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Coach Salo was no ordinary coach
When Nick Haynes was down in the dumps, Coach Greg Salo made sure it did not last for long.
A large crowd packed Bulldog Memorial Stadium on Friday, Aug. 26, 2005 to watch Butte High open the football season against defending state champion Great Falls Russell, and Haynes fumbled a punt return as the Bulldogs and Rustlers were tied at 7 in the third quarter.
He actually fumbled twice on the same play, and it almost spelled disaster for the Bulldogs.
Haynes, though, got a reprieve when the Rustlers were whistled for an illegal formation on the play, and CMR had to punt the ball again.
Some coaches would have changed punt returners after seeing the ball hit the ground twice on one play. Some coaches would have lost faith in the player who fumbled.
Coach Salo, though, was not some coaches.
The coach sent Haynes right back out into the burning-hot spotlight, and his budding star delivered in a very big way.
Undoubtedly buoyed by his coach’s confidence and encouragement, Haynes did not fumble the second time. Instead, he did something great. Haynes caught the ball near the same part of the field where he had just dropped it, and he broke free for a 69-yard touchdown that proved to be the difference in a 14-9 Bulldog victory.
The Butte High win broke CMR’s 11-game winning streak, and it made legendary coach Jack Johnson wait a little longer to pick up his 300th win.
After the game, Coach Salo explained why he did not hesitate to stick with Haynes.
“What they don’t know about Haynesey, that we do, is he’s a very tough kid,” the coach said. “He’s competitive. So, I knew he was mad at himself for the time before.”
The coach also knew that he was sending an incredibly talented player back out to field that punt.
“When he gets in the open field, he’s fast,” Coach Salo said. “He was one of our better track kids this year. So, I knew when he broke it out there that they weren’t going to catch him.”
The game-winning score came with 7 minutes, 29 seconds left in the third quarter. It sent the Bulldog players and crowd into delirium.
“I screwed up once and I wanted to make a big play,” Haynes said. “I just went out there and gave it all I could.”
Salo said the win was perhaps the biggest by the Bulldogs since they won the Class AA State title in 1991.
“I was really proud of the way the kids played,” he said. “They carried over some of the momentum that we had last year to this year. They kept their composer really well, and they believed in themselves and the guy next to him.”
Salo knew a thing or two about big Butte High victories, too.
Coach Salo was an All-State player as the Bulldogs won back-to-back state title in 1967 and 1968. He was All-State and All-American in 1969.
As a senior, Coach Salo lettered in football, basketball, track and golf. In the spring of 1970, he took home the school’s Harry “Swede” Dahlberg Outstanding Athlete Award.
Coach Salo accepted a scholarship to play football at UCLA before he eventually transferred to play at the University of Montana. He picked UCLA over about 30 other schools that were wooing the Bulldog standout.
Before coaching the Bulldogs for six seasons from 2002 through 2007, Coach Salo spent a decade with the Montana State Bobcats, where he served as defensive coordinator.
When I heard that Coach Salo, who suffered a stroke late last year, passed away at the age of 72 on Feb. 12, I thought back to that late August night of 2005 at Bulldog Memorial Stadium. It was the only Butte High game I got to cover for The Montana Standard when Coach Salo was in charge, but I had seen enough to know Coach Salo was no ordinary coach.
He was where the old school met the new. He could chew out a player for making a mistake, then he would put his arm around him and build him back up better than ever.
Just ask Nick Haynes, who went on to earn an All-State honorable mention as a junior before being named first-team All-State at safety in 2006.
Coach Salo during his September appearance on the ButteCast. He was one of a handful of players who went on to play college football from Salo’s 2005 Butte High team, and that was no accident. Haynes played for the University of Montana, and Casey Dennehy went to Montana State. A.J. Konen and Matt Doble became Montana Tech Orediggers.
I’m sure I’m missing some college players from that team, too. Ryan Pollock probably could have played college football, but he played college baseball instead.
The boys who did not go onto the next level left the Bulldog program as better men.
Coach Salo also coached a future NFL player. Colt Anderson, now a member of the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff, was a member of Butte High’s 0-9 team in 2003, and you better believe that Anderson credits Coach Salo for helping him along his journey.
While that winless season was the first for Butte High since the Bulldogs went 0-0-1 in 1902, Coach Salo’s true character shined through all the way. The Bulldogs had several close calls that year, and a team from Canada decided to cancel a game that Butte High surely would have won.
Throughout the season, Coach Salo remained remarkably optimistic. Week after week, he stood up and faced the media. He praised his players for every small step, and he shouldered the blame for each agonizing loss.
While the team did not win, the coach still built character in his players. He also showed us the kind of character he possessed himself.
The next year, Coach Salo’s steady hand paid off when the Bulldogs made their first playoff appearance in 13 years. His Bulldogs were back in the dance in 2006 and 2007, as well.
In 2007, the Bulldogs went 7-2 in the regular season to earn the No. 4 seed and a home playoff game. Butte High fell 28-14 to sophomore star quarterback Brock Osweiller and Kalispell Flathead in that playoff game at Bulldog Memorial Stadium.
Osweiller, of course, went on to play seven seasons in the NFL for the Broncos, Texans and Dolphins.
After that loss, in typical Coach Salo fashion, the coach praised his players.
