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Helena Capital quarterback Merek Mihelish is the 2024-25 Gatorade Montana Football Player of the Year, the sports energy drink company announced on Friday.
Mihelish, the seventh Capital Bruins football award-winner in the honor's 40-year history, totaled 3,712 yards (2,862 passing, 850 rushing) and 42 touchdowns (34 passing, eight rushing), leading Capital to an 11-1 record and the program's 13th all-time Class AA state championship.
Montana State football coach Brent Vigen made more history Thursday when he became the program's first Stats Perform Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year Award winner.
“I am extremely humbled to receive this great honor on behalf of Montana State University and Bobcat Football," Vigen said. "I truly see this as a team award, and so much credit goes to our staff and players. I want to thank our administration for their tremendous support and the opportunity to lead this great program.”
While Doore and Fletcher overcame their struggles, they wish they didn’t spend their youth with the “cowboys don’t cry” mindset, as Doore called it. In hindsight, they wouldn’t have waited until last year’s ceremony to open up about their demons.
Doore implores any young person battling mental health issues to reach out to somebody, whether it’s a loved one, a stranger or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
"Don’t quit," Doore said, adding. “We all face some sort of demon. Good people face tough situations. ... How you deal with them (reveals) that character, and sometimes you can't do it alone. That's really why I think the Speak Up symposium helps us.”
Former Carroll College gridder Dan Rambo was inducted into the Montana Professional Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night at the Billings Hotel & Convention Center.
Rambo, who led the nation in rushing in 1974, had tryouts with four NFL teams and three other pro clubs, prior to a 23-year administrative career in professional football.
Mike Person is a gentle giant, but don’t tell that to the defensive lineman he mowed down while paving running lanes throughout his football career.
As the Glendive and Montana State grad gets inducted to the Montana Football Hall of Fame on Saturday evening, he credits his hometown for instilling a mental toughness to navigate the ups and downs of both football and life.
“It's a blue-collar town and you see everybody go to work no matter what the weather is," Person told MTN Sports. "If you think the weather is bad in Bozeman, go about five hours east. It's a tough land over there, but it breeds a special person."
On Saturday, the Montana Football Hall of Fame will host their first 'Speak Up Symposium' to draw attention to mental illness with a focus on high school student athletes.
2016 Hall of Fame inductee Tuff Harris is a keynote speaker for the event at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center at 10 AM.
Also speaking will be fellow Montana Hall of Fame inductees Robert Doore and Dane Fletcher.
MSU beat writer Victor Flores gives a podcast schedule update (1:49) and discusses some recent MSU and Montana Grizzly news (2:55) before playing his conversation with Fletcher, who will be speaking at Montana Football Hall of Fame's 2023 Speak Up Symposium on Mental Health.
During his junior year, Ahrens was beginning to catch the eye of NFL scouts, in particular Gill Brandt from the Dallas Cowboys. In 1973, Ahrens was drafted in the 12th round by the San Diego Chargers. At the time, the team wanted Ahrens as an offensive tackle, and offered a $500 signing bonus.
While in camp at San Diego, the Edmonton Eskimos called and offered him three times that amount--$1,500 to play for Edmonton and better yet, keep him at tight end.
Ahrens was cut later that year, returning to Eastern Montana College to finish his degree. As it turns out, his true calling was teaching. He landed in Sunburst, where he spent the next three decades as a coach and a teacher. At Sunburst, Lynn coached football, girls' basketball, and even started the school's volleyball program, going on to win a state title.
It was his punting that caught the eye of NFL scouts in high school. He set a Bison record, averaging 42 yards per kick, and that carried over to Montana where he earned all-Big Sky honors as a punter and earned academic honors three times.
Three NFL teams showed interest in Neil. Green Bay, Denver, and the Atlanta Falcons.
After he went undrafted in the 2000 NFL Draft, Neil was signed by Atlanta. He played six games and dealt with injury problems his rookie season. In 2001, he was released and signed to the practice squad before being re-signed and placed on the regular season roster for the 2002 season.
Every successful team needs one. The guy that brings the lunch pail to work every day, never seeking the limelight but making it happen for others.
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