Jase Stokes commits to Montana Tech

When the Havre High football team takes the field Friday night against the Belgrade Panthers, running back Jase Stokes will have one less thing to think about.

That's because on Thursday, Stokes, a senior running back/linebacker for the Blue Ponies, committed to play college football for Montana Tech of the Frontier Conference.

"It's exciting," Stokes said. "It's nice to get that burden off my shoulders and just worry about the high school season now."

While a number of schools expressed interest in Stokes, including Carroll College and Montana State University-Northern, which offered him scholarships in both football and wrestling, at the end of the day, he decided on Tech.

"They are one of the top dogs in the Frontier," Stokes said. "They have been getting better every year and they gave me a good offer and I took that opportunity and I am really excited."

Stokes, who is a standout two-way player for the Ponies, will play running back for the Orediggers, the defending Frontier Conference champs.

"Tech recruited me as a running back," Stokes said. "I really liked playing linebacker, but over the years, I have started to like playing offense more."

Stokes, who was an All-State linebacker and fullback a season ago, has excelled as Havre's lead runner this season, rushing for 793 yards and 10 touchdowns. He's also averaging a whopping 6.7 yards per carry. Over the past two seasons, he has gained more than 1,000 yards on the ground.

Stokes, who he will study business at Montana Tech, said he was swayed by both the facilities at Montana Tech and the atmosphere at a recent visit.

"Their new facilities are sweet," Stokes said. "And I went down to a game earlier this year and the atmosphere for a game was incredible. I compared it to a miniature Griz game, with the tailgating and the fans and the atmosphere. It was really cool to be at."

Stokes and the Ponies, who are 5-1 will take on Belgrade Friday night in a critical Central A conference matchup.