BIGFORK – Once you win a state championship, you can no longer sneak up on anybody. You are circled on every opponent’s calendar. You are the best until proven otherwise.
It’s a great place to be, this perch on top of Montana’s football world, but it comes with unique pressures and the Bigfork Vikings know it. A year after the underdog Vikings surprised many by winning its first state football title in school history, they are embracing their new role as the team to beat.
“We know we have the targets on our backs this year,” senior Cody Dopps said.
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Viking head coach Todd Emslie, left, organizes his players at the start of an afternoon practice at Bigfork High School. |
Last fall, Bigfork made headlines across the state with a storybook run to the Class B title, drawing huge home crowds in even the harshest winter weather. Avid football fans huddled next to casual observers, finding common ground in rooting for their hometown kids.
If the Vikings hope to make a similar run this season, they’ll do it with a combination of familiar and new faces. Bigfork lost two of last year’s key players, quarterback Christian Ker and running back Travis Knoll, to graduation.
Knoll, who now plays at Carroll College, had a historic senior season, gaining nearly 3,000 all-purpose yards, including 2,066 rushing yards on 250 carries. He scored 33 touchdowns, more than half of the team’s total. Needless to say, he’s not an easy player to replace, but Dopps, who will be the starting tailback, said he’s ready for the challenge.
“Travis and I are friends and we’re competitors,” Dopps said. “It’s fun – I want to go out and try to fill those shoes.”
Dopps has already proven himself as a top-notch player in Class B. Throughout his junior season, he showed he was a tough short-yardage runner with the ability to explode for a long run. In the championship game, he made a crucial interception from the linebacker position and returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
One person not concerned with having Dopps as the primary ball carrier is Colter Mahlum, the starting quarterback. Mahlum said he’s impressed with Dopps and doesn’t think the running game will miss a beat this year.
“He’s really good,” Mahlum said.
Similarly, the players and coaching staff are excited about Mahlum stepping into the starting quarterback position. Mahlum has taken few varsity snaps because Ker rarely came out of the game last year, but head coach Todd Emslie said his senior quarterback has looked good in practice.
“He’s a hard worker and he’s worked hard these last few years,” Emslie said. “He throws the ball really well but he has very little varsity experience. Now he’s the man.”
And Mahlum said he’s ready to be the man.
“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s a bunch of responsibility but I’ve always thought it’s not about me, it’s about the team.”
Emslie is pleased with his senior core. Of the 46 players on the roster, 15 are seniors, including two returning all-state selections, Connor Coleman and Austin Cantrell. Coleman plays tight end and defensive end, while Cantrell plays on both lines.
“We’ve got great leadership,” Emslie said. “I like that experience factor and I like the sprinkling of youth on top of that.”
Speaking before the season’s first game last Friday, Emslie said the defense “looks pretty good” and the offense looks as if it is capable of putting up a lot of points again. The Vikings lost their first game to Ronan 32-12.
“We should be fun to watch,” Emslie said.
Emslie has been preaching the one-game-at-a-time philosophy, asking his kids to focus on what they have to do now to improve rather than looking back at last year’s remarkable season. Nevertheless, he concedes there’s still “a lot of excitement” from the championship run.
Mahlum said the players believe in Emslie’s philosophy.
“One game, one week at a time – we’re taking that advice,” Mahlum said. “But (the title) is definitely on our minds.”
Of course, Emslie knows having championships on the mind isn’t a bad thing, and so does Dopps. In the end, a title is the greatest motivator in sports.
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” Dopps said.