“I’m proud of the kids,” he said. “They stuck together all year, through all the adversity.”
A little more than a year later, Coach Salo was dismissed as coach of the Bulldogs. Even though the dismissal was unceremonious and not completely fair, Coach Salo took the high road.
“Thank you to the Butte School District for the opportunity to coach the Bulldogs for the last six years,” he said after the board voted to not renew his contract. “I enjoyed every minute of it.”
It was easy to see that Coach Salo did love his job. The man was born coach. He was born to lead.
While that decision stung Coach Salo for the rest of his life, he never showed that he was bitter. Rather, he was still always a No. 1 cheerleader for all athletes from Butte.
He was the No. 1 cheerleader for people in general. Whether he was watching a football game somewhere, playing golf, dealing with a troubled kid as the counselor at Whitter Elementary, appearing on my podcast or paying his water bill, Coach Salo treated every single person he encountered like gold.
He made people feel as though he was the lucky one to encounter them that day, even though it was undoubtedly the other way around.
If you were down in the dumps, he could always make sure it didn’t last long. Even off the field, he had a way of lifting people up.
When Coach Salo was around, we all certainly enjoyed every minute of it.
— Bill Foley, who certainly enjoyed every minute he was lucky enough to spend with Coach Salo, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74 or Bluesky at @foles74.bsky.social. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week: Braylon Larson and Dylann Bartoletti
Butte High basketball players Braylon Larson and Dylann Bartoletti are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.
The honors come as the Bulldogs head into the final week of the regular season.
Larson, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, takes home the boys’ honor after a huge performance in Friday’s 54-47 win at Missoula Big Sky. Larson scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half as the Bulldogs overcame a nine-point deficit in the crucial Western AA victory, which was the fourth straight for the Butte boys.
The performance included nine points in the fourth quarter for Larson, who scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds six days earlier in a home win over Kalispell Flathead.
Entering the Big Sky game, Larson 10.4 points and 8.1 rebounds. He also blocked 18 shots in the previous 16 games.
Larson appears to be getting better every week, and he is an emerging force as the Bulldogs get ready for a postseason run.
Bartoletti takes home the girls’ honor. The 5-8 senior guard contributes for the Bulldogs in ways that cannot always be measured on the stat sheet.
Still, she scored six points in the second half as the Bulldogs came up on the short end of a 43-35 decision at Missoula Big Sky.
Bartoletti averages 4.3 points on the season. She also contributes for Butte High in pretty much every category — 3-point shooting, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks.
“She has been playing very hard and doing a lot of little things for us,” Butte High coach Bryan Arntson said of Bartoletti, who has been a key varsity player the last three seasons.
Bartoletti is also a Butte High standout in golf and track.
For the third year, Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warranty, is teaming 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.
Photos of Larson and Bartoletti courtesy of Alycia Holland Photography.
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KC basketball schedule
Following is the schedule for the Knights of Columbus Athletic Club’s Winter League season-ending basketball tournament.
The remainder of the double-elimination tournament bracket will be posted at the gym. The Spring League will begin March 10.
Monday
7 p.m. — Someday Starters vs. Jellyfam
8 p.m. — Parish vs. Washington GeneralsTuesday
7 p.m. — Poi Time vs. winner Mon 8
8 p.m. — Cook vs. winner Mon 7
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Butte Central-Corvallis boxscores
Butte Central and Corvallis split Southwestern A basketball games Saturday.
The BC boys went on the road and won 80-50, while the Corvallis girls won 34-30 at the Maroon Activities Center. The win for Central’s boys secured the Maroons a berth in the Western A Divisional tournament, which is March 6-8 in Whitefish.
The BC girls’ loss likely means Central will host Stevensville in a play-in game on Thursday. The winner of that play-in game will go to Corvallis Saturday for a battle to advance to the divisional tournament.
The Maroons will first close the regular season Tuesday with a doubleheader at Dillon.
BOYS
Butte Central 80, Corvallis 50
BUTTE CENTRAL (9-8, 6-3) — Ryan Peoples 5 0-0 15, Patrick Stimatz 1 0-0 2, Joshua Sutton 8 2-2 21, GG Fantini 2 1-1 5, Justus McGee 2 0-0 4, Owen McPartland 5 3-4 15, Jaxon Hiatt 4 0-0 10, Noah Sutton 2 0-0 6, Xander Strand 1 0-0 2, Burkley Lakkala 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 6-7 80.
CORVALLIS — Tanner Sorensen 6 0-0 13, Easton Jessop 0 1-2 1, Ledge Conner 4 2-2 11, Taylor Brothers 1 0-0 2, Dominick Piccolo 1 0-0 3, Conner Jessop 2 0-0 5, Drew Lewis 1 1-2 3, Reese Tucker 0 0-0 0, Dylan Wirth 2 0-0 4, Aydan Mayn 3 0-1 6. Totals 21 4-9 50
Butte Central 17 27 24 12 — 80
Corvallis 18 11 10 11 — 50
3-point goals — BC 14 (Peoples 5, J. Sutton 3, McPartland 2, Hiatt 2, N. Sutton 2), Corvallis 4. (Sorensen, Connor, Piccolo, C. Jessop). Fouls — BC 13, Corvallis 17. Fouled out — Mayn. Technicals — none.GIRLS
Corvallis 34, Butte Central 30
CORVALLIS (7-11, 4-6) — Ava Loran 3 2-2 9, Ella Varner 4 0-2 9, Autumn Benson 1 1-2 4, Kaia Benson 2 0-0 4, Taryn Hochhalter 4 0-1 8, Kate Allen 0 0-0 0, Briella Epling 0 0-0 0, Shaylee Weldow 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 3-7 34.
