Friday Night Lights: Utility Man

Winning football games is often about making sacrifices. And when it comes to the Havre High football team, no one has made more sacrifices than Chris Gabrielsen.

Gabrielsen, who is in the midst of his junior season for the Blue Ponies, is a two-way starter for HHS. Yet that isn’t what makes him unique, there are others on the team that play both ways and do so with little complaint. The thing that makes Gabrielsen different is the fact that due to team needs, he has started games at five different positions.

And while some players would object to being moved from fullback to tight end, to offensive guard, Gabrielsen just keeps on playing and doing whatever he can to help his team.

“He has really helped us out in a lot of ways,” HHS head coach Mark Samson said. “He’s played fullback, he’s played guard, and he’s played tight end. He has also played inside linebacker and defensive end, so he played five different positions for us and he has done a great job at all of them. The thing about him is that he’s smart. He picks up things pretty quick and the thing I really love about him is that he says ‘coach whatever you want me to do I’ll do it.’”

In today’s world of me-first athletes, it’s refreshing to see someone like Gabrielsen, who is not only a selfless player but a tireless worker. Throughout the offseason, he consistently lifted weights and bought into what Samson wanted to do. And a big part of what the first-year head coach wanted was to make the Ponies tougher, and if Gabrielsen is any example, it looks to be working.

“I like being all over the field,” Gabrielsen said. “I just want to do what I can to help out the team. We don’t have a lot of depth in a lot of places, so whatever I can do to help us win that’s what I want to do.”

And so far, Gabrielsen has done plenty to help Havre win. Against Sidney, his move to tight end was critical to Havre’s success. Before that game, pass protection had been a major issue for the Ponies. But, with Gabrielsen left in to block at the tight end spot, quarterback Dane Warp had more time to throw and the offense was better because of it.

Then, after seeing two starters go down against the Eagles along the offensive line, Gabrielsen had his blocking skills put to the test as he started the Browning game last Friday at guard and despite the fact that it was his first varsity start on the offensive line, he played well.

“I used to be kind of chunky so I have played (offensive) line before,” Gabrielsen said. “It’s not difficult, mostly it’s just about being an athlete. The coaches told me I had a lot of potential and so I am just going to play wherever they need me.”

However, there is more to it than that. It takes a certain kind of intelligence and mental toughness to change positions so often and still be productive. Yet, that’s exactly what Gabrielsen has done and he’s not stopping anytime soon.

“It was kind of funny, he came to me this week and said coach, you want me at quarterback or slot receiver this week?” Samson said jokingly. “Whether he wants to admit or not, he is a better player on the line of scrimmage. That’s where we need people and he has played very well for us. But, I just love his attitude. He doesn’t care, he really just wants to play and I think that is something the rest of the kids notice and I think it’s something that they appreciate, too.”

You don’t have to talk to Gabrielsen long to understand his passion for the game and his desire to win. As a linemen, on both offense and defense, he may not put up eye-popping stats, but at the same time, it’s not really his job to. And the things that he brings to the gridiron can hardly be quantified through a box score.

“He may not have great stats,” Samson said. “But he does a lot of good things for us that don’t show up in the box score.”

In an ideal world, Gabrielsen said he would love to run the football. Yet, there is nothing ideal about Class A football in Montana. And it’s just a fact of life that some kids have to play somewhere other than their preferred position.

But at the end of day, the thing that matters to Gabrielsen most is winning and to that end, he will continue to do whatever is necessary to achieve that.

“We want to win a state championship,” Gabrielsen said. “That’s what we are working for and that’s all the matters. I am just trying to do what I can to help make that happen. I love running the ball, so I would love to play running back, but right now, I am just doing what I can to help the team and going wherever the coaches need me.”