George Ferguson: This year was a blast, and I can't wait to do it again

And just like that it’s over.

Another year of area sports has come and gone.

And first, while COVID-19 isn’t gone from our lives, let me just say, it was so refreshing to have as normal a sports year as we possibly could. For the most part, things began feeling like old times again.

As for the year itself, it was another busy one on the Hi-Line, and for myself, Kason and Colin, it was a lot of fun to cover everything.

The highlights of the last three seasons of sports in our area are really too many to list, but a few that I personally loved included watching the Havre High volleyball team make a really deep run at the state tournament this season. It was a special year for the Blue Pony spikers, and I think they’ll be just as strong again this fall.

Of course, football season always has its share of good times, and Fort Benton and Big Sandy made it that way again on the Hi-Line, but I wouldn’t be who I am without mentioning the Brawl of the Wild. That Saturday in Missoula was pretty darn entertaining, and while I don’t need to mention which side of the rival I sit on as a fan, I will say that, after covering Cat-Griz for almost 20 years now, it constantly shocks me how each game is bigger than the last. What a huge deal that game has become, some for the better, some not so much, but either way, as a sports journalist, it doesn’t get any more high stakes in Montana than the annual Brawl of the Wild, and the 2021 version was the biggest yet.

Winter had no shortage of great sporting events either.

The Havre High girls basketball team, what can I say? They’re just awesome. They’re incredible, and they’re a real dynasty. The Blue Ponies have made winters a lot of fun around here, and I’m thinking it’s going to be that way for a long time to come.

State wrestling lived up to the hype as well. Back in the Metra after a one-year hiatus, the Blue Ponies brought home a second-place trophy, while Orion Thivierge won his third straight state championship.

Speaking of back to normal. The Armory Gymnasium sure was back to normal this winter. From volleyball season through MSU-Northern basketball and wrestling, having the fans back in the Armory was amazing. Northern has the best fan base in the Frontier Conference bar-none, and we got to see that for all the games and matches this past year. There’s really nothing like a sporting event in the Armory.

Of course, coaching tennis, I always love the spring, and our tennis teams were awesome again this year. But how about that HHS softball team? Congrats again to the Blue Ponies for winning their first divisional championship. Great job ladies, and Vig!

Spring sports, though, have a certain sadness to them, at least for me because they mark the end of another year. It’s like, what am I going to do now? Oh, I’ll enjoy my summer. I’ll play golf, I’ll hike in Glacier Park, I’ll spend some much-needed time at home. But I also have to get through a certain amount of post-sports depression.

Eventually though, I will get over it, because, another school year is right around the corner, and while 2021-22 was great, I’m sure the next year will have its own exciting memories to make. And the Havre Daily News will be there to capture them all.

Have a great summer everybody.