BUTTE CENTRAL (5-12, 3-6) — Kenzie McQueary 3 0-0 8, Zayonna Otherbull 4 4-8 13, Rylee Forbes 1 0-0 2, Braelynn Schelin 2 0-0 6, Arika Stajcar 0 1-2 1, Evyn Smith 0 0-0 0, Marly Mansanti 0 0-0 0, Jaedyn Maldonado 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 5-10 30.
Corvallis 11 4 8 11 — 34
Butte Central 9 9 9 3 — 30
3-point goals — Corvallis 3 (Loran, Varner, A. Benson), BC 5 (McQueary 2, Schelin 2, Otherbull). Fouls — Corvallis 12, BC 12. Fouled out — none. Technicals — none.
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Butte High-Big Sky boxscores
Butte High and Missoula Big Sky split a Western AA boys-girls basketball doubleheader Friday night at the Eagles Nest in Missoula.
The Bulldog boys won the opener 54-47 before the Big Sky girls knocked off Butte High 43-35 in the nightcap.
Braylon Larson and Hudson Luedtke each scored 15 points to lead the Bulldog boys in the win. Cadence Graham poured in a game-high 13 to lead the Bulldog girls.
Butte High closes the regular season next week with games against Helena High and Helena Capital. The Butte boys play at Helena High on Tuesday. The Bulldog girls will play at the Bengals at the Richardson Gym.
On Thursday, the Bulldogs play Capital. The boys will be at home, and the girls will be on the road.
BOYS
Butte High 54, Missoula Big Sky 47
BUTTE HIGH (12-5, 8-4) — Tocher Lee 2 1-3 6, Dylan “Bobby” Bache 3 1-2 8, Torre Tempel 2 3-3 8, Hudson Luedtke 5 2-4 15, Braylon Larson 7 0-0 15, Spencer Callaghan 0 0-0 0, Brady Hanson 0 0-0 0, Kaleb Celli 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 6-12 54.
MISSOULA BIG SKY (9-7, 6-5) — Isaiah “Z” Reed 4 0-1 11, Cormack Batt 1 0-2 2, Mason Fulford 2 0-0 6, Tyson Tims 3 0-0 7, Cole Sil 1 0-0 2, Brady Williams 0 0-0 0, Eli Kasberg 5 1-2 13, Aidan GTowe 3 0-2 6. Totals 19 1-7 47.
Butte 7 10 24 17 — 54
Big Sky 7 13 15 12 — 47
3-point goals — Butte 6 (Luedtke 3, Lee, Bache, Tempel), Big Sky 8 (Reed 3, Fulford 2, Kasberg 2, Tims). Fouls — Butte 8, Big Sky 12. Foule out — none. Technical — Reed.GIRLS
Missoula Big Sky 43, Butte High 35
BUTTE HIGH (11-6, 7-5) — Dylann Bartoletti 2 1-2 6, Cadence Graham 4 3-4 13, Brityn Stewart 4 0-0 9, Addelei Hiatt 0 0-0 0, Franki Salusso 0 0-0 0, Emma Johnson 0 1-2 1, Allie Becker 1 1-2 4, Ellison Graham 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 6-10 35.
MISSOULA BIG SKY (11-6, 9-3) — Kyler Latrielle 3 0-2 9, Tanya Kirilovich1 1-2 3, Tina Kirilovich 3 1-2 7, Kadynce Couture 3 1-2 9, Kenzie Schmitz 3 4-10 10, Lilly Johnson 1 0-1 2, Avory DeCoite 1 0-2 3, Zoe Boone 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 7-21 43.
Butte 11 2 10 12 — 35
Big Sky 13 10 8 12 — 43.
3-point goals — Butte 5 (C. Graham 2, Bartoletti, Stewart, Becker), Big Sky 6 (Latrielle 3, Courture 2, DeCoite). Fouls — Butte 19, Big Sky 12. Fouled out — Ti. Kirilovich. Technicals — none. -
Butte High girls’ subvarsity report
Following are the Butte High girls’ basketball subvarsity reports for games against Missoula Hellgate, Boulder, Kalispell Glacier and Kalispell Flathead, as provided by coaches.
The Bulldogs went a combined 8-1 over the nine games.
Butte High JV 50, Missoula Hellgate JV 39
Allie Becker and Autumn Clary combined to score half of Butte High’s points as the Bulldog junior varsity team turned back the Knights Feb. 7 in Missoula.Becker scored 15 points, while Clary, the Junkyard Dog of the game, poured in 10 points in the victory.
In all, eight different Butte High players scored points. Avery Barsness and Gracie Jonart each scored seven points in the win. Butte High also got four points from Kendallyn Schad, three from Emma Johnson and two apiece from Saege Grey and Reese Johnson.
Alexandria Miller scored 13 points to lead the Knights.
