MANHATTAN/THREE FORKS, Mont. — The Brawl of the Wild isn’t the only major football rivalry clash taking place in the Treasure State this Saturday.
Two months after Manhattan bested South division rival Three Forks 28-20 in a four-quarter thriller, Class B’s two closest schools, separated by just 12 miles of interstate, will meet again, this time with a championship on the line.
And the storylines write themselves.
The Tigers are no stranger to this scene, as it’ll be their fifth title game appearance since 2019. But from an overtime fumble in 2023, to a fourth-and-goal pick in 2024, Manhattan has been left on the doorstep of glory two years in a row.
“That interception on the goal line in Malta was terrible,” junior receiver and defensive back Brayden Zikmund said. “We’ve got some seniors here who remember that, and they use it every day. That can’t happen again… We’ve got to win this one.”
“Each year, it’s just more and more fire under you,” junior quarterback Tyson Pavlik said. “You come into the winter and work hard, and your blood’s boiling by the first game. Then, obviously, it’s a long season. You’ve got to stay motivated through 11 or 12 games and finish everything out.”
As for Three Forks, it wasn’t long ago that the Wolves were seeking their first playoff victory in over 50 years. Now, they’re in the state championship for the first time ever.
A moment like this is made all the more intense by the opponent: Manhattan, a foe that Three Forks hasn’t beaten since 2009.
“We want to go in there and rewrite history,” junior receiver and defensive end Marcus Pestel said. “We want to end that 16-year streak. We want to go in there and make them lose three [state championship games] in a row.”
“It’s been too long, and we need to change that this weekend,” junior quarterback Kanon Reichman said. “We have the stuff and the people and everything to do it. We just have to go do it.”
Both teams are battle-tested; the Tigers have won back-to-back playoff games by a single score to remain undefeated, while the Wolves had to knock off two No. 1 seeds (Florence and Glasgow) on the road to get here.
Now, it all comes down to Saturday in Manhattan. And with Three Forks being just a 10-minute car ride away, it’ll feel like a home game for both sides.
“It’s huge for our kids–they get to sleep in their own beds,” Three Forks head coach Connor Sullivan said. “We’re not traveling on the road. We’ll wake up Saturday, we’ll get some breakfast in us, and then we’ll head on over.”
“It’s definitely going to be the most people that’ll ever be at the school between both communities coming down,” Manhattan head coach Wes Kragt said. “What a great experience for this community and for Three Forks’ community to have these kids play in.”
No matter the outcome of Saturday’s showdown, someone will get a storybook ending.
The Class B championship from Manhattan kicks off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22.