The Bobcat Nation

Having watched a lot of Class AA and Class B basketball, I was struck by how many Bobcat football recruits played substantial roles on their basketball teams--some of which did well at state. I think it says a lot about the type of athlete Choate wants, the type of competitors these kids are, and makes a great case for not specializing in a sport. Here's what I came up with:

Ryan Lonergan (Bozeman) - State champ, All-State, 1st team All-Tournament at State AA.
Blake Thelen (Great Falls) - All-State, 1st team All-Tournament at State AA.
Logan Gilliard (Bigfork) - State champ, All-State, Class B Tournament MVP.
Ethan Bullock (Big Timber) - Scored 16 against Bigfork at State, 18 against Colstrip in consolation final victory.
Alex Johnson (Helena) - HM All-Tournament at State AA
Holden Sampson (Helena) - Started most games this season on a solid, scrappy Helena High team
Rylan Ortt (Sentinel) - Contributed minimally to a talented but young Sentinel team. Coach decided to play for the future and bench most seniors, but he was pretty good.

In all fairness, the Griz had some good ones too: Jesse Owens (AA All-tournament 1st team), Ryan Simpson (AA All-tournament 1st team), Ryan Tirrell was a stud for a really good Loyola team.

kennethnoisewater wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:38 am

Having watched a lot of Class AA and Class B basketball, I was struck by how many Bobcat football recruits played substantial roles on their basketball teams--some of which did well at state. I think it says a lot about the type of athlete Choate wants, the type of competitors these kids are, and makes a great case for not specializing in a sport. Here's what I came up with:

Ryan Lonergan (Bozeman) - State champ, All-State, 1st team All-Tournament at State AA.
Blake Thelen (Helena) - All-State, 1st team All-Tournament at State AA.
Logan Gilliard (Bigfork) - State champ, All-State, Class B Tournament MVP.
Ethan Bullock (Big Timber) - Scored 16 against Bigfork at State, 18 against Colstrip in consolation final victory.
Alex Johnson (Helena) - HM All-Tournament at State AA
Holden Sampson (Helena) - Started most games this season on a solid, scrappy Helena High team
Rylan Ortt (Sentinel) - Contributed minimally to a talented but young Sentinel team. Coach decided to play for the future and bench most seniors, but he was pretty good.

In all fairness, the Griz had some good ones too: Jesse Owens (AA All-tournament 1st team), Ryan Simpson (AA All-tournament 1st team), Ryan Tirrell was a stud for a really good Loyola team.

How good these kids were on the basketball court played a role in my evaluation of them as football players. Qualities they showed on the basketball court translated to what they did on the football field.

Where is Brody Grebe going?

Blake Thelen is from Great Falls, not Helena.

gtfcat84 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 14, 2019 10:14 am

Blake Thelen is from Great Falls, not Helena.

My bad, I knew that. I've actually made that mistake with him before for some reason.

TomCat88 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:13 pm

Where is Brody Grebe going?

I have the same question as do many alumni and boosters that attended the state C tournament.
One booster said "MSU is crazy if they don't offer Grebe some money for football". I would tend to agree.
I didn't see the kid play football, but he is an animal for sure.

kwcat wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 14, 2019 10:28 am

TomCat88 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:13 pm

Where is Brody Grebe going?

I have the same question as do many alumni and boosters that attended the state C tournament.
One booster said "MSU is crazy if they don't offer Grebe some money for football". I would tend to agree.
I didn't see the kid play football, but he is an animal for sure.

I heard from a Class C coach that he wanted to play basketball, but most colleges wanted him to play football. I don't know if the bobcats offered him any money, but I do know they want him to play safety. The coach went on to say most everybody agrees he would be more successful in football due to his physicality. Kids in Class C basketball just couldn't handle him, but if he were to play college basketball there would be kids big enough and strong enough to guard him, that was the rationale for this coach saying football would be better for him. I don't know though because I have never seen him play football.

Hi-Line Bobcat wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 14, 2019 10:36 am

kwcat wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 14, 2019 10:28 am

TomCat88 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:13 pm

Where is Brody Grebe going?

I have the same question as do many alumni and boosters that attended the state C tournament.
One booster said "MSU is crazy if they don't offer Grebe some money for football". I would tend to agree.
I didn't see the kid play football, but he is an animal for sure.

I heard from a Class C coach that he wanted to play basketball, but most colleges wanted him to play football. I don't know if the bobcats offered him any money, but I do know they want him to play safety. The coach went on to say most everybody agrees he would be more successful in football due to his physicality. Kids in Class C basketball just couldn't handle him, but if he were to play college basketball there would be kids big enough and strong enough to guard him, that was the rationale for this coach saying football would be better for him. I don't know though because I have never seen him play football.

My feeling as well.

It was fun watching Melstone and MC play.
Glad Bellach coming to play at MSU, but I thought Grebe was the workhorse of that particular game. MC had the players but Melstone got every ounce of effort from their team. Grebe did the work on defense as well.
Was a fun game to watch. MC may have been wore down a little from the Fairview game. Fairview was probably two small mistakes from a win.
Meltstone had a tough one the night before as well.

The kid has heart for sure.