Butte High freshmen 58, Missoula Hellgate freshmen 25
Avy Bryson, Evie Smith and Milee Stillwagon each scored in double figures as the Bulldog freshmen rolled to the lopsided win Feb. 7 in Missoula.Bryson and Smith scored 14 points apiece in the win. Stillwagon, who took home Junkyard Dog honors, scored 11 points for Butte.
The Bulldogs also got six points from Berkli Salusso, five from Kiley Conway and Sage Leber, two from Aly Verlanic and one from Addie Thompson.
Margaret Bodnor’s 11 points paced the Knights.
Butte High freshmen 55, Boulder C Squad 32
Big-time performances from Wakely Burleson and Evie Smith led the way as the Butte High freshman rolled to a win over the Jefferson High C Squad Feb. 10 in Butte.Burleson and Smith each poured in 16 points in the win. Burleson captured Junkyard Dog honors along the way.
Ava Bryson added 11 points in for the Bulldogs, who got four points from Milee Stillwagon, three from Aly Verlanic and Sage Leber and two from Berkli Salusso.
Livi Hogan scored eight points to lead the Panthers. Addie Holman added six.
Butte High JV 65, Kalispell Glacier 9
Avery Barsness put together a career performance on Valentine’s Day to lead the Bulldog junior varsity squad to the lopsided win at the Butte Civic Center.Barsness sank four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 16 points in the victory. She was one of three Bulldogs in double figures. Ellison Graham scored seven points, while Allie Becker drained a pair of treys and scored 10 points.
Saege Grey scored seven points for Butte, while Gracie Jonart, Emma Johnson and Kendallyn Schad each netted six. Autumn Clary added three points.
Glacier sophomores 40, Butte High sophomores 38
The Wolfpack escaped the Richardson Gym with a nail-biting victory over the Bulldogs Feb. 14.Brittyn Klima had a huge game for the Bulldogs in the losing effort. She scored 10 of those points from the free throw line. Reese Johnson added 12 points for the Butte High, which saw seven different players dent the scorebook.
Ava Bryson, Berkli Salusso and Wakely Berlson each scored two points. Kate DeShaw and Evie Smith each scored one.
Butte High freshmen 58, Glacier freshmen 19
Evie Smith and Berkli Salusso led the way as the Bulldog freshmen rolled to victory Feb. 14 at the old Butte High gym.
Smith poured in 14 points, and Salusso tallied 12 in the victory. Sage Leber, Wakely Burleson and Ava Bryson each scored seven points for the Dogs, and Milee Stillwagon tossed in six. Also, Aly Verlanic scored three and Kiley Conway netted two.
Butte High JV 52, Flathead JV 33
Allie Becker netted 11 points to lead Butte High’s balanced attack in the Feb. 15 victory at the Butte Civic Center.Autumn Clary, Gracie Jonart and Kendallyn Schad each scored eight points in the win. Saege Grey scored six points, while Ellison Graham tossed in five, Avery Barsness tallied four, and Emma Johnson scored two before having a monster performance in the varsity win.
Butte High sophomores 52, Flathead sophomores 31
Three Butte High players scored in double figures as the Bulldogs ran past the Bravettes at the Richardson Gym.Stella Callaghan and Reese Johnson each scored 11 points in the win. Kate DeShaw added 10 points.
The Dogs also got six points from Milee Stillwagon and four apiece from Ellie Yates, Wakely Burlson and Evie Smith each score four. Brittyn Klima scored two.
Bulldog coaches named Johnson the Junkyard Dog of the game.
Butte High freshmen 37, Flathead freshman 20
Balance was the name of the game as the Bulldogs cruised to victory Feb. 15 at the old Butte High gym. Eight different Bulldogs scored points in the win.Berkli Salusso scored nine points, and Evie Smith added eight to lead the way for the Dogs. Ava Bryson tallied six points, Sage Leber scored five, Wakely Burlson scored two, Kiley Conway and Milee Stillwagon both scored two, and Aly Verlanic tossed in one.
Leber took home Junkyard Dog honors.
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Podcast No. 246: Billy Hogart
Not many people can tell a story like a Hogart, and Billy is as good as any of them.
He grew up on Copper Street, one of five children of Bill and Mary Carol. Mike, Michelle, Jack and Pam are the other four.
If they weren’t born with a ball in their hands, the Hogart kids were certainly raised with one — even if it was held together with electrical tape. Billy excelled at baseball, a game that he picked up when he was 4 or 5 when his uncle Dan hit him fly balls in the Dublin Gulch.
Billy was a standout player in Little League, Babe Ruth and American Legion before playing one year at Easter Oregon University in La Grande. He also played football, and he is still haunted by the time he muffed a punt that he sure would have been a touchdown had he caught the ball.
He also has two baseball plays that he really wishes he could have back after all these years.
Billy can often be found on the good side of the bar, slinging drinks at the Knights of Columbus Hall. That is where he will be this Friday as the hall hosts the third annual SINGO Pam Hogart Memorial Fundraiser.
Pam passed away on May 25, 2019. She was just 47.
To know Pam was to love Pam. Even if you didn’t Pam, you probably loved her. She spent her entire life caring for others, and the Pam Hogart Staff Senate Fund was started at Montana Tech to honor her following her death.
