The Chinook Sugarbeeters are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The 'Beeters will begin their Montana Class C Eight-man State football playoff run in the same place they saw their season end three years ago.

Friday morning the 7-1 Sugarbeeters will board the bus and make the nearly seven hour 275 mile trek east to take on the 6-2 Fairview Warriors.

Head Coach Mike Jones said the team will leave Chinook early Friday morning, make a few stops along the way and check into their hotel prior to a walk though Friday afternoon. The team will stay the night and return home Saturday morning. Kickoff Friday night is set for 7:00 p.m.

The contest was originally set to take place Saturday afternoon, but was rescheduled this week. The 'Beeters had this past week off giving them some bonus time to get ready. The change in schedule had some affect on the teams preparation, but with the extra week it doesn't amount to much.

"With the game being moved it does add an extra element of travel due to our leave times and stuff," stated Jones. "At the end of the day we just need to make sure that we go out and handle business and come prepared."

Having played their last game nearly two weeks ago, Jones and the rest of the coaching staff have made good use of their time, "The extra week was nice because we are already ahead of where we would be normally if we were to just start prepping on a Monday, so we feel pretty good about what we have seen and how our game plan is progressing."

The Sugarbeeters enter the post season as the No. 4 Seed out of the North, but with a 7-1 record and their only loss coming to the No. 2 Seed Simms Tigers teams certainly aren't going to be looking past them. Of the 16 teams in the tournament field, the Northern Division four teams boast the best combined record with just four losses, all to each other.

There are just two undefeated teams in the field, both out of the Western Division, 9-0 Thompson Falls and 7-0 Drummond/Granite. 6-2 St. Ignatius is the West No. 3 while 5-2 Alberton/Superior is the No. 4.

The Sugarbeeters stormed back in the second half of their season opening win over the Park City Rangers. 7-1 Park City is the No. 1 Seed out of the South and defeated preseason favorite Joliet (6-1) along the way. Joliet is the No. 2 from the south and Sheridan is the No. 3.

In the East the Sugarbeeters first Round opponent Fairview is the No. 1 with a 6-2 overall record. 6-1 Culbertson is the East No. 2 Seed and the 6-1 Scobey Spartans are the No. 3.The 6-2 Plentywood Wildcats earned the No. 4 Seed while the Circle Wildcats get the East No. 5 Seed.

The East gets five teams this season as it's their turn in the rotation for the extra team this year. Because of the number of teams in their Division the North, East and West rotate the spot each year while the South gets three teams in the tournament.

The Warriors will be carrying some significant momentum into the playoffs following their huge win over Culbertson 30-14 in the East Seeded Playoff game October 16. Fairview had previously lost to the Cowboys 48-14 in their season opener.

Fairview started the season 0-2 after falling to Scobey the following week 56-18. The Warriors closed out the regular season with wins over Circle 44-22, Lodge Grass 62-20, Westby/Grenora 56-25, Poplar 44-0 and a forfeit over Broadus. The Warriors are riding a six game win streak heading into the playoffs.

The Sugarbeeters followed their win over Park City with a 54-14 thumping of the Shelby Coyotes followed by a 44-6 win over the Harlem Wildcats. The Sugarbeeters added a 54-14 win over the Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds to improve to 4-0. The 'Beeters then closed out a three game home stand with a 61-14 win over the Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks 61-14.

The 'Beeters hit the road to take on Simms in a battle of undefeated teams. Chinook started slow digging a big first half hole and then nearly rallied back in the second half before falling 34-21.

The 'Beeters closed out the regular season with a win over Choteau 55-18. Chinook then punched their playoff ticket following a 44-13 win over the Cascade Badgers in the Seeded Playoff game to earn the North No. 4 Seed.

The Sugarbeeters and Warriors have plenty of playoff history having met five times previously in the post season.

The teams first met in 2011 in a semifinal contest in Fairview with the Warriors earning a tough 36-16 win to advance onto the title game. The teams met again in 2012 with the Warriors winning at home 64-24 in the quarterfinal round.

The Sugarbeeter then turned the table when they hosted the Warriors in 2014 and earned a 66-12 semifinal win to advance to the state championship. The 'Beeter won again in 2015 when they made the trip to Fairview and knocked off the Warriors 50-32 in the semifinal round prior to the schools second state championship.

The past is the past and while it's fun for fans to reflect on such things, the coaching staff and the players have taken a one game, one play at a time mentality.

The 'Beeters have been tuned into that philosophy all season long, minus maybe the first 24 minutes of their game in Simms. "I really think that the mentality of this team is one game at a time and don't worry about the past. We are focusing on what this Fairview team does as well as what we can do to improve and how we can be successful," said Jones.

Chinook senior Drake Berreth delivers a nice stiffarm in the 'Beeters playoff clinging 44-13 win over the Cascade Badgers. The 'Beeters will hit the road Friday to take on the Fairview Warriors in a first round playoff game.

What is going to be the key to the 'Beeters success, "We need to establish the run game. We say each week that the game is about winning the line of scrimmage and getting off the ball physically and with tenacity," commented Jones. "Also defensively we need to make sure we own our gaps and not try to do too much. They have a really good full back #85 that we need to make sure that we know where he is at all times."