George Ferguson Column: MSU-N/UGF rivalry is special

University of Great Falls Head Wrestling Coach Caleb Schaeffer made mention earlier this week that the annual February dual between his Argos and the Montana State University-Northern Lights was a great way to kick off state wrestling week in Montana.

Schaeffer, a former NAIA national champion for the Lights, couldn’t have said it better. Only the latest dual between the Lights and Argos might be impossible for the thousands of high school grapplers converging on Billings today and tomorrow to top.

What wrestling fans witnessed Wednesday night in the Armory Gymnasium was nothing short of special. It wasn’t just Toby Cheff’s victory over UGF heavyweight David Lopez which made it so.

No, the UGF/Northern rivalry doesn’t necessarily need moments like Cheff’s win over Lopez, who out-weighed the Northern star by nearly 100 pounds, in order to get fans excited. But moments like that sure make it more fun.

No, the rivalry is already special. It’s special for the all the right reasons. First, you have two really good and charismatic head coaches in MSU-N’s Tyson Thivierge and Schaeffer, and both are responsible for national championship banners hanging in the Armory Gymnasium. Second, there’s the Montana kids who come to wrestle for the only two collegiate programs in the state. Then there’s the fact that Northern and UGF are geographical rivals, and let’s face it, on the mat, or the basketball court, or anywhere else, the Lights and Argos just don’t like each other much.

That last fact always makes for a fun rivalry. In fact, that’s why they call them rivalries in the first place.

But Wednesday night took the rivalry to a whole new level. Every match was fun to watch. Every match was two very good wrestlers going toe-to-toe, and you could see, with each Light and Argo stepping onto the mat, just how good both of these programs are.

Of course, then there was the drama inside the dual. UGF’s Danny Luttrell having to injury default against Northern bulldog Riley Miller set the stage for what would become an incredible night. I mean, Northern fell behind a really good UGF team 15-6, and in many instances, that would be it. Good night, dual over. But the Lights are talented and deep too, and they came through in the clutch.

There were so many things which happened in the comeback Wednesday night it’s hard to single out one key moment. In fact, lost in the shuffle is Mickey Cheff riding UGF’s Nick Schmidt for nearly two full minutes in order to start the comeback with a narrow 3-2 win at 157 pounds. Or the next match, where most people were certain Ethan Hinebauch would pin Brock Picard, who once played football for Havre High for about five days. But Picard was stubborn and fought Hinebauch all the way, not allowing the bonus points Northern so desperately wanted to get.

Or how about red-shirt freshman Garrett DeMers being called upon to win a match for the Lights at 197 pounds with the dual tied at 18-18 going into the match? Yes, I could go on with just how many stories there were inside Wednesday night’s dual. Even the crowd was a story. Northern fans out-numbered the UGF contingent, and were raucous and loud all night long. But it’s pretty impressive to see that many Argo fans show up in Havre and really create some noise themselves.

But that’s what this rivalry has become. It’s actually become one of the best sporting events in Montana, and not just for the wrestling community. It’s a rivalry that transcends Montana sports now, and Wednesday night, it went to a whole other level, prompting Schaeffer to tell the Great Falls Tribune: “Tell you what, if you’re a wrestling fan and didn’t go to that dual, you were cheated. I’ve been coming up to this gym (with the Argos) for 10 years and that’s the most hyped-up crowd and atmosphere I’ve ever been a part of.”

I called Wednesday night a dual for the ages, and I think I’m accurate in that assessment. That’s not to take anything away from the great Northern/UGF duals of the recent past, but Wednesday night was one that will never be forgotten.

And it won’t be forgotten for all the right reasons. The Lights showed the heart and character of a champion in their great comeback. The Argos showed tremendous grit by coming into the Armory and taking the fight right to the host Lights. The crowd, well, they once again showed why Hi-Line wrestling fans are the best.

In other words, Wednesday night was as good as it gets. Only it probably won’t be because the Northern/UGF rivalry is here to stay. Though Wednesday night’s dual was one for the ages, with these two bitter rivals and great programs, there’s plenty more to come.