Sorted by date Results 76 - 95 of 95
The Big Sandy Lady Pioneers volleyball squad traveled Monday, Oct. 14, to Hays and picked up their first road win in 6C East district play. Big Sandy improved to 2-6 in the league and 3-8 overall in match play. The Pioneers defeated the host Hays-Lodgepole Thunderbirds 25-20, (17-25), 25-13 and 25-10 in the evening contest. Senior Lainey Gregory led the Lady Pioneers' effort with a team-high 10 kills and four service aces. Junior Alicia Bjornestad recorded two of her team's three blocks on the n...
The Pioneers varsity (7-0) enjoyed a bye week as the spoils of their victor status in the division. They are slated to go Saturday to Dutton and square off against the Power-Dutton-Brady Titans (6-0) to determine the No. 1 seed from the North into the state playoffs that begin on Saturday, Nov. 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. As expected, the MontanaSports.com and 406MTSports.com weekly polls joined the Great Falls Tribune in anointing Big Sandy the No. 1 team in the state in 6-man football to date. The Treasure State Media Poll hosted at...
The Big Sandy junior high football team finished its season undefeated, capping the year with a Chili Feed win on Friday, Oct. 12, against Heart Butte. Serving as an opening act for their varsity counterparts’ dominant win against the visiting Warriors made for a fitting end to a special season. While the senior high boys are chasing a conference and state title with an experienced upperclassman-filled team, the fifth- through eighth-grade gridiron personnel for Big Sandy deftly illustrated this fall there is ample opportunity to reload in c...
Week 7 for 6-man high school football in Montana began with a consensus Top 5 and a disputed No. 1. Then a season-high 88 points for undefeated Big Sandy (7-0) and a stunning result between the top two teams in the East left little doubt - number games aside - who has played the best season in the classification thus far. The Pioneers overpowered their most overmatched opponent yet in an 88-6 rout to cap off Friday's Chili Feed against the Heart Butte Warriors (0-6). Great Falls Tribune No. 1-ra...
Big Sandy posted its most impressive set victory of the season Saturday before succumbing 3-1 against 6C top-drawer talent North Star. The Lady Pioneers (1-6, 2-8) surprised the visiting Knights (5-1, 8-1) by taking the opening set in a 25-23 squeaker that gave the hometown crowd a thrill. "For not having Amanda (Cline), one of our strongest players, I was very happy with our performance. To take a set off North Star, one of the best teams in our district, was very exciting," said Pioneers...
With a convincing 53-6 win at Tri-City, the Big Sandy Pioneers have won half the North in Montana 6-man football. The victory sets up a meeting with the Northern 'A' winner for the top seed out of this "quarter" of the state Friday, Oct. 25, or Saturday, Oct. 26. Undefeated Power-Dutton-Brady (5-0) is the most likely opponent for Big Sandy. Big Sandy Athletic Director Melanie Schwarzbach said the initial deciding factor in where the game would be played tips in favor of the team who has played...
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. An up-and-down week witnessed the Big Sandy varsity volleyball squad play what coach Brittany McKenney called their most complete match of the season but come out flat for a home-gym tilt with the 6C East frontrunner. They then traveled Saturday to the North Star Invitational where they finished in the top half of competitors. The Lady Pioneers traveled Oct. 1 to Highwood, to face a foe who defeated them the week prior in their home opener....
It could easily have been mistaken for a whirlwind business trip. The Big Sandy Pioneers (5-0) traveled Friday to Valier, quickly wrapped up their first shutout of the season by a 57-0 count and got back on the bus before its engine had time to cool. Kickoff had already been bumped up to 5:30 p.m. on the Panthers' home field as the first autumn snowfall loomed on many Montanans' minds. With a running clock throughout the last three quarters, the Pioneers were in position to begin the return...
The "Big Sandy" part of Big Sandy Pioneers volleyball finally rang true in a long-awaited homestand that included the girls' first league win. The victory came in a 3-0 sweep Friday of Hays-Lodgepole, the first 6C East team to visit the Big Sandy gym this season. The Pioneers racked up a 25-18, 25-14, 25-11 defeat of the Thunderbirds. On the road for their first five matches and a pair of tournaments, the Pioneer netters finally played their home opener Thursday. It came nearly four weeks after...
Big Sandy running back Kade Strutz scores a lot of touchdowns but not all are created equal. Already ahead 32-0 with less than a minute to play in the first half, coach Larry Jappe urged the Pioneers he wanted "one more" before the half. Strutz appeared to have gotten it with 90 seconds on the clock but a holding penalty negated it. Backed up 10 yards to the visiting White Sulphur Springs Hornets' 29-yard line, Big Sandy collectively shrugged and called Strutz's no. 33 again. Reversing field...
