CHUCK BANDEL
Valley Press
Recent Stories
Trout Creek archers prep for Western U.S. Championships
Archery is alive and well in Trout Creek, Montana.
Baxter signs to play hoops at Carroll College
The harvest continues for Carroll College.
Local athletes heat up at chilly Dave Tripp meet
Thompson Falls has some depth in track and field. And they have quality.
Plains-Hot Springs baseball team opens inaugural season
It was enough to make a baseball purist’s eyes mist over.
Trotters show improvement in trip to Bitterroot
The bats are showing signs of coming around. The never quit is still there. The wins will come.
Plains and Thompson Falls meet in softball season-opener
For a while it looked like a repeat of last year’s softball season opener between Plains and Thompson Falls.
Dodgeball tourney benefits Trout Creek Archery Club
If you are going to do something to support a worthy cause, why not make it fun at the same time?
COLUMN: Springs sports weather
It was close to what would likely have been more of a spectacle than a disaster.
St. Regis track returns core athletes
Small but mighty. “That’s how we roll,” said St. Regis head track and field coach Jesse Allan with a smile as he describes this year’s Tigers team.
Superior track opens season at Blue Devil Invitational
As one of the few teams in the area to have already competed in an early season track meet, the Superior High boys and girls got a sneak preview of their up and coming athletes.
Plains golfers tee off season at Eureka
Mother Nature willing, it’s time for some high school golf.
Clark Fork Soccer Alliance kicks off spring season
By shear numbers alone, soccer is on a par with any other sport in this area.
State qualifiers return to lead Plains track
It’s been a recurring them this year when it comes to looking ahead at area high school track and field teams: most, if not all, have strong groups coming back and some promising potential moving up in the form of underclassmen.
Superior measures up at Bitterroot track meet
It was the first meet of the season, one which survived the threat of incoming snow and cold temperatures.
Blue Hawks field deep track roster
A solid core of talented upperclassmen and a very promising group of freshmen and sophomores has hopes high in Thompson Falls’ track and field for the 2023 season.
Plains softball opens season at Polson tourney
It was the first pitch, of the first game of the new season.
COLUMN: I'm coming for you Wally Eye
I’ve officially had it! Enough is enough.
Lady Hawks softball returns good crop of starters
There are so many things that come together to make a good softball team.
Plains fields promising softball roster
A solid group of returnees from last year’s team that made it to Divisionals, along with some promising newcomers give the Plains Trotters reason to be optimistic heading into their season-opener this Saturday in Polson.
New stars to replace four outstanding track and field grads
It’s a theme fairly common among small town track and field programs and other sports at the high school level.
Savage Heat track boats solid core of underclassmen
How do you replace two of the best athletes to don Hot Springs uniforms in recent memory? With a talented and eager group of youngsters.
Track season off and running this weekend
Spring sports fans, cinch up the Velcro, tighten up your wigs and dust off your running shoes.
Bigfork girls complete run to State B title
It was, to say the least, a very successful showing for Western Division Class B and C teams as the 2022-23 Montana High School basketball season came to a close this past weekend in Billings.
4-Hers vie for spot at state competition
Calm, cool, collected and informative.
Local hoopers earn All-State selections
Four players from the 14C basketball conference, two all-state selections from the boys and two from the girls, highlight this year’s 2022-23 recently released post-season honors.
Lady Hawks' Baxter gets All-State nod
As expected, the unbeaten Class B state champion girls from Bigfork dominated the recently released Western 7B all-conference and All-State basketball list, placing the Gunlock sisters, Braeden and Paeten on the first team conference roster and as selections to the Class B All-State team.
VFW Auxiliary serves up home cooking to local veterans
It’s the sweet aroma that strikes you first, followed by the sight of busy cooks turning potential chaos into a delightful breakfast.
Plains' activity fundraiser draws big crowd
Plains cares. That’s the plain and simple truth one could take away from the turnout and community donations response at Saturday night’s “Fiesta” fundraiser at Plains High School.
Local schools gear up for inaugural baseball season
As a coach, Rick Powers had no chance, or perhaps no choice.
COLUMN: Play ball!
In our young minds, we were pioneers, the original “boys of summer”.
Blue Hawks make strong run at Western B tourney
For the Thompson Falls boys basketball team, the Western Divisional Class B tournament in Anaconda this past weekend was like a microcosm of their season.
Top-seeded Tigers find early exit at Western C
Maybe it was a weird form of climate change.
COLUMN: Winter sports wrap up
I will miss this basketball season and the group of characters who took to the courts from Sanders, Mineral and Lake counties.
Lady Bobcats' season wraps up at Western Divisonals
There are two fairly well-known sayings in the grand game of basketball that most folks know: speed kills, and you can’t coach kids to get taller.
T-Falls girls bounced from divisionals
The playoffs in any sport often produce unexpected results, mostly because the level of talent and ability of the players increases as the postseason ladder gets steeper.
St. Regis boys, Superior girls earn top seeds
Two tickets were punched to the next round of the Western Montana Class C post-season quest, but as of the end of District tournament play Saturday evening, their travel plans were still in limbo.
Consolation rounds test top teams
Often, consolation rounds can have “con” sequences.
Thompson Falls teams move on to divisionals
In a tournament won by the overwhelming favorites, Thompson Falls still managed to send both its girls and boys team to the Divisional tournament this weekend in Anaconda.
Plains teams bounced from 7B District tourney
The season is over for the Plains Horsemen and Trotters.
Superior sprinter Pereira signs with Whitworth
Whitworth College just got faster.
Local grapplers bring home the hardware
They came through all year and the state finals proved to be no exception.
Hot Springs teams primed for tourney time
It was a whirlwind week for the Hot Springs boys and girls basketball teams, with each team playing three games in three nights to wind up their regular season schedules.
Superior outlasts Plains in wild finish
Save the best for last?
Lady Bobcats take top seed to districts
A pair of easy wins and an eye-opening defeat was the case for the Western 14C conference number one seed Superior Lady Bobcats basketball team during the final week of the regular season.
T-Falls teams cap regular season with wins
After a rough start to the week, both Thompson Falls boys and girls basketball teams rebounded for a win to wrap up their regular season schedule as the playoffs have arrived.
Alberton hoops teams headed to districts
It was a long, hard season for the Alberton boys and girls basketball teams as they played their first year of varsity sports.
Lady Tigers' Hill top 1,000-points mark in victory
The last couple weeks of the season are often about getting ready for the playoffs.
Noxon notches wins over Troy
A nail-chewer and a blow-out win were on the menu this past Tuesday as the Noxon Red Devils and Lady Devils wrapped up their regular season with victories against non-conference foe Troy.
COLUMN: The big game is here
It’s coming and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. This weekend, “it” will happen again, just like it has for 50-plus years at about this time.
Bigfork gives Plains teams tough test
The Plains boys and girls basketball teams, along with the home fans, got a good look this past weekend at the best of the Western 7B conference...and the state.