Part of the biggest show in Montana

Talk about taking a major step up.

When Blake Horgan was a senior at East Valley High School, the school’s football team won a total of two games.

Now, as a senior at the University of Montana, the All-Big Sky Conference defensive tackle is in the hunt for the National Division I-AA championship – an annual pursuit at Missoula.

Horgan helped the Grizzlies win the national championship his freshman season and helped them return to the title game his sophomore year.

And now, two games away from a repeat title, there’s a buzz in the air around Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

“I wish the guys I played with in high school could all experience what this is like,” Horgan said this week. “It’s too bad that it didn’t work out for them, but I really appreciate it when they come watch me play or when they call to give me their support.”

Not that they’re lacking for support in Missoula for Grizzly football.

“It’s amazing the way the community supports us – it’s unreal,” Horgan said. “They say it’s the biggest show in Montana. I remember watching games here before I got here, so I knew what to expect, but it’s an incredible experience to play here.”

The Grizzlies play their third straight home playoff game today, hosting Sam Houston State today at noon in Missoula – looking for their fifth win in seven appearances in the national semifinals. The team expects 22,000 fans to pack into Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

For Horgan and the Grizzlies, it’s a chance at rematch.

Montana, then ranked No. 1 in the country, lost to the Bearkats at Huntsville, Texas, in mid-September, 41-29.

The conditions will be reversed for this game, however.

Texas in September can be hot, and the temperature on the field was well into triple digits.

“It was so hot,” Horgan said. “We had guys puking between plays. It was not a pretty sight.”

Not so Saturday. It will be like jumping from the frying pan into the ice box.

Sam Houston State advanced to the I-AA semifinals for the first time in school history by storming from behind to beat Eastern Washington on the final play of the game Saturday in Cheney.

Second chances are rare in football.

“Getting a second shot at these guys is great motivation,” Horgan said. “It keeps us all out there working hard every day in practice.”

Playing at home, he said, gives the Grizzlies a distinct advantage.

“The first game I ever saw at Washington-Griz, I was on the sideline and I was just in awe,” he said. “I started looking forward to the day when I could get out on that field.

“Our defense really feeds on it (when the crowd gets into the game). You can tell that we play with more excitement. The offense is having trouble getting their plays in and their players are jumping offside. It’s an incredible noise level, and we feed off of it.”

An All-Greater Spokane League defensive linebacker and tight end at East Valley, Horgan has had an outstanding career on the Montana defensive line. The senior was a redshirt in 2000 and played in every game in 2001 as the team marched to a national championship. He was an All-Big Sky first-team selection as a sophomore and an honorable mention pick his junior season. This season he earned second-team All-Big Sky honors.

Horgan needs one tackle to reach 200 for his career and ranks among the Grizzlies’ top 30 career tacklers.

And Horgan is helping to pass the torch.

East Valley’s Ross Brunelle is a freshman linebacker for the Grizzlies, and the senior has taken him under his wing.

“It’s been great having him on the team this year,” Horgan said. “His brother (Brady) was on this year’s team (at East Valley), so he kept me up on their playoff run this year.

“Ross hasn’t played a game yet this year, but he’s done everything he needs to do to be a big contributor to this program. He’s out there every day with the scout team giving our starters a good look at what they’re going to be playing against.”