Spring game a homecoming for Griz

4/10/2019 8:59:00 PM | Football

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana football team returns to Kalispell for the first time since 2006 on Saturday for the annual Grizzly Scholarship Association Spring Game.

When the team busses unload at Legends Stadium that morning, it will also be the first time some Grizzlies have set foot on their former home field since high school, and for others, the game will mark a return to their homes in the Flathead Valley.

Ten players on Montana's current roster grew up learning to love football (and learning how to be a Division-I player) on fields around the valley, the second-most from any other Grizzly hotbed in the country outside Missoula.

Spreading from Polson to Eureka, senior Josh Sandry, juniors Brandon Purdy and Jed Nagler, sophomores Patrick O'Connell and Matt Rensvold, and freshmen Garrett Graves, Jackson Pepe, Drew Turner, Cody Hartsoch, and Max Morris all hail from the Flathead.

Not all of them played their high school ball at Legends Stadium, but for those who did, the place is steeped in history and fond memories.

Now with new artificial turf, Purdy recalls his time as a kicker for the Glacier Wolfpack, trying to find footing on the old frozen grass surface at Legends any way he could.

"We tried all kinds of things like wearing tennis shoes to not slip on that ice," said Purdy.

But what memories really stick out are the memories of success, and Glacier High has had a lot of in recent years as the 2014 Montana AA state champs.

"When I came in my junior year in 2013, from there on, until we won the chipper, I had never lost a game on that field," he added.

"That was a pretty cool thing to be a part of. It's fun just having that memory of that field."

O'Connell was also part of a Wolfpack team that advanced to the state championship in 2016 as a first-team all-state linebacker, and his football memories run deep at Legends Stadium as well.

"My senior year when we went to the championship we were playing Helena High in the semifinals there. There was a fog that filled the whole stadium. When there was a pass or a punt you could barely see it in the air," reminisced O'Connell.

"We were down by 14 going into halftime I think, and we came out and beat them to go to the championship. That was one of the cooler games I played there."

Before Glacier's recent string of success, Flathead High was long dominant in state AA football with five state championships in the eight decades prior. The Braves returned to the championship game for the first time since 2000 last year where they fell just short against Billings West, 20-14.

Over the years a total of 61 players from Northwest Montana have lettered for the Griz. While some hail from Whitefish or Bigfork, the majority come from Kalispell.

Since joining the team out of Bigfork high in 2015, Sandry has traveled twice with the Grizzlies for the annual spring game, once to Helena his freshman year, and once to Butte in 2017 (the game is held in Missoula on even years, and elsewhere in the state in odd years).

Now Sandry says he's looking forward to getting back home ahead of his senior season.

"It's cool to see the other high school stadiums and to see the state. We get fans that come from all over and support, and it's kind of cool to see," said Sandry.

"Going to Kalispell is just kind of a plus for me. I've got a lot of family, a lot of friends, and a lot of people that support me who are excited to see me play."

And that might be the most special thing about the Grizzlies returning to the Flathead. It's not the success of high school athletes from the area who went on to UM and not the history of the teams there. It's family.

"My dad has been in the valley for a while with my grandpa and the retail stores they've owned, so their names are pretty prominent there," said Purdy.

"Hopefully I can do the family name some good and represent the Griz well."

The annual scrimmage is hosted by the Flathead Valley Chapter of the Grizzly Scholarship Association and is presented by Fun Beverage and the Bellamah Vein Center. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

The GSA will also host a tailgate party hosted at The Korner Shop, located two blocks away from Legends Stadium at 1212 South Main Street in Kalispell, beginning at 11 a.m.

Tickets to the game cost $10, with kids 10-and-under receiving free entry with an adult. Proceeds from the Spring Game go directly to the GSA in its mission to provide scholarships to student-athletes.

The game will be televised across the state on SWX Montana and will be available to stream via smartphone or tablet on the Watch SWX App. Ron Davis, Grady Bennett, and Shaun Rainey will provide the play-by-play, analysis, and sideline reporting.