Scott Mansanti was the best half of one of the greatest sports stories in Butte history.

During the 1995-96 basketball season, Butte Central coach Bill “Chunky” Thatcher sent Mansanti, then a sophomore, into a game in Livingston with an unusual assignment. Chunky told Mansanti to guard the referee.

Yes, guard the referee.

Chunky didn’t like the way the game was called, so he sent Mansanti in to do what coaches have talked about doing for decades. The best part is that Mansanti didn’t ask for instructions or ask the coach to explain what he wanted to do. He just went in and guarded the ref.

Mansanti went on to become a solid basketball player, guarding opponents instead of the men and women in stripes. He was also an All-State football player as a running back and linebacker. He played at Montana Tech, where he was pound-for-pound the hardest hitter I have ever seen.

He led with his head and he laid the wood. Just ask former police officer Russ Robertson. During the Pig Bowl several years ago, Mansanti hit Robertson so hard that we thought he killed him. Somehow, Robertson popped back up.

Listen to this podcast as Mansanti talks about his hard hitting. Listen as he talks about his family, his coaching career at Butte Central and some of his teammates. Listen as he talks about Chunky sending him in to guard the ref.