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BC girls’ hoop camp June 20-22
The Lady Maroon ‘Never Give Up’ K-12th grade skills camp will be held June 20-22 at the Maroon Activities Center.
Camp for girls in kindergarten through fourth grade will run from 3:30 to 5 p.m. each day. Cost of that camp is $35.
Camp for girls in fifth through 12th grade will go from 5 to 7 p.m. Cost is $50, and a family discount will be offered.
The camp will focus on shooting, ballhandling, fundamentals, team play, scoring and fun.. Early registration starts June 1. Players can also register the day of the camp.
Click the link below for more information and a registration form.
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Butte High girls’ hoops sets camp
The Headframe Hoops Girls’ Basketball Camp will be held June 26-29 at Butte High School.
Two camps will be offered. A camp for girls entering fifth through eighth grade will run for 9 a.m. to noon each day. Cost of that camp is $70. Cost is $50 with a pre-registration by June 19.
A camp for girls entering first through fourth grades will run from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. each day. Cost is $50 or $40 with a pre-registration.
The camps will stress fundamental instruction from the Bulldog coaching staff. That includes ballhandling, shooting, passing, scoring and more. The camp will also include fun competitions.
Send in the registration form below or scan the QR code to register online.
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So long, Big Al
My uncle Al Hansen died in his sleep, following a short battle with cancer, last Thursday morning. He was 69.
When I heard the news of Al’s passing, I immediately thought back to a fall Saturday morning in 1988. My Butte Central Junior High eighth-grade football team had a game at the old Butte Civic Center field, and Al was there to watch me play.
He told my aunt Cecilia that he thought I would be an awesome football player, and that is why he was there that morning.
I wasn’t really big, but I wasn’t small, either. I was a year older than most of my classmates because third grade was so hard, so I should have had an advantage.
It is hard to say if that is what Al was thinking, but he went to the field that morning expecting greatness.
He would never say it, but I had a feeling that Al left that game less than impressed with me. He probably learned something that my coaches could have already told him.
I wasn’t all that athletic, and I didn’t always play as hard as I could. I would take lots of plays completely off, even though I was lined up on the offensive or defensive line. I was Jalen Carter without the upside.
That’s because playing on the offensive line was not fun at all. I wanted to play quarterback or running back, but the coaches discriminated against me because of my lack of talent.
Luckily, Al showed up to watch me play on the day Mike McLaughlin busted out for a big game.
Mark O’Connell was our usual running back, and he was a beast. Mark was stronger and faster than everyone else on the team.
Nobody could tackle him or catch him. We all thought he was going to be an NFL Hall of Famer because we did not take into account that he was just one of those boys who developed faster than the rest of us.
While our voices were barely beginning to crack, Mark had to shave twice a day in junior high. At 14, he could have bought beer without a fake ID.
Mark, though, sat out the game that morning with an injury, and Mike got the start at tailback.
Mike put on an unbelievable performance in that game. He ran fast, and he ran hard. He didn’t have O’Connell’s breakaway speed, but he must have run for 200 yards as we picked up a victory.
Simply put, Mike was great.
Our coaches talked to us for a while after the game, like they always did, and Al was gone before I walked to the sideline. I saw him at his house late that weekend, and I asked him what he thought of the game.
Al’s eyes opened wide as he told me what my teammates and I already knew.
“That Mike McLaughlin is awesome.”
Mike was awesome in so many ways. Whether it was playing linebacker, running the ball, stealing the basketball and taking it for a layup or swinging a golf club, Mike was fun to watch.
Our teammate who tragically passed away in 2012 was always fun to be around, too. He was always smiling.
I think Al saw a little bit of himself in Mike that day — both in demeanor and playing style.
Al was the starting fullback for Butte High in 1970 and 1971. He was a big, bruising runner.
As a junior, Al was listed as 6 foot, 1, 192 pounds. As a senior, the paper called him 6-foot and 206 pounds.
I don’t think he actually shrunk an inch. I think that was just a goof by the school, which spelled Al’s last name “Hanson” instead of Hansen. So, the newspaper always had his name wrong.
But by all accounts, Al was a beast on the football field.
The great Montana Standard sportswriter Hudson Willse once described him like this: “Booming 206-pound fullback Al Hanson has consistently racked up more than 100 yards a game with his power running. (Coach Wayne) Paffhausen calls the big senior ‘the best fullback in the state.’”
In 1971, Al finished sixth in the Class A with 568 yards on 121 carries. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry.
Later in his senior season, Willse wrote about the “bone-crunching thrusts of fullback Al Hanson and the capable quarterbacking of veteran Rich Hawe.”
As a side note, when I worked with Hud at the Standard years later, he laughed at me for describing a girls’ basketball team as “stacked” in a game preview story. “You can’t say that about girls,” Hud said, and we reworded the sentence.
I really wish I would have known that 30 years earlier the same guy wrote about my uncle’s “bone-crushing thrusts.”
If you talk to Al’s teammates, though, they will back up Hud’s description. They say he was a hard-nosed runner who was light on his feet for a big guy.
