George Ferguson Column: These Beeters prove dreams can come true

CHINOOK — Just like so many boys their age, the members of the 2015 Chinook football team once stood in the grassy endzones of Hoon Field, playing football during Chinook games, and dreaming of the day that they, too, would get to wear the black and orange.

And five years ago, those boys, in middle school by then, dreamed really big as they watched the Sugarbeeters capture the 2010 Class C state championship on a frozen, windy day in Chinook. They watched and wondered if one day they would ever get to that point.

Fast forward five years to the day, and those Beeters, now young men, know the answer to that question they asked themselves so long ago. Like their heroes before them, they got the chance to call themselves state champions.

Thanks to a dominating 44-20 win over the Arlee Warriors Saturday afternoon, the 2015 Beeters clinched their own spot in the school’s storied history, delivering Chinook its second state championship in football.

But, for these Beeters, the culmination of the dream they dreamed so long ago, was also the end of a nightmare that started 365 days earlier when they were beaten by Wibaux in the 2014 state championship.

However, according to head coach Scott Friede, they never quit dreaming, they never quit thinking about that goal they set long, long ago.

“You don’t get these opportunities often,” Friede said. “For them to get here a second time in as many years, that’s really something. And what a way to end these last two years. They worked so hard for this. They didn’t let last year get in the way of what they had worked so hard for. They were focused on this and they never wavered from that focus. And I’m just so happy for these kids.”

Yes, kids that once watched from the sidelines, as their Chinook heroes, like Tyler Molyneaux and Ben Stroh and so many others, got to the mountain top of high school football five years ago. And while it may have seemed like a long journey to get to their own mountain top, for many, it was just yesterday that they dreamed the dream.

“I remember exactly where I was sitting in those bleachers when those guys won that state championship,” said senior Kenny Pruttis. “It was so exciting, and now that I’m here, I can’t even really put it into words. The seniors, we’ve all been playing together since fifth grade, and this is something we always dreamed about.”

“I did let myself dream about getting to do this someday back back then,” added senior quarterback Ian McIntosh. “But I never thought it would be for real one day. To be here now, it’s an unreal feeling.”

An unreal feeling indeed, because, after Saturday’s triumph, the 2015 Beeters no longer are looking up at anybody. They get to stand side-by-side with that great and historic 2010 squad. Now, these boys get to stand with those ones, who dreamed the same things when they were playing touch football in the endzones of Hoon Field. They get to stand together as state champions — and they did it much the same way, with hard work, dedication, a power-run game, dominating offensive lines and a stingy, hard-nosed defense, the kind of defense that comes naturally to the hard-working kids of Chinook and so many towns on the Hi-Line.

Above all else, the 2015 Beeters get to stand next to the great 2010 Beeters, because they dared to dream. They get to be called state champions because they dreamed big, and they didn’t let anything get in the way of those dreams.

“It’s unreal,” said senior fullback Derek Bell. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. But, it’s an awesome feeling. We looked up to those guys (2010 state champions). We saw what they did and we wanted to accomplish those same things. It’s just an amazing feeling to finally do it.”

“I think this is something every football player dreams of,” added senior Tate Niederegger. “This is what you get into this game for. We definitely looked up to those guys (2010 state champions). I definitely dreamed of doing what they did. And, we worked really hard all these years to get to where they were. And all that hard work paid off.”