Justin Bieber plays football in Montana

It's been a landmark 8-man football season for tiny Fairview (Mont.), a Class C school of 105 students located barely west of the North Dakota border.

The school, founded sometime in the 1920s, just completed its first undefeated football season (8-0), won its first Eastern C Division title and on Saturday, the Warriors will host their first playoff game.

If that isn't all exciting enough, their backup quarterback and receiver is Justin Bieber.

No, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound sophomore isn't that Justin Bieber. But he shares the same name as the once shaggy-haired pop star.

According to the school's principal and athletic director Luke Kloker, he has been tagged around campus as "One Time," in reference to the Grammy-nominated singer's debut single.

Other than that, there's little "Bieber fever" – or certainly confusion – about the semi-identical names.

Fairview's Bieber uses Michael as his middle name. Pop culture's Bieber uses Drew.

"It doesn't draw much attention any more," Kloker said. "We get some strange calls every once in a while from people outside of the state. The other day someone called to know when Justin Bieber would be singing at our school."

Justin Michael Bieber doesn't play a musical instrument – sports is his "Baby" – and as one might guess, he's grown tired of the attention. Teens, heck all of us, are trying to carve their own identity.

Imagine what it would be like to share a name with the world's most famous teen?

"He's actually handled it very well," Fairview football coach Kevin Clausen said. "I know I would handle it a lot different. I think it's annoyed him for sure, but he just seems to brush it off when asked about it."

He hasn't yet answered MaxPreps interview requests 24 hours after relayed from Kloker and Clausen. Perhaps he's all talked out on the topic.

Last year when he entered high school and his name appeared in local box scores, the firestorm really hit. Justin Michael Bieber appeared on a local radio show and did a Q&A with Billings Gazette blogger Slim Kimmel, who perhaps has his own name issues.

Could Kimmel actually be a Jimmy?

Anyway, when asked his first reaction to learning about the pop star Justin Bieber, Justin Michael Bieber said: "That he wouldn't be around very long and it would die down before it ever got big."

He told Kimmel the reaction he gets from people upon hearing his name is shock, amazement and disbelief.

Does it, in fact, annoy him?

"Yes. … everywhere you go it's more attention."

Around Fairview – the state's Sugar Beet Capital whose claim to fame according to a Chamber of Commerce website is that Lewis and Clark slept there twice – "Nobody really makes fun of me anymore," he told Kimmel.

Especially now, a year later in a region loaded with the family name Bieber.

"It's a very common name around these parts," Clausen said. "So is (the name) Justin. His family has been around here forever. He was born here. Everything is calm around here, it's just when he goes outside the area that those things are harder to control."

Like when Clausen – also the team's golf coach – took Justin Michael Bieber to the state golf tournament. A three-sport standout, he had qualified for the state's top competition as a freshman. Impressive stuff. 

But, of course, Justin Michael Bieber was pounded with attention by fellow players not for his achievement but his name. That was hard for Clausen to watch.

"People wouldn't let it go," Clausen said. "They were constantly calling his name, trying to get a picture with him. I felt bad for him. Again, he handled it extremely well."

He'll likely be thrust into new territory the next several weeks as Fairview makes a state-title run. The Warriors are ranked second in the state (Class C), have outscored opponents 449-104 and though Justin Michael Bieber doesn't start, he sees considerable playing time on the 24-man team.

He has five catches for 56 yards and a pair of touchdowns at the receiver's spot and when he spelled injured star quarterback Brock Schriver early this season he ran the offense efficiently.

He threw just 17 passes and completed seven, mostly handing the ball to star tailback Cody Vitt (1,042 yards, 20 touchdowns).

"(Bieber) was our only player with any quarterback experience and he did a nice job," Clausen said. "At receiver, he's got really good hands. He's made some really great catches."

Justin Michael Bieber is also a varsity basketball player, making him very versatile.

"He's a solid player on all three teams," Clausen said. "By the time he's a senior he should be great."