Flathead Graduates Shine in Primetime Football Games

On the biggest stages in the biggest of games, a pair of former Flathead High School quarterbacks led colossal comebacks on Sunday, captivating not one but two nations.

First it was Mike Reilly, the 2003 Flathead graduate who rallied the Edmonton Eskimos past the Ottawa Redblacks 26-20 to win the Grey Cup, the championship of the Canadian Football League.

Reilly was named the most valuable player of the game after completing 21 of 35 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He also ran for 66 yards on 10 carries.

“It’s certainly special,” Reilly told media after the game in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “It’s something that I’ll never take for granted. It’s memories that I’m happy I’ll have for the rest of my life.”

As Reilly’s stellar performance concluded, Brock Osweiler’s began. The towering Kalispell product, who rose to prominence at Flathead High School from 2005-08 before taking his talents to Arizona State University and then the NFL, starred in primetime for the Denver Broncos against the undefeated New England Patriots on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

In front of 74,000 fans in Denver and millions more watching at home, Osweiler guided the Broncos to an improbable comeback over the reigning Super Bowl champs. Trailing 21-7 in the fourth quarter, Denver rallied back to win 30-24 in overtime.

In frosty, snowy conditions fitting for a Montana kid, Osweiler completed 23 of 42 passes for 270 yards with one touchdown and one interception, earning praise from NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth as a “sudden star.” The coronation continues from there, with the likes of Deion Sanders commenting on the kid from Kalispell — “Osweiler got something man!!” Sanders said via Twitter.

For 25-year-old Osweiler, Sunday’s game harkened back to his younger days in the Flathead Valley, where it all started.

“I remember when I was a kid and you’d play football in the backyard in the winter, and if your receiver didn’t catch it, it would go into a snow bank,” Osweiler told members of the media after the win, reflecting on his Montana roots.

While Osweiler’s win was significant, Reilly’s was monumental.

Although football fans in the U.S. may have missed the CFL title game, it was certainly the hallmark event up north.

It was the top story in Canada Sunday night and Monday morning, appearing prominently in every major news outlet. Edmonton’s victory drew praise from all ranges of fandom, from former NFL quarterback Warren Moon to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson even went to Twitter to declare, “Mike Reilly is my personal hero right about now.”

After the victory, Reilly embraced a few familiar faces at midfield on Sunday. His parents, Pat and Rhonda, were in Winnipeg for the championship game, as they have been for all of Mike’s games.

Pat, a history and psychology teacher at Flathead High School, and Rhonda, office manager and administrative assistant at the high school, traveled to Canada last week to spend Thanksgiving with their son before the big game.

It’s been a long, winding road for Mike Reilly to arrive in the CFL spotlight.

As a standout multi-sport athlete in high school in Kennewick, Washington, Reilly’s family moved to Kalispell during his junior year. The following fall, as a senior, he earned the starting quarterback role for Flathead after three games as a backup and set a school record with 2,280 passing yards, leading the Braves to the semifinals. He spent a year at Washington State University before transferring to Central Washington, where he was a four-year starter who set nearly every school passing record. He also set an NCAA record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass with 46, leading some national media outlets to lump him in with the best quarterbacks in college for any division.

After graduating in 2009, he was the only Division II QB invited to the NFL combine and bounced around for several franchises on practice squads, including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers. Finally, after the Seattle Seahawks released him, Reilly chased his best chance at playing time and accepted an offer from the BC Lions.

The rest is history.

The BC Lions won the Grey Cup in 2010, Reilly’s first season as a backup behind former Montana State University quarterback Travis Lulay. Reilly then began chasing his own title as a starter.

A year ago, Reilly and Edmonton finished just shy of the Grey Cup, losing to Calgary in the West Final.

In the first game of this season, against the Toronto Argonauts, Reilly suffered an MCL knee injury that could have ended his season.

Not Reilly. He underwent extensive rehabilitation and training to return as soon as possible.

“He worked really hard and fought back,” his father said.

There’s also a reason CFL players have voted Reilly Toughest Player in the CFL three years running.

“When I coached him, I taught him the difference between pain and injury. With an injury, you stay down. Pain, you get up and keep playing,” said Pat Reilly, who retired from coaching after 51 overall seasons this year, including a stretch for Flathead in recent years. “His philosophy has always been that way.”

It’s not uncommon for Canadian media outlets to highlight the big hits that Reilly takes every game. He’s not afraid to put himself out there and reach for an extra yard. He also famously doesn’t slide; he always dives head first for the extra yards.

“Physically he’s banged up. He’s been hit so many times and it takes a whole offseason to recoup. But his mental portion has peaked,” Pat said.

Edmonton won its final 10 games, all after Reilly returned as the starter. And the Esks won their first Grey Cup in 10 years thanks to their gritty quarterback.

“Finally he’s gotten to this point where he’s playing for all the marbles,” Pat said.

He definitely earned it.