Samson brothers go into the Northern HOF Wednesday night

The wait is finally over. Brothers Kyle and Marc Samson will be inducted into the MSU-Northern Athletics Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place Wednesday evening in what has been billed as a backyard BBQ celebration.

The Samson brothers' induction into the Northern HOF was announced back in the spring. Below is the original press release from MSU-Northern:

The MSU-Northern Foundation is pleased to announce the winners for the 2021 Northern Athletic Hall of Fame; brothers Marc Samson (Helena, MT), and Kyle Samson (Butte, MT). Both Samsons played football at MSU-Northern and each were nominated and voted unanimously by a selection committee to receive the award. The Northern Athletic Hall of Fame Awards recognizes players, managers and coaches who have made outstanding contributions to athletics at Montana State University-Northern.

"My earliest memory playing football is with my mom, dad and my brother in our front yard in Helena," says Kyle Samson, older of the two brothers, sharing that they would go out and work on running options and throwing routes adding. "Our mom and dad would have us out working on football skills every day!" Marc, recalls "we were probably 5 and 6 years old we would be playing "pro bowl catches" in the basement."

The Samson's graduated from Capital High School in Helena, and both had amazing accomplishments which garnered their Northern Athletics Hall of Fame nominations including many Northern records and playing on the Lights 2006 team that made school history by going to the national playoffs.

Marc Samson, who attended Northern from 2004-2007, was Second Team All-Conference Safety in 2004, First Team All-Conference 2005-2007 and First Team NAIA All-American at Safety in 2006, 2007. He was also three-time NAIA Academic All-American. In 2007 Marc led the NAIA in passes defended (26) and was second in the nation in interceptions (8). The younger Samson brother, Marc holds Northern Lights records for most interceptions in a game (3), season (8) and career (17), passes defended in season (26) and career (53). Marc graduated from MSU-Northern with Honors and a Bachelor of Arts in health promotion in 2007 and continued on with his studies, graduating from the University of Montana School of Physical Therapy in 2011.

Currently Marc is a Physical Therapist for the VA in Helena, Mont. and is married to Katie Samson. They have 2 children, Kayley (11) and AJ (8).

After playing as a true freshman quarterback in Missoula for the University of Montana, Kyle, transferred to Northern and was both captain and starting quarterback for the Lights 2004-2006 He was also a three-time all-conference selection (2004-2006), two-time All-American selection (2005, 2006), and was named the Frontier Conference's Most Valuable Player in 2006. He was a three-time Academic All-Conference selection, and his senior year was the recipient of the National Football Foundations Scholar Athlete of the Year Award as well as the MSU-Northern Student Excellence Award Winner.

During his tenure, Kyle set 21 school records. He earned his bachelor's degree in health/physical education from Northern in 2007 and started his coaching career at MSU-N where he was the offensive coordinator and QB coach for seven years between 2007-2013. Under Samson's direction, the Lights offense was ranked in the Top 10 in the nation from 2010-2013. Kyle is currently the head football coach at Montana Tech and previous to Tech he was the Head Football Coach at Flathead High School in Kalispell for five years.

Kyle is married to Brooke (Schwan) of Havre and they have three children; son Troy (10), daughter Jordyn (8) and son Beau (4).

According to Marc it wasn't one teammate that mattered more than others but the entire team that made the difference.

"There were a group of teammates that came to Northern in 2004 and played 3-4 years together which were the core that helped turn the program around," Marc said.

"I had some tremendous teammates at Northern. The best thing I could say was it was amazing to be able to play with a bunch of my best friends and especially being able to play with my younger brother," Kyle added.

"Football has taught me a lot about life," Kyle continued, "It is the ultimate team sport and it really teaches you that in order to be successful in football and life, it's not about you. It has to be about the TEAM! Being part of a football team is one of the most special things in my life and the relationships that I have made through football are incredible."

At Northern, the football team for the Samson's was a family, literally. The brothers played for their father, Mark Samson, who was the head coach for the Lights during those same years his sons played on the team.

"I wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame without my great teammates, my coaches, my family and especially my father, Mark Samson (wife Kellie). Without him, none of this would have been possible. He took a program that hadn't been successful and turned it into one of the best teams in the Frontier Conference and I was very fortunate to get the opportunity to play for him," Kyle said.

"My four years at Northern were some of the top times in my life, I just loved it. It was very special for my brother and I to play for our father," Marc added.