“SINGO” is where “Name That Tune” meets “BINGO.” Cost is just $10, and pizza will be available while supplies last. Dress in your favorite decade and be entered to win some prizes.
It should be a great night to raise money in memory of a truly great person.
Listen in to this podcast as Billy talks about growing up in the Hogart family. Listen as he talks about the night he threw back-to-back 15-yard penalties on his brother Jack.
Listen in as Billy tells me how SINGO is played.
Listen in as we talk about Pam.
Today’s podcast is brought to you by Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warranty.
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Hunt, Hazlett win grappling titles; Bulldogs, Maroons cage big wins
Mat men bring home multiple titles for first time since 2011
For the first time in 14 years, Butte High returned home for the Class AA State wrestling tournament with multiple state champions.
The tournament took place Thursday through Saturday at The Metra in Billings.
Junior Keegan Hunt brought home the title at 103 pounds, while sophomore Bode Hazlett claimed the crown at 144 pounds. That marked the first time that more than one Bulldog won a state title since 2011.
Bulldogs Zach Harney (98 pounds), Jake Dallaserra (160) and Chris Yocum (171) each wrestled to a title in 2011. The Class AA portion of the state tournament was held at the CMR Fieldhouse in Great Falls that year because The Metra was out of commission after it was hit by a tornado.
Seven Bulldogs won titles between the trio in 2011 and the two in 2025, but only Mason Christian won twice. Christian, who took his talents to West Liberty University in West Virginia, captured the 182 title in 2021 and the heavyweight crown in 2022.
Bryan Armstrong won the 105-poun title in 2012 for Butte High. Other Bulldogs to win since then were Levi Renz at 145 pounds in 2014, Lee Cannon at 205 in 2015, Jeff Queer at heavyweight in 2017, Kameron Moreno at 205 pounds in 2019 and Maverick McEwen at 160 pounds last year.
Like so many of the past Bulldog champions, Hunt and Hazlett made it look relatively easy as they fought their way to the top of the podium.
Hunt won all four of his matches by way of the pin on his way to the title. He stuck Hunter Breeman of Billings Senior in 3 minutes, 14 seconds in the championship bout. Breeman received a first-round bye after claiming the Eastern AA title at the weight a week earlier.
Hunt closed his remarkable season with a remarkable 38-1 record.
Hazlett pinned Aiden Downing of Flathead, the No. 2 seed from the Western AA, in 3:18 in the championship bout. That came after he edged Kade Wallace of Missoula Sentinel in a thrilling 9-7 decision in the semifinals.
Hazlett added a pin and a win by technical fall as he closed his season with 35-4 record.
As a precursor to the state titles, Hunt and Hazlett won their weight divisions at the prestigious Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic last month in Missoula. Hazlett moved up a weight after his title at the Jug Beck.
As a team, the Bulldogs finished just four points shy of a third-place trophy with 171 points. Billings West won its third-straight title with 278 points. Kalispell Flathead took second at 243.5, while Great Falls High finished third at 175.
Senior Will Stepan closed his outstanding career with a silver medal at 157 pounds. The future Montana Tech football player fell to Kale Baumann of Great Falls High in the second period of the championship match.
Stepan picked up a pair of pins before topping Teegan Dixon of Great Falls Russell 12-10 in the semifinals.
In all, Butte High returned home with seven place winners. Ryder McEwen took fourth at 113 pounds, while his brother Reveles finished sixth at 118 pounds.
Bradey Doyle took fourth at 118, and Renzy LeProwse finished fifth at 103 pounds.
“This year’s state tournament was one for the books,” Butte High coach Cory Johnston said. “It had everything you could think of, thrilling victories and agonizing defeats. It all culminated with several big moments. The first eight grader to place in AA wrestling (LeProwse), two place winners at two different weight classes (103 and 118), three finalists for the first time since 2011, and two state champions.
“Reflecting on it after a little time, I think the thing that makes me the most proud is how our kids conducted themselves in moments of victory and defeat. The carried themselves with class and pride, and that is a big deal.”
Butte Central’s Marquis Abad finished sixth at 110 pounds in the Class A tournament.
On the girls’ side, Butte High’s Mattie Stepan placed fourth at 145 pounds. Bulldog teammate Peyton Liva took sixth at 100 pounds.
Bulldogs sweep Glacier, Flathead
Butte High’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams put themselves in the driver’s seat to at least host playoff games with two huge wins over the weekend.
The Bulldog teams swept Kalispell Glacier Friday at the Civic Center before returning to the storied Butte arena on Saturday to take two from Kalispell Flathead.
Class AA officials inexplicitly decided to dump divisional tournaments heading into the 2024-25 school year. In the new playoff format, the top two teams go to state, while the seventh- and eighth-place teams get no shot at the dance.
In the playoffs, the No. 3 team hosts the No. 6 team, and the No. 5 team heads to the No. 4 team. The winners move on to the Class AA State tournament, which is March 13-15 in Bozeman.
At 7-4 in conference (11-5 overall) Butte High’s girls have a shot at any of the top four spots. Heading into Tuesday’s play, the Bulldogs trail only Missoula Hellgate (8-3), Missoula Big Sky (7-3) and Helena High (6-3) in Western AA standings. Glacier, which Butte High beat twice, is 4-5, followed by Helena Capital at 4-6, Missoula Sentinel at 3-7 and Flathead at 1-9.