After Butte High fell 27-20 to Buddy Walsh’s Butte Central Maroons in 1970, the Bulldogs bounced back to beat BC 14-0 in 1971.
Al caught a pass from Hawe and took it to the 6-yard line, setting up Chris Milodragovich’s tiebreaking touchdown in the second quarter.
That loss, by the way, was the only one the Maroons suffered during their run of three straight state titles from 1971 through 1973.
In 1971, the Bulldogs came within one win of playing in the Class AA State championship game, falling 35-21 in their final game at Great Falls High.
Al was larger than life on and off the field. He had a booming personality and a contagious laugh. His former teammates called him “Big Al,” and they all loved the man who was the life of every party.
There was never a family gathering that wasn’t made better by Al being there.
Of course, Al was his happiest when he was watching his grandchildren play, so 2022 was a dream year for him.
In the summer, Al proudly watched as his grandson Trey Hansen helped lead the Butte Miners to their first state championship in 69 years. Trey was the winning pitcher in the clinching games at District, State and Northwest Class A Regional tournaments.
During the fall, Al beamed as he watched Trey pick up bruising yards as a running back for the Bulldogs. Later in the school year, his grandson Jaeger Hansen qualified for the Class AA State wrestling tournament at 126 pounds.
As an eighth grader.
All that came after grandson Kyler Raiha played for the Bulldogs during their 2019 run to the Class AA State championship football game.
So, it is safe to say that when cancer took Al away from us, he died a proud and happy man.
That is the way any grandpa would like to go, if he has to go.
It wasn’t just athletics, either, Al was just so proud of the people his children and grandchildren turned out to be. He was even proud of his nieces and nephews.
Al wasn’t related to me by blood. He married my mom’s sister.
Yet, Al is the only person to ever go watch me play because he thought I would be a star. The rest went out of family obligation.
I took note of that on that Saturday morning in 1988. That made me feel really good, and I will never forget that Al went out of his way to watch me play.
I’m just glad my buddy Mike McLaughlin was there to make sure Al went home impressed.
— Bill Foley, who was also bailed out by Mike McLaughlin a time or two on the golf course, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74. Listen to the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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Four shooters post perfect scores in Week 4 of spring league
John Wombold, Dave Vicevich, Riley Rigby and Ryan Miller each posted a perfect score of 50 during Week 4 of the Butte Trap Club’s spring league.
Jason Cartin and Rod Barkley both shot a 49, while Jim Holodnick, Rayelynn Brandl, Mark Hislop, Tim Schrapps and Kohlten Fultz broke 48 targets.
Brandl’s 48 topped women’s standings. Kim McClafferty was second at 44, and Gillian Clark shot a 43. Marcus Tenney and Kyle Romerio tied atop the wobble standings at 43. Axe Henningsen shot a wobble 42.
Through four weeks, Cooney’s Vicevich Law leads team scratch standings at 766. Baker Auto is next at 746, followed by Cooney’s Locksmith at 744.
Butte Trap Club – 2023 Spring League – Week 4 Standings
Team Scratch Standings
Cooney’s Vicevich Law – 766
Baker Auto – 746
Cooneys Locksmith – 744
Edward Jones/Walt McIntosh – 737
FJBCHO – 730
Vu Villa/Lockmer Plumbing – 725
Clay Howery Construction – 725
CF Plumbing & Heating – 724
Milo’s – 692
S&S Plumbing – 689
Lisac’s/Jim Lynch State Farm – 679
IDK – 679
Pro Repair – 673
Superior Title – 673
PTS #2 – 672
PTS #1 – 657
Archibald Co. – 654
D-M Ranch – 652
St James Hospital – 651
Pro Inspection – 649
…..w/Guns – 647
Rafish Raiders – 633
WET – 625
Elk Horn Electric – 618
Timberline Security – 605
Trax Outdoors – 591
PSFR – 554
KR Contracting – 447
Builders First Source – 442High Individual Scores
John Wombold – 50×50
Dave Vicevich – 50×50
Riley Rigby – 50×50
Ryan Miller – 50×50
Jason Cartin – 49×50
Rod Barkley – 49×50
Jim Holodnick – 48×50
Rayelynn Brandl – 48×50
Mark Hislop – 48×50
Tim Schrapps – 48×50
Kohlten Fultz – 48×50High Lady Scores
Rayelynn Brandl – 48×50
Kim McClafferty – 44×50
Gillian Clark – 43×50High Wobble Trap Scores
Marcus Tenney – 43×50
Kyle Romerio – 43×50
Axe Henningsen – 42×50 -
Bulldog volleyball camp schedule for June 20-21
Butte High’s 2023 Bullpup Volleyball Camp will be held June 20-21 at Butte High School.
Two camps will be offered. The camp for players entering second through fifth grade will run from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The camp for players entering sixth through eighth grade goes from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Cost is $45 per camper. Click here to register.
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Butte High football sets camps
Butte High’s football program will hold a pair of camps during the summer.
A camp for players entering ninth through 12th grade next year will be held June 5-8 a.m. A camp for players entering kindergarten through eighth grade will be held July 31-Aug. 2. Both camps will be held at Naranche Stadium.