GILFORD -The Big Sandy Pioneer netters are sick of the bus. A duo of difficult defeats last week on the Hi-Line left the Lady Pioneer volleyball squad eager to hit the gym for a back-to-back-to-back series this week. Their own gym. For the first time this season. At long last. "The girls and myself are so excited," Pioneers coach Brittany McKenney said. "It is time for a home game. We have been on the road a lot." The Pioneers fell to 1-4 on the season, including an 0-4 mark in the District 6C...
My, how a soccer program for little people has grown quite big. About two-thirds of the children eligible are suiting up for Big Sandy Soccer this year. "I had to order a bunch more stuff," said co-director Rachel Baumgarn, sorting through a bevy of equipment before Thursday's after-school practice. A record 80 players have formed three U6 (ages 6 and younger) teams, coached by the tandems of Kelly McGrath and Brandy Terry; Katie Heppner and brother Riley Kurtz; and Jessica Butler and Heather...
What a difference a year makes. The Big Sandy Pioneers exorcised any residual demons of its last matchup with the MonDak Thunder in a convincing 60-14 win Friday at Grenora, North Dakota. The Thunder, a co-op between Grenora and Westby, Montana high schools, included in their defense of a 2017 Montana 6-man football state championship, a 2018 come-from-behind win at Big Sandy. The Pioneers evened the home-and-home series with a foe 371 highway miles away by keeping their collective foot on the gas. Big Sandy scored early and often. “We were tou...
The Lady Pioneers came agonizing close to their first league win Tuesday, Sept. 10, in Box Elder with a narrow fifth-set loss. The host Bears edged Big Sandy 25-23, (19-25), 25-(score unreported), (23-25) and 15-11, as the Pioneers fell to 0-2 in the 6C East (1-2 overall). Box Elder improved to 2-0 in league and overall play. Amiya Griffith and Stacey Allderdice led Big Sandy with 3 kills each. Alicia Bjornestad and Amanda Cline tied for a team-high 3 digs. Allderdice led the team with 3...
If North Star could have been a trap game for Big Sandy, the Pioneer football team did not take the bait. In fact, the purple-and-gold ran left, right, around and through the Knights in a 51-6 Friday night romp. Five different Pioneers scored touchdowns. Only a day's worth of accumulated rain seemed to slow Big Sandy. "The wet field kind of prevented us from running more of our stuff (offensively)," coach Larry Jappe said. "We just pounded the ball and scored a lot of points." Big Sandy (2-0)...
The Big Sandy Lady Pioneers have had their ups and downs in the early going this fall. The Pioneer varsity finished in a fifth-place tie at the Cascade Invitational during the weekend after purple-and-gold squads at each level struggled Thursday against perennial league powerhouse Chinook. In pool play Friday, the Pioneer varsity took the first set 21-20 against the hosts but fell 21-15 in the second set. They lost 21-15, 21-12 to cross-county rival Fort Benton before downing Centerville 21-20,...
Big Sandy junior high football players may dream of the day they suit up under the lights for the varsity but their 2019 schedule might make their senior counterparts jealous. The younger Pioneers host nearby rivals Box Elder and Highwood amidst a five-game homestand to begin this season. Meanwhile, the senior high team buses as far as Grenora, North Dakota, for a September contest and will not face any Golden Triangle foes until the playoffs, if at all. "I'm sure these guys will be pretty...
Call it an embarrassment of riches for the Big Sandy junior high volleyball squad this year. Nineteen girls will play for the Pioneers under the tutelage of Shersteen Cline, who coached the high school varsity last season. "They like being a part of something. They like being with their friends," Cline said, considering the reasons for the turnout. "They get to burn off some of that energy before they go home." Cline did not initially plan to coach, having had a baby in June, but when the...
Visions of a state championship in 6-man football can only be realized in Big Sandy if the Pioneers are well-balanced this season. Not necessarily in their mix of the running and passing game. It should come as no surprise to fans or foes alike to see the purple and gold rely on heavy doses of standout junior rusher Kade Strutz carrying the ball. Instead, the Pioneers as a unit will have to find and maintain a sweet spot. They need to confidently play up to their lofty potential without getting...
A newly minted coach mentored by a Montana preps legend will lead the Big Sandy Pioneers volleyball squad on the court this season. First-year head coach Brittany McKenney played on back-to-back Class B state champion outfits in 2009 and 2010 at Huntley Project under the tutelage of Iona Stookey. Stookey manufactured a perennial power at the Yellowstone County school, leading the Red Devils to their 11th state title in the past 15 years last season. She entered the Montana Coaches Association...
