Meet the Glacier Knights. Their quarterback is a defense attorney, their running back is a landscaper and their offensive coordinator is a detention officer. They have notable football names like Moss and Manning, but their first names are Brenton and Curtis. They didn’t win for four long years and were outscored 91-3 in a game in 2007. And now they’re a frontrunner to win the Rocky Mountain Football League AA title.
The turnaround is stunning for this semi-professional football team based out of Kalispell. From 2004 to 2007, they didn’t win a single game and rarely came close. Then last year, under the guidance of new head coach Will Wheat, the Knights had a breakout season, finishing 3-5. Before those three wins, there was only one victory in franchise history back in 2004.
While warming up at a recent practice, a group of players debated the murky details of that lone 2004 win. “Didn’t the other team forfeit?” asked one player. His teammate responded: “No, I think we actually won.”
The culture has changed within the Knights. The one victory in 2004 has lost its importance. The players don’t remember who they beat or how. Today they focus their attention on divisional titles and winning streaks. It’s all new to the guys and they’re loving it.
Since losing the first game of this season to Great Falls, the Knights rattled off five straight victories before losing to Great Falls again on May 30, bringing their record to 5-2. The Knights have one more regular season game left in Helena on June 6. Win or lose, they have already clinched a trip to the playoffs, which begin later this month.
“Every game we’ve played this year, we’ve been making history,” Wheat said.
The guiding hand behind the turnaround has been Wheat, a former player for the Knights who grew sick of watching only a dozen or so players show up for practice. When he took over at the beginning of the 2008 season, he vowed to rewrite the Knights’ story.
Wheat began relentlessly recruiting, talking to people on the street, advertising and using Facebook and MySpace to find players. Not only did they start showing up from Kalispell, they came from as far away as Canada and Missoula. Wheat remembers playing in pre-2008 games with a roster of 18 players. Today, more than 40 routinely show up for games.
Once the Knights began winning, recruiting became easier. Everybody likes to play for a winner. Also, the stands started to fill up at Columbia Falls High School, where the Knights play their home games. Instead of 75 spectators trickling in, the games now attract crowds of up to 300. Those admission fees help the Knights cover their operational costs. Sponsors are vital too.
Robert Adame, an IT technician for Kalispell’s school district and a nose tackle for the Knights, said the whole team recognizes and appreciates Wheat’s efforts. So does the league. Last year, Wheat won RMFL Coach of the Year and is considered a top candidate for the award again this year. While Wheat’s influence is felt in the Xs and Os of the game, it’s his persistent networking off the field that has turned the team around, Adame said.
“He’s really got the ability to talk to people,” Adame said.
In sports, success is always healthy for team camaraderie and this is evident on the Knights. The players, who range in age from 18 to late 40s, get along well, joking with each other at practice and grabbing beers after games. It shows in their teamwork on the field as well. They are a far more well-oiled machine than in the years before Wheat’s arrival.
It helps to have a full roster. Thomas Evans, a tight end and defensive end, remembers playing games with 20 guys on the roster against teams with 70. In the heat of summer, it’s nice, even utterly necessary, to have a break during games. But with the sparse roster, a number of players had to stay in the game at all times.
“Guys had heat sickness; they would be puking,” Evans said.
With the newly loaded roster, the Knights have played stingy defense this season, giving up only 8.8 points per game. On offense, they have relied on a strong rushing attack that produces 188.5 yards per game, third best in the league. Mike Kuehne is the top rusher in the league at 570 yards and four touchdowns.
When the Knights opened their season with the 14-12 opening loss to Great Falls, the players could have cringed at the thought of returning to their losing ways. But instead, they reacted and did everything they could to make sure it didn’t happen again.
“Since (the loss) the guys have played with a chip on their shoulders,” Wheat said.