The Bulldog girls beat Glacier 52-45 before smoking Flathead 70-40.
Sophomore Cadence Graham counited her outstanding season by scoring 21 points to lead the Bulldogs in that Friday victory. Senior Brityn Stewart scored 16 points to start a huge weekend.
The Bulldogs also got five points from junior Emma Johnson, who was just getting started, three from seniors Dylann Bartoletti and Addelei Hiatt and two apiece from junior Franki Salusso and sophomore Allie Becker.
Eighth grader Ellison Graham and senior Sidney Whitaker contributed in the win for the Bulldogs, too.
Against Flathead, Johnson came off the bench to provide an early spark as the Bulldogs went wire to wire in the win. Johnson buried three 3-pointers and scored a career-high 17 points.
Stewart was a force, too, scoring from inside and out. She hit five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 23 points. Cadence Graham scored 17, while Salusso tossed in four, Whitaker scored three, and Hiatt and Becker each scored two. Bartoletti, junior Gracie Jonart, Ellison Graham and Eighth grader Saege Grey also played for Butte High.
On the boys’ side, Hellgate (8-3) and Helena (6-3) top the standings. Butte High follows at 7-4 (11-5 overall), while Capital and Big Sky were 6-4 heading into Tuesday. Sentinel (5-5), Glacier (2-7) and Flathead (0-10) are the bottom three.
The Bulldogs survived a rough third quarter for a 71-65 win over Glacier on Friday thanks to another triple-double by junior guard Hudson Luedtke. The all-time leading scorer in Butte High boys’ history scored 17 points to go along with 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
He did his scoring on 6-for-8 shooting. By the way, Luedtke passed 1,100 career points over the weekend. He now has 1,115 on his career.
Thanks largely to the unselfish play of Luedtke, the Bulldogs had a balanced attack against the Wolfpack.
Braylon Larson, a 6-foot-9 sophomore who had a huge weekend, scored 14 points, while seniors Dylan “Bobby” Bache and Spencer Callaghan each tossed in 11, seniors Tocher Lee and Torre Teempel scored nine apiece. Junior Kendel Noctor and 6-8 freshman Brady Hanson also contributed.
Larson contributed with a double-double in Saturday’s 75-67 win over the Braves. While Luedtke scored a game-high 22 points, Larson poured in a career-high 20 points. He also pulled down 14 rebounds in the win.
Bache scored 13, Lee scored seven, Callaghan netted six, Tempel finished with four and Hanson scored three, thanks to a putback and an and-one. Noctor and senior Kyler Kjersen also played.
The Bulldogs head to Missoula for a huge doubleheader with Big Sky on Friday.
Stats and standings for the Class AA can be found at mtsportsmemories.com.
McPartland’s 64 leads Maroons
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the week of Butte Central senior Owen McPartland for one minute?
To say it was off the charts is an understatement.
BC coach Brodie Kelly was almost speechless when it came to the play of McPartland, who put together back-to-back 32-point games as the Maroons grabbed monster wins over Frenchtown and Hamilton.
High school players in Butte who have scored 64 points over two games can probably hold their membership meeting in a broom closet.
Central celebrated Senior Night with a 78-75 double-overtime win over Frenchtown at the Maroon Activities Center Thursday. Two days later, BC went to Hamilton to knock off the Broncs 58-55.
The wins evened BC’s overall record at 8-8. More importantly, Central left the weekend at 5-3 in conference play.
Defending Class A State champion Dillon (14-1, 7-0) is going to win the regular-season title. BC, though, has a shot at second with Frenchtown and Hamilton each sitting with three conference losses.
Hamilton beat BC by two in Butte last month in Butte, meaning the Maroons hold a tiebreaker over those Broncs. Since Frenchtown beat BC by 5 last month in Frenchtown, those Broncs hold a tiebreaker advantage over BC.
The first tiebreaker is margin of victory, which is why Frenchtown basically conceded the final 9 seconds Thursday. Frenchtown trailed by 3 — an unlikely, but not insurmountable deficit — and coach Brandon Robbins appeared to settle for the close loss after an all-out battle between the rivals.
The top three advance to the Western A Divisional tournament, which is March 6-8 in Whitefish. The Nos. 5 and 6 teams play, with the winner playing the No. 4 team for the right to go to the divisional tournament.
McPartland hit on 11 of 18 shots, including 8-for-11 shooting from inside the arc, on his way to 32 points. (Note: the book had him at 31 points, and that total was adjusted after BC coaches went through the video to keep full stats.)
Sophomore Joshua Sutton added 23 points for the Maroons, who got 10 from junior Ryan Peoples, six from freshman Jaxon Hiatt, three from senior Patrick Stimatz, and two apiece from eighth grader Noah Sutton and senior Justus McGee.
Sophomores Cade “Buzz” Kelly and GG Fantini also contributed for the Maroons, who are still battling the illness bug.
BC honored Stimatz, McGee and McPartland and their parents before the game.
McPartland was 2 for 7 from 3-point range and 9 for 10 from inside on his way to Saturday’s big 32.
