FRENCHTOWN — The Frenchtown Broncs are gearing up for their biggest test of the season as they prepare to face reigning champion Billings Central in the Class A football state championship game Friday night.
"We're going to have to play a very solid game if we want a chance of beating them," Connor Klimpel said. "But yeah, I think we're going to go out there, we're going to play our game and it's going to be a good one."
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The Broncs' linebacker and wide receiver knows his team is battle-tested after navigating through challenging playoff games. Frenchtown, which won the Southwest division, held on for a 25-21 win over Lewistown in the quarterfinal round and then ground out a 23-20 win over Whitefish in last week's semifinal matchup.
"There's been a lot of moments, especially in the playoff games, that could have gone either way, but we came out on top, fought through a lot of adversity," Klimpel said. "And I think, you know, that's one thing we're really good at is, you know, when adversity comes, we're going to battle through it."
"We're all brothers and we all want to win," added Henry Griffin, a senior offensive and defensive lineman. "We just come together, and it shows that we ride for the brand and that we can do anything we want to do to win."
Second-year coach Seth Mason believes his team's approach will be crucial against the defending champions.
"It just comes down to the things we talk about every week about playing with relentless effort, being the most physical football team in the state and getting after it," Mason said. "And that sure is going to get tested Friday because they do a darn good job of it."
Mason, a Hamilton native who was an assistant at Frenchtown for four years before taking over the head job, leads a program rich in tradition and community pride. The Broncs were a Class B football power in the 1990s under coach Tim Racicot, winning titles in 1993, 1995 and 1997. They added runner-up finishes in 1992 and 1994.
Since moving to Class A, Frenchtown has appeared in three state championship games and captured the title in 2009 with a victory over Billings Central.
"The community is very prideful, loves football, and our kids love it," Mason said. "We got tons of kids that played at the youth level, they start playing at a young age. They want to grow up and they want to play out here on a Friday night in front of the community."
Added Griffin: "Frenchtown's community is amazing. I think everything around Frenchtown just revolves around the school and the sports. I mean, volleyball had a whole bunch of people (in Bozeman last week) for state and then come back and watch us play that night. It was just awesome to see everybody show out and be there."
Griffin expects the Frenchtown faithful to be out in force Friday.
"I think it's going to be loud," he said, "and I'm going to enjoy it, that's for sure."
But Mason is hoping for even more support.
"Anybody coming to Cat-Griz on Saturday, if you got nothing to do on Friday night, come on out and you can be an honorary Frenchtown Bronc for the night and get rowdy and have fun," Mason said.
Kickoff between Frenchtown and Billings Central for the State A title is set for 6 p.m. on Friday.
