one voter who is almost as old as me and voted in his first general election Tuesday. He claims that he now has every right to complain, and I'm proud of him for that.

While national election results were hazy at best early Tuesday evening, I have a pretty good idea what's going on in Montana high school football. We don't need no stinking Electoral College to tell us that.

As our two local prep grid teams are back to the drawing board, chalking up plays for next season, we need to spread out to a few area teams to find some horses still in the race.

In the Class A ranks, Dillon advanced to the quarterfinals with a convincing win over Whitefish last Saturday. The Beavers earned a trip to Havre this weekend to test the Blue Ponies.

In the Class C eight-man bracket, both Twin Bridges and Superior advanced from their Western C battles. Both would like to be a part of another all-Western C final.

Drummond and Sheridan faced off for the title last year with Twin Bridges watching in the wings. The Falcons looked on uneasily, as they were the only team to beat Drummond and Sheridan last season.

The loss to Sheridan in the first round of the playoffs has weighed heavily, but Falcon coach Rob Lott has blinders on his players, keeping their eyes squarely focused on the prize. After a very convincing 49-14 win over Victor, the Falcons face a long road trip to Denton Saturday to face the Trojans.

Denton is about 20 miles north of Lewistown, and yes, I needed a map on that one.

The winner of the game in Denton will play the winner of Wibaux and Centerville for a chance to play in the title game Nov. 22.

The closest six-man survivor is West Yellowstone, which hosts Augusta in the quarterfinals.

Results are now in on the national scene, and congratulations go out to new president-elect Barack Obama.

We'll need a few more weeks to see what unfolds in the Treasure State's football playoffs. Good luck gentlemen.

— Pat Ryan's column appears here most Wednesdays. Contact him at Pat.Ryan@mtstandard.com or 496-5570.