Joshua Sutton scored 10, while Peoples added seven, Hiatt scored six and Kelly tossed in three. Fantini, Stimatz and Noah Sutton also contributed in the huge victory.
The BC boys head to Corvallis on Saturday, while the Maroon girls will host the Blue Devils at the MAC.
Central’s girls are 5-11and 3-5, and the Maroons are looking to lock up the fourth spot and a home play-in game. A win over Corvaills, which beat BC 45-41 Feb. 1 in Corvallis, would go a long way toward securing that spot.
Central’s girls, though, are coming off two losses last week. They fell 58-19 at Frenchtown before dropping a 40-25 decision at Corvallis.
Against Frenchtown, freshman Rylee Forbes scored 10 points to lead the Maroons, who have also been battling illness. Classmate Zayonna Otherbull scored four, while freshman Kenzie McQueary tossed in three and freshman Jaedyn Maldonado netted two.
Freshmen Evyn Smith and Braelynn Schelin and junior Arika Stajcar also played for the Maroons.
Forbes again tossed in 10 against Hamilton. Otherbull tossed in six, while Smith scored four, Maldonado finished with three, and McQueary scored two. Schelin, Stajcar and sophomore Marly Mansanti also contributed for the Maroons.
Standings and statistics for the Class A can be found at mthighschoolstats.com.
Swimmers close season with PRs
Butte High’s swimming team returned home from the state meet at the Great Falls High pool with a slew of personal records.
The meet was held Thursday through Saturday.
“I was very proud of all the swimmers,” Butte High coach Lynn Shrader said. “Every swimmer, whether making it to the top 12, took time off. They swam hard and gave everything they had. That is something they, and I as a coach, can and am proud of.”
Butte High’s girls’ team of Adalie Grochowski, Tatum Trefts, Nimalka DeAlwis, and Olivia Thurmond finished in eighth in the 200 medley relay. This is the position they went into finals with.
The 200 freestyle relay of Thurmond, Sophia Fladager, Bella Corrales, and Grochowski finished in 10th. The team took more than a half second off from the preliminary round, where they had take more than six seconds to advance to the finals.
In the girls’ 400 freestyle relay, the team of Fladger, Trefts, Gracie Ferriter and Bryher Fitzpatrick took 12th.
Individually, Grochowski placed 12th in the 100 backstroke.
On the boys’ side, the Butte 200 freestyle relay team of Tucker Kissell, Blair Hamry, Gage Plum, and Nathan Stone placed 12th.
The 400 freestyle relay team of Elgin Hoar, Grayson Lynch, Ayvahn Mann, and Alex Sonnemann took 11th.
Individually, Stone moved up from 11th to finish in 10th in the 100 butterfly.
For Butte Central, sophomore Morgan Hardy placed sixth in the 500 freestyle, giving the Maroons their lone place winner on the Class A/B side of the meet.
Eighth grader Shamus Peck placed seventh in the preliminaries in the 200 individual medley, finishing just outside the finals.
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Nominate the Butte Watchdogs for grand marshal this St. Paddy’s Day
In 2003, Matt Vincent and I wrote a column begging to be named grand marshals of Butte’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Of course, we were just joking. We had no intentions of even going to the parade that year because it started at 11 a.m. That was way too early since we also planned on partaking in the St. Urho’s celebration the day before.
A couple of weeks after that column, Kevin and Joan Shannon were named grand marshals of the parade, and there could not have been a better selection. Of course, I might be a little bit biased because Kevin was a first-cousin of my grandpa Jerry D’Arcy, and he was one of my favorite people to ever live.
Kevin and Joan did so much good work in town, and the man who once referred to his mother-in-law as a “test pilot for a broom factory” might have been the best story teller to ever live.
He helped storm the beaches of Normandy, and he received a Purple Heart. He was also so Irish that he yelled at me for wearing a Chicago Bears sweatshirt when I visited him in a Missoula hospital room following a knee replacement surgery.
“What are you doing wearing that orange into my room?” he said.
So, even if Matt and I were serious about our grand marshal campaign, there was no way we could have competed with Kevin and Joan.
This year, however, I am being completely serious when I make a nomination for grand marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day parade. I nominate the Butte Watchdogs for Social & Environmental Justice because nobody is looking out for the Mining City like that group.
The Watchdogs are made up of Sister Mary Jo McDonald, Mick Ringsak, Evan Barrett, Don “Moose” Petritz and Erik Nylund. They are stepping in to fight the fight that our feckless local government refuses to take part in.
In fact, they have continuously had to fight against our local government that time after time puts the financial needs of British Petroleum over the health and safety of the people of Butte and Silver Bow County.
The No. 1 objective of the Watchdogs is to make Butte a safe place to raise our children. That has been obvious with their fight for a Superfund cleanup that does not cut corners.
Last year, they derailed the “Dirty Dirt Train” that was rolling into town, looking to give the Silver Bow Creek corridor a half-assed cleanup that left “waste in place.”
Recently, the group has been fighting to speed up the removal of lead from properties in Butte. Late last year, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the expansion of the Butte Priorities Operable Unit and the drastic reduction of the allowable lead level from 1,200 parts per million to 175 ppm. However, the EPA followed the long-awaited admission that the lead level in Butte was way too high by proposing to give an additional 25 years to complete the cleanup and 15 more years to conduct testing.
