A year Box Elder will never forget

When looking back at the sports seasons of 2015-16, there is little doubt that the Box Elder Bears had as prominent a role as any school in the state of Montana.

It’s not unusual for a school to have a great year in a sport or two. In fact, it happens all the time. But to make history like the Bears did this season, and to do it in each of the three major sports they compete is, is well, unprecendented.

"It's pretty historic," Box Elder boys basketball coach Jeremy MacDonald said. "I think somebody was telling me that it's never happened before in Class C, so I think that's just a testament to our kids and all the hard work that they have put in over the years."

Doing things that set historical precedent is nothing new for the Bears. That’s because they have done it all year. First, in the fall, the football team had far and anyway the best season in school history.

Just three years ago, Box Elder was winless in Class C Six-Man football. That was when this year’s seniors were freshmen; when players such as Brandon The Boy, Jerrod Four Colors, Bodis Duran, Shane Ketchum, Jake Jones and others were getting their first introduction to high school sports.

For those players, the introduction was not a kind one. Yet, that season turned out to be a motivating factor those players and the football program in general. And this past season, under the direction of co-head coaches Neil Rosette Jr. and Joel Rosette, the Bears didn’t just break records, they shattered them.

"You really have to give a lot of credit to these kids and our senior class in particular," MacDonald said. "They put a lot of work in the offseason and in their own time. I know our coaches have spent a lot of their own time, too, opening the gym or being in the weight room. They had the dream and the vision and they worked to make it come true."

The 2015 Bears became the first Box Elder football team to host and win a playoff game. But their run didn’t stop there, it went all the way to the state championship game, another first in program history. And while the Bears ultimately didn’t win that championship, it was an incredible run nonetheless.

For many schools, having a team play for the state football championship at any level would be a banner year. By itself, it’s an outstanding achievement. However, the truth is that while the Bears were great at football, they had one of the best Class C basketball teams this state has ever seen.

Just two years ago, the Bears rolled to a 26-0 record en route to the 2014 Class C state championship. Box Elder seemed headed for a 3-peat. That was until Highwood shocked the Bears at the 2015 Northern C Divisional.

Due to that loss, the Bears didn’t make it back to state and the chance to win three consecutive titles went by the wayside. It was a low point for the Bears during their historic three-year run on the hardwood, but with leaders like MacDonald, The Boy, Four Colors, Duran and Ketchum, the Bears resolved to bounce back.

And throughout the 2015-16 boys basketball season, it was clear they were going to do just that. There was one setback, a loss in the first District 9C game of the year to Chester-Joplin-Inverness. After that, there was perfection.

Box Elder won the rest of its games and it won them in dominating fashion. And in three consecutive weeks as the 9C, Northern C and Class C state tournaments, the Bears dominated the best that Class C basketball had to offer, beating CJI, Belt and Arlee in successive title games. In its 9-0 postseason run, not a single game was decided by less than 10 points and many were decided by more than 20.

The Boy and Four Colors cemented their status as Class C legends, as did MacDonald in the coaching ranks. And the team as a whole, which won two titles in three years and had a 76-3 record during that span, wrapped up its spot among greatest teams to ever win Class C’s hoops.

It was a magical year no doubt. But it only got more magical with the play of the Box Elder girls basketball team. The Lady Bears, who are also coached by Rosette, had not been to the state tournament since 1998. But after a perfect regular season and a District championship, the Lady Bears punched their ticket for the first time in nearly two decades.

Unlike many teams that make it to state, the Lady Bears weren’t content and they played with a purpose and when the weekend came to a close, they came within a game of a state championship, falling only to Belt, a Class C juggernaut.

In the end, the Lady Bears didn’t win, but they still brought home a trophy from the state tournament for the first time in nearly two decades and doing so capped off what is unquestionably the greatest year of athletics Box Elder has ever seen.

"In addition to the kids buying in and putting everything they have in our athletics, we have also got some great support from the community," MacDonald said. "The community has really rallied around our school and our teams and it has helped create something that has been a really big positive."

Yet, for all the success that the Bears and Lady Bears have had during the past year, MacDonald and everyone involved in Box Elder athletics is far from satisified.

"I think the big thing for us right now, is that we want to make sure we continue to compete at such a high level and maintain what we have built," MacDonald said. "Obviously, we aren't going to have three teams playing for the state championship every year. But, I think with what we are seeing from our young people, our kids in middle school and all the work they are putting in, I think we have a chance.

"We had done some pretty amazing things, to have three teams play for a state championship and even our middle school volleyball team won the district tournament last year and that was the first time that has happened in a long time," he added. "So our challenge is to maintain that and keep competing at a high level in every sport."

As important as winning and on-field success is, MacDonald said he also hopes the recent run of athletic triumphs can have a greater impact, not only on the Box Elder school, but on the entire Rocky Boy'Indian Reservation.

"I think on our reservation, like any reservation, there is some historical injustice and some challenges that have to be overcome," MacDonald said. "We have had a lot of success in athletics and we have reached a really high level. But we haven't really reached that level in academics. We have done some good things in academics, but that is the next thing that we want to do is to have that translate to the classroom. If we can do that, we can turn this nice run that we have had into something that can create a really positive change for the future."