Hellgate Seniors Look Forward to Final Ride

Fri., Aug. 23, 2019

Keith Demolder SWX

August 30th represents the start of high school football in Montana, but—more importantly—it represents opportunity for teams to start off the new year on the right foot. For the 2019 Hellgate Knights, it’s all about the chance for a battle-tested group of seniors to make the most of their final ride. “People say that you don’t really become family, but this is a brotherhood I’ve got with these guys,” Senior offensive lineman Dakota Friesen said. “It feels great to be with these guys coming up…winning a few games here and there, and hopefully doing really good this season.” But it’s no secret that the Hellgate Knights football program has struggled. The team has won just 13 games in the past 15 years, including a 5-year streak where they lost 57 straight. And after finishing last year 2-2 down the stretch, this year’s Knights squad is ready to turn the ship around. Senior quarterback Rollie Worster, who was Hellgate’s offensive spark plug (1,158 rushing yards, 8 rushing touchdowns; 1,789 passing yards, 9 passing touchdowns), has no doubts about what this team is about. “I feel really confident. I’ve been with these guys since my freshman year and just working with them for the past three years and I think we’re just plugging away,” Worster said. “[The strongest part of Hellgate football] I think is our heart. I mean we come out every day, we go hard and give it our all.” Hellgate head coach Mick Morris, in his third season at the helm of the program, believes that the adversity that his senior class has faced throughout their time with the Knights will fuel their fire this football season. “You know I think because a lot of them have been playing together for six, seven years and I think that’s a big part of it. Going to school together, growing up playing football together and then obviously going through the trials and tribulations that we went through the last four years,” Morris said. “It’s either it’s going to break you or bring you together and I think fortunately for us it’s brought us together.” The Knights will have a bye week during week one of the season and will play their first game at home against Billings Skyview on September 6th.

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