CHUCK BANDEL
Valley Press
Recent Stories
St. Regis Tigers look good heading into postseason
With the District playoffs looming in the near future, now is a good time to pick up a couple “tune-up” wins and get playing time for non-starters.
Plains teams have tough week
The carnage continues for both the Plains boys and girls basketball teams as they battle through high school’s version of a rebuilding program, young but promising teams.
Thompson Falls boys snag 2 wins
After a rocky start to their week following a 56-39 home loss Tuesday to Western 7B foe Mission of St. Ignatius, the Thompson Falls boys were looking to make things better.
Lady Hawks split games
After a hot start, the Thompson Falls girls basketball team has cooled, albeit slightly, as the 2021-22 Montana high school girls regular season nears its final two weekends.
Thompson Falls gets back on track with 2 wins
Back on track before the playoffs begin?
St. Regis Tigers clip Heat in 14C battle
The echoes of “wow!, what a game” had barely quit reverberating through the walls of the Hot Springs gym when the second game of the night got underway.
Uski sinks game-winner for Hot Springs
If you were in the gym at Hot Springs High School Saturday night you no doubt have one or more of the following:
Trio of Superior wrestlers undefeated at Mission Invite
Superior wrestling coach Charlie Crabb is a modest man of few words.
St. Regis smothers Superior in I-90 rivalry
The big guy in the middle for Charlo could be a problem for a couple more years.
St. Regis boys remain unbeaten in 14C play
When the dust had settled from this past week in the Montana 14C conference only one team stood alone on top.
St. Regis girls tip Hot Springs
A win over the Hot Springs girls basketball team was the bright spot in brutal week on the schedule for the St. Regis Lady Tigers this past week.
Lady Tigers rebound with 2 wins
No longer an easy win on anyone’s schedule.
Board resumes talks about Paradise sewer project
Like an anxious Dr. Frankenstein hovering over his “creation” looking for a sign of life, members of he Paradise Sewer Board kept a wary eye on the laboratory table, while at the same time scanning the gathering of upset villagers who are intent on snuffing out the monster sewer project they say is riddled with unfairness and uncertainty.
T-Falls boys top Plains, fall at Libby
The Thompson Falls Blue Hawks had a .500 week.
Thompson Falls wins two of three
As the recently departed Meatloaf sang, “two out of three ain’t bad”.
Improving Hot Springs gets victory
With Covid once again rearing its ugly head, athletic directors have had to get creative to keep their boys and girls basketball teams playing.
Thompson Falls hosts Ted Kato Memorial tourney
Local teams and individuals had good showings against a big field of wrestlers who came to Thompson Falls Saturday to compete in the Ted Kato Memorial tournament.
Local coaches favor new shot-clock rule
It’s looking like Montana high school basketball will join most of the rest of the country next year in implementing and installing 35-second shot clocks.
Charlo trips Hot Springs in hoops thriller
The ball rotated slowly on its way to break dozens of hearts, as if it were part of an old-time movie.
Solid performances at wrestling meets
Covid or not, all three Sanders and Mineral county high school wrestling teams saw tournament action this past weekend in a pair of high quality events in Choteau and Missoula.
St. Regis picks up wins against 14C foes
Even with some of the luster buffed out of tonight’s game with Hot Springs for the Western 14C lead due to a narrow Hot Springs loss to Charlo, the St. Regis Tigers will not take their opponent lightly.
Charlo girls earn victory at Hot Springs
Sometimes, sports are purveyors of “ifs”.
Bigfork girls top T-Falls in battle of unbeatens
Here in horse country the old saying goes “if you get knocked off the horse, get right back up in the saddle”.
Blue Hawks dominate Deer Lodge
By the time the Deer Lodge Wardens rolled into Thompson Falls this past Saturday, the Blue Hawks were anything but welcoming hosts.
St. Regis and Superior split rivalry games
Like the freeway nearby, the Interstate 90 rivalry renewal was a split success this year.
Superior girls run past Hot Springs
Those rumblings you may hear from the southern territory of the Western 14C girls basketball conference have been traced to Superior.