Cost for the younger players’ camp is $45, and the camp runs 9 to 11 a.m. each day. The high school camp costs $60, and it runs from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Families with more than one athlete attending the camps will receive a $5 discount for each additional camper. Registration forms for both camps follow.
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Leskovar Athletes of the Week: Taylor Drakos, Jimmy Blow
Taylor Drakos and Jimmy Blow of Butte High are the Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.
Drakos, a junior outfielder, takes home the girls’ honor after a big week for the Bulldog softball team. Drakos roped a single to score teammate Maddi Jonart with the go-ahead run in the sixth inning of Butte High’s 2-1 win at Bozeman.
Drakos went 2 for 3 in the win. Two days later, she added a single in a loss to Helena Capital.
Blow, a senior infielder, takes home the boys’ award after having a big game to help Butte High pull off a 7-1 Senior Day win over Dillon at 3 Legends Stadium. Blow worked a walk, drove in a run, scored a run and dropped a sacrifice bunt in the victory.
Blow walked and scored a run three days earlier in a 19-4 home win against East Helena.
Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warranty, teamed up with the ButteCast to honor the finest student-athletes from the Mining City in an effort to encourage more children to get up, get out and try all kinds of sports and activities.
Photo of Jimmy Blow courtesy Alycia Holland Photography.
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Podcast No. 89: Paul and Al Cutler
There really is something special about men and women who dedicate their lives so children can learn and play.
Of course, I am talking about teachers, coaches and officials. Two of the very best of those people are brothers Paul and Al Cutler.
After helping lead Butte High to State titles on the football field, the Butte brothers ventured out in careers in education, coaching and officiating. Paul taught and coached in Butte, while Al taught and coached in Deer Lodge.
The Cutler brothers influenced the lives for the better for so many people that you cannot even begin to count them.
Listen in to this podcast as the brothers talk about growing up in Butte and playing for coaches like Bill Kambich and Sonny Lubick. Listen as they talk about playing baseball for their father, and growing up in and around Butte.
Listen as they talk about their days as coaches and teachers.
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Four perfect at Trap league
Four shooters broke all 50 targets during Week 3 of the Butte Trap Club’s Spring League.
Jake Taverna, Mark Hislop, Riley Rigby and Jason Cartin all posted perfect scores. Tim Cassidy, Jim Holodnick, Rod Barkley, Dana Miller and Kevi Zimpel each shot a 49.
Rayelynn Bradnel’s 47 topped women’s scores. Kim McClafferty shot a 44, and Michelle Ferrere shot a 43. Brandl’s 47 topped wobble scores.
Through three weeks, Cooney’s Locksmith leads team scratch standings at 563. Baker Auto is second at 556, followed by Edward Jones/Walt McIntosh at 554.
Butte Trap Club 2023 Spring League
Week 3 Standings
Team Scratch Standings
Cooney’s Locksmith – 563
Baker Auto – 556
Edward Jones/Walt McIntosh – 554
Clay Howery Construction/Jersey’s – 548
Milos – 524
Superior Title – 517
Lisac’s/Jim Lynch State Farm – 516
Pioneer Technical #2 – 508
FNWE – 503
Pro Inspection – 495
D-M Ranch – 494
Pioneer Technical #1 – 488
Archibald Co. – 486
St. James Hospital – 484
Rafish Raiders – 477
Trax Outdoors – 476
Elkhorn Electric – 460
KR Contracting – 447
PSFR – 417
FJBCHO – 372
Vu Villa/Lockmer Plumbing – 370
CF Plumbing & Heating – 362
S & S Plumbing – 352
Pro Repair – 336
WET – 316
Builders First Source – 315
Timberline Security – 297
Cooney’s/Vicevich Law – 190High Individual Scores
Jake Taverna – 50×50
Mark Hislop – 50×50
Riley Rigby – 50×50
Jason Cartin – 50×50
Tim Cassidy – 49×50
Jim Holodnick – 49×50
Rod Barkley – 49×50
Dana Miller – 49×50
Kevin Zimpel – 49×50
Mark Moline – 48×50
Ed Peretti – 48×50
Chris Andersen – 48×50High Lady Scores
Rayelynn Brandl – 47×50
Kim McClafferty – 44×50
Michelle Ferrere – 43×50
Teri Biere – 40×50High Wobble Trap Scores
Rayelynn Brandl – 47×50
Dana Miller – 46×50
Kohlten Fultz – 45×50
Rich Long – 45×50
Ryan Miller – 44×50
Chris Calkins – 44×50
Dean Stringer – 44×50
Jim Kane – 44×50 -
Butte High boys set camp
Butte High’s boys’ basketball program will hold the Mining City Camp of Champions from July 17-19 at East Middle School.
The camp is for boys entering first through 12th grade next school year. First through fifth grade will go from 9 to 11 a.m., while grades six through eight will go from 1 to 3:30 p.m. High school boys will run from 5 to 8 p.m. each day.
The camp will focus on basic fundamentals and included competitions.
Preregistration cost $70 for campers in grades one through five. Cost is $80 for the older boys. That price goes up $10 for those who register the day of the camp.
Click the link below for more information and a registration form.
