Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-24
BY WALTER 7. SCOTT
Director of Student Activities, Montana
State School OF Mines, Butte

BY WALTER I. SCOTT
Director of Student Activities, Montana
State School OF Mines, Butte
THE interscholastic football season
of 1922 has been the best in sew
ways the state Of Montana has
enjoyed. Judging by the nearly go
teams in the field, the large attendance
at games, the genuine interest dis
played in these games by. thousands Of
fans, the generous publicity given the
sport by the Montana newspapers, and
J the number of high class teams devel-
oped, there is little doubt we have
just witnessed a banner year.
Football has gone big in Montana in
other years but in 1922 much added
interest came from the working out of
the new district plan adopted last May
by the board of control Of the Montana
State Interscholastic Athletic ~associa-
ton. The board decided to do away
with the old haphazard way of allowing
the sport to fend for itself and to try
what a little centralized organization
could do for it. The progressive mem
bers were tired Of the succession OF
%squabhles each year over schedules,
contracts, final standings, champion
ships and claims to championships.
They wished to check the unsportsman-
like ~jockeying for position that was
becoming prevalent, to see the honors
determined on the gridiron rather than
in the newspapers, to eliminate as much
as possible causes for bad feeling be-
tween various schools, and to place
football on as satisfactory a basis as
are basketball and track.
Divide State Into Sections
Accordingly, the athletic authorities
at the Montana State School Of Mines
were given the authority to divide the
state into four sections, named the
eastern, western, northern and south
ern districts, and to put each four year,
accredited high school in one Of these
districts according to its geographical
location. Rules were laid down for
determining district champions. for
holding inter-district games and for
bringing the winners of the two inter-
district games together in a final battle
for the championship. In September
the School of Mines announced the
districts, and in November Missoula in
the western, Great Falls in the north
ern, Park county high of Livingston in
the southern, and Custer county high
in the eastern were awarded the Sec
tional honors. In the inter-district
games Custer defeated Park and Great
Falls downed Missoula. The final,
played at Butte, saw Custer carry away
the title in a desperately fought en-
counter by a 6 to 3 score.
The question of how the elevens in
Montana should be ranked on their
1922 showing is fairly well answered
by the results in the different districts.
There were few who disputed the right
of Miles City and Great Falls to fight
it out for the state championship and,
of course, the result Of that game in
Butte on December 8 gives the Custer
aggregation the undisputed right to the
title. The contest was fought out on
a nearly dry field with good footing.
There was a slight wind but not
enough to play any big part in the
final result. The temperature, though
cold, was not excessively so for the
athletes and also played no part in the
outcome. Under such conditions the
chance to determine fairly the real
strength of the two teams was very
good. The 1000 Or more spectators
who witnessed the battle will long re-
member it as q real championship |
affair, the best fought final game in
many seasons. The = to 3 score by
which Miles City won just about rep |
resents the degree Of superiority shown
by Tie GdsItEucIS QlIlAb IuC lay |
Custer Win a Surprise
The result was q surprise to most
of the wise FANS in the state for
they had expected Great Falls to win,
basing their expectations on the really
remarkable record made by the Elec-
tries during the season. Coached by
NJ. l.. Crouch, the northerners had
played the greatest list of Montana
teams ever taken on in one year by
a Montana scholastic eleven and had
won every game. On the list were
Butte Central, Helena, Billings, Butte,
Lewistown, Harlowton, and Missoula in
addition to Belt, Stanford, and Big
Sandy. Within my remembrance no
team in the state has ever even
thought of taking on SO many hard
games in a row, let alone getting away
with a continuous run of victories.
Both extensively and defensively the
Electrics were strong and well bal
anced and with their experience in
tough battles they looked to have the
edge on n eleven in Montana.
Miles City also had a long list of
big score victories to her credit but,
owing to the fact that only one or two
of the conquered elevens came from
schools which have had strong teams
III Inc DHSL, LuClS was SomC IuCDGoA
whether the lopsided totals were due
to Custer strength or her opponents
weakness. The State Industrial school,
Culbertson, Dawson county high of
Glendive, Billings, Forsyth, and Will
liston, champs of western North Da-
kota, were all turned back decisively,
the i3 to 0 total against Billings bring
ing especial joy to the Miles City fans.
the southern dist@et cham
Fions, were overwhelmed in the inter
district game held at Billings losing !
81 to g. This result indicated real
Custer scoring ability but there was
ytil q question of how her defense
would hold against the battering attack
which Great Falls had developed.
Custer Had Strength
That championship game developed
nat the Powder River aggregation had
10Th ali offanse and a defense. In the