Noxon boys drop two
Snow was not the only nemesis for the Noxon Red Devil boys basketball team as they dropped a pair of games, including a 62-54 loss to previously win-less Two Eagle River last Tuesday in Pablo.
Lady Red Devils split games
When you take on the conference leader, then play the conference cellar-dweller you can expect, in most cases, mixed results.
Hot Springs tops Superior in conference play
Here's the Superior boys vs Hot Springs write-up, pictures will be coming from Kami sometime this morning.
Lady Hawks stay unbeaten
It’s one thing to be the only team around with an unbeaten record, and quite another to be the only team around who whupped Mother Nature.
Second half of girls' hoops season gets underway
While boys basketball fans get ready for the second half by velcroing down, girls fans might be advised to tighten the bleacher seat belt and hang on.
Keg Bowl gridders brave frigid temps, snow
One potential participant, surveying the snow and wind-swept frozen “tundra” east of Thompson Falls, summed up why he was not going to be taking part in the two-hour game this year.
Paradise sewer project scaled down; dispute continues
Snow flies and settles gently on the lawns and roof tops of this quiet Sanders County town, in stark contrast to the simmering tensions still boiling in the background.
Rowan sworn in as Plains mayor
Dan Rowan was sworn in Thursday in a fairly hastily arranged ceremony to begin serving a second, four-year-term as Mayor of the Town of Plains.
Thompson Falls towers over Noxon
Balanced scoring and a lot of it are just two of the reasons the Thompson Falls girls basketball team wrapped up the pre-break part of its season with an unblemished record.
Bigfork gives Plains teams trouble
Bigfork is a beautiful place on the other side of Flathead Lake, with no doubt plenty of really good Montana folk.
Thilmony, Lawson tapped for Shrine Game
The honors are rolling in for local athletes, in this case selection to the East-West Shrine Game, a football showcase for some of Montana’s best high school seniors from this past season.
Locals have strong showing at Thompson Duals
Decker Milender and Silas Acker had a pair of wins each to lead an impressive Superior wrestling showing at last week’s Thompson Duals on the spotlighted mats of Thompson Falls High School.
T-Falls' Schraeder nets 26 in win over Noxon
On paper this appeared to be an evenly matched game, with both teams featuring roughly the same size players and levels of experience in Montana high school basketball play.
Lady Bobcats cruise to victory
In their last game before the Holiday break, the Superior girls basketball team continued to improve on their slow start to the season with a resounding 53-17 thumping of the winless Two Eagles River Lady Eagles Tuesday night in Superior.
Superior's Plaake lights up Two Eagle River
Without a doubt the brightest star in the Superior basketball sky last Tuesday night was Orion.
Superior Bobcats girls trounce Noxon
This was a tale of two teams headed in opposite directions so far this year.
Lady Tigers show improvement against Charlo
The path to getting better, AKA progress, AKA improvement, most often features a series of hurdles.
St. Regis boys smother visiting Charlo
Buoyed by the return to action of one of it’s key “smotherees”, the already smothering St. Regis boys basketball defense smothered visiting Charlo 71-56 Friday night in St. Regis.
Superior Junior High boys go 19-0
Perfection is hard to obtain. Just ask all those teams who have tried without success to match the 1972 Miami Dolphins Super Bowl winning 17-0 mark.
Thompson Falls' Thilmony has strong showing at CMR Holiday Classic
Almost 100 teams of boys and girls wrestlers took to the mats this past Saturday for the annual CMR Holiday Classic in Great Falls and one of the biggest surprises was who did not win.
Blue Hawks triumph over rival Plains
One step forward, one step back has been the course taken by the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks boys basketball team so far this year.
Thompson Falls' Koskela named Coach of the Year
Prior to the start of the season, Thompson Falls football coach Jared Koskela was asked what he would like to see from his 2021 team.
Basketball: Thompson Falls hangs tough at Anaconda Tip-off
Three for four is not bad. If you are a baseball player and you get a hit three out of four times, you are a millionaire or better.
Local wrestlers compete at Kalispell all-girls meet
With just three wrestlers competing in the prestigious Flathead Girls Invitational meet, the Plains-Hot Springs squad finished eighth Saturday in a field of 22 teams from throughout the state.