Even with improvements, GFH football continues to struggle

Editor’s Note: With the high school football season now over, we take a look back at the season that was for Great Falls High and also look forward to its future as far as expectations and players to look out for in the 2016 season.

The Bison were off and running.

Behind two talented but different running backs, there was a certain energy and confidence that had been absent for a long time, many years.

For the first time since 2008, Great Falls High was off to a 2-0 start, mostly because of senior halfbacks Walker Ferda and Austin Dess.

It appeared as if this was the year, this was the season that the Bison returned to postseason play for the first time in seven years. Even though their opponents weren’t highly regarded, that hardly mattered. They were playing good football. They looked like a good football team.

“We started out really well,” Great Falls High head coach Matt Krahe said, “but had a couple injuries, and I think that really affected the psyche of the team as far as maybe a confidence issue. We played very well at times, but we also had some costly errors that hurt us.”

What really hurt the Bison was when Walker Ferda broke his fibula in the second game of the season against Billings Skyview. He’d appear in only two games the rest of the year — you could probably count the number of carries on two hands — as the Bison’s season spiraled out of control.

Just like that, Ferda and Dess, who injured his knee in the fourth game of the season, were on the bench, helpless. And just like that, the Bison’s strength had vaporized, along with their newly found confidence.

“I believe that you have to start with that running game,” Krahe said. “It just helps out a lot. We had two quality senior backs, Walker Ferda and Austin Dess, who looked very good. You come up with a broken leg and sprained MCL and that hampers you.”

The Bison finished the 2015 season with eight straight losses. How do the coaches get the players to come back year after year and be confident about what they are doing and want to play football?

“It is tough, and I commend them for that,” Krahe said. “They’re working as hard as they can and everybody associated with the program is, because nobody likes the result in the win-loss column. There are positives and life lessons that you learn without a doubt and the coaches and the players do a great job of realizing that. We had some really nice wins at the beginning of the year that I think proved to the kids that hey, you know what, we can do it.

“Those victories at the beginning, I think they helped them realize, you know, hey, hard work pays off. Unfortunately, like we talked earlier, a couple injuries here and there derailed us, but the kids worked hard and in the big picture that’s important.”

It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though. While it didn’t show it on the scoreboard, Krahe didn’t fault his team’s effort. In fact, he applauded it — all the way back to the months before the season even began.

“It is a good senior class,” Krahe said. “What those guys did in the offseason last year was incredible, as far as the time they put in and the commitment they put in. In that sense, they had a great, successful year. They really did.

“And if there’s one or two things that the upcoming class can take with them, that’s work ethic. Those kids didn’t take anything for granted. They didn’t expect anything. They showed up. They put in the time, and that’s something that those younger classes can look at.”

That senior class includes, among others, the likes of Ferda, Dess, Kaden Sukut, Maxx Sitzmann, Robert Bruskotter — the WR’s final year was also cut short due to injury — Jamison Hermanson, August Woehler, Chase Perry and Joey Greene.

Sitzmann caught 37 balls for 863 yards and 10 TDs in his final season as he stretched the field. Sitzmann averaged 23 yards a catch.

“He was definitely our deep threat,” Krahe said of Sitzmann, “go-to guy in the passing game. I believe he had 10 touchdowns on the year, and I think he had almost 40 catches for the year and just did a great job. Had great body control, going up and getting those balls on the deep passes, and we’re going to miss him.”

Perry, from his safety spot, led the team in tackles with 66. The linebacker Woehler was second in tackles with 63.

It was another season of what could have been for Ferda, who never played a full varsity season at Great Falls High as he suffered through five significant injuries.

“He couldn’t catch a break,” Krahe said. “He needed to because he put in the time, and I really think he provided a big spark-plug for us offensively. One of those guys that at any moment when he touched the ball it could go for a touchdown. We were really looking forward to, and I know he was to, seeing what he could do this year.”

SIXTEEN starters are graduating, which can’t bode well for the Bison.

Krahe is encouraged, however, by the sheer numbers at Great Falls High. Considering its struggles in recent years, it’s a testament to the coaching staff and the players that they are so high.

“We have a very good junior and sophomore class,” Krahe said. “There are a lot of kids. Each class is over 30 kids strong and a lot of those kids got time defensively this year. We are going to return five, six, seven kids that saw significant time playing on defense this year. They had a good (junior varsity) season, coupled with the kids that played varsity; I think they’re going to be a pretty salty defensive bunch.”

Defensive end Tim Hanning returns for his senior season. The 5-foot-11, 213-pounder tallied 10 tackles for a loss in his junior campaign and a team-leading seven hurries. At linebacker, Luke Almos is back for another year. Almos had 51 tackles this season and a staggering 17 tackles for a loss, tops on the team.

Offensive linemen Xavier Marshall, a reserve, and starter Zak Ray also return. It’s an offensive front that loses four starters.

“They’ll be young on the O-line,” Krahe said. “They won’t be as big as we have been, but they have to develop in the weight room and come together and become a unit.”

At wide receiver, seniors-to-be Ryan Johnson and Cameron Howard should be in the mix for playing time. Kody Torgerson, who started toward the end of the season due to Bruskotter’s injury, will be back as the lone starter. Kaleb Baker and Kyle Winkler will be the tight ends. Punter Logan Martin will return for his senior season. Krahe expects big things out of junior-to-be quarterback Kevin Boes, a lanky southpaw.