That means 25 to 40 more years of poisoning the children of Butte. It means our children will be exposed to the lead for generations to come.
Such a criminally slow timeline is completely unacceptable.
So, you would think that Butte-Silver Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher responded to this ridiculous timeline by pounding on his desk and demanding that the EPA force British Petroleum, the responsible party, clean out that lead as fast as the multi-billion-dollar foreign oil giant can. Right?
Well, you would have thought wrong. Our chief executive responded with a series of fence-sitting comments and a comment letter that expressed more concern for British Petroleum’s bottom line than it did for the health of our citizens.
The only time the chief executive’s blood boiled was when he fought back against what he saw as an accusation that he is “in bed with ARCO” — even though nobody made any such direct claims.
The fact that he still calls it “ARCO,” which is short for the Atlantic Richfield Co., should set off alarm bells in the first place. British Petroleum bought ARCO a quarter of a century ago.
Calling it “ARCO” is a dishonest way of distancing the chief executive and other government officials from BP.
Butte-Silver Bow Reclamations and Environment Services Director Eric Hassler also expressed more concern about continuing the Residential Metals Abatement Program’s snail-paced cleanup than he did for completing the job in an expedited timeline.
When the official Butte-Silver Bow comment letter to the EPA — submitted during the now-passed public comment period — went before the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners, some of our commissioners seemed way more worried about offending the highly-paid Hassler than they did about sending a powerful letter demanding that our people’s health be the priority.
Even members of the group Citizens Technical Environmental Committee ran cover for BP by speaking against the Watchdogs at a recent Council of Commissioners meeting.
CTEC was founded to be “watchdogs” themselves, working to inform the public on the important decisions and policies that can be difficult to understand.
Instead, some members of CTEC have become “lookouts” for BP and our local government, helping muddy the waters of a misunderstanding public.
The fact is that British Petroleum has the money to get the lead out in five years, not 25.
Our local government should not care if the oil giant has to hire 10,000 contractors to do the job right and do it right now. It should not give one rip if such a spending spree puts a very minor dent in British’s Petroleum’s profit margin.
That every member of our local government is not screaming at the top of his or her lungs to do just that is hard to fathom. It is enraging.
People have asked why more people of the Mining City don’t pay attention to the subpar environmental cleanup Butte has received after more than a century of mining and smelting. Well, that is because too many just don’t know.
A series of back-room deals, lies, misinformation and attacks on real scientists have kept the ire of the public at bay. Truth speakers have been demonized and marginalized.
But the Watchdogs keep fighting. In fact, they are only getting stronger. For years they were a group of individuals speaking out. As of last year, they are an official organization determined to make a difference.
Sister Mary Jo has been a leading crusader for the children of Butte for her entire life. She is still fighting, even though she now spends most of her time in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Barrett and Ringsak spent most of their 60s and 70s putting aside their opposing political believes to speak out for the people of Butte.
Nylund, who recently had his right to speak out publicly restored after working almost two decades as a behind-the-scenes man for Sen. Jon Tester, is a fearless proponent for his hometown.
Petritz is fighting because he wants Butte to be a safe and healthy place for his grandchildren to grow up and raise families of their own.
He wants the same for your grandchildren.
The people of Butte should know about these Watchdogs. They should celebrate them.
More importantly, they should join them in their fight.
(For a taste of their work, click the link below to read the Watchdogs’ letter to the EPA regarding the lowering of the lead level.)
So, help me in nominating the Watchdogs for Social & Environmental Justice as grand marshals of the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Click here to submit a nomination by March 1.
Not only would that selection recognize some of the smartest and bravest people of Butte, it would strengthen their cause to protect the children of Butte for generations to come.
It would be a great way to tell the EPA, British Petroleum and our local government that the people of Butte mean business.
That right there is no joke.
— Bill Foley, who never sits on the fence, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74 or Bluesky at @foles74.bsky.social. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
Butte American Foundation, Butte Watchodgs for Social & Environmental Justice, Butte-Silver Bow, Clowns, Crazee Carol’s Casino and Mill Bar, Don “Moose” Petritz, EPA, Eric Hassler, Erik Nyland, Evan Barrett, Habitat Humanity, J.P. Gallagher, Jerry D’Arcy, Joan Shannon, Kevin Shannon, Mick Ringsak, Montana East-West Shrine Game, Parades, Park Street Liquors, Pork Chop Johns, Sister Mary Jo McDonald, St. Patrick's Day, St. Patrick’s Day Parade, St. Urhos, Superfund -
Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week: Emma Johnson and Owen McPartland
Butte High junior Emma Johnson and Butte Central senior Owen McPartland are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.
The honors come after each helped their basketball teams pick up two crucial conference wins on the week.
The 5-foot-11 Johnson takes home the girls’ honor after coming off the bench to score 17 points as the Bulldogs avenged a road loss to Kalispell Flathead with a 70-40 rout of the Bravettes Saturday at the Butte Civic Center.
Johnson sank three 3-pointers as the Bulldogs went wire to wire for the victory that lifted the Bulldog record to 7-4 in the Western AA and 11-5 overall. She also grabbed five rebounds in the victory. One day earlier, Johnson scored five points to help the Bulldogs knock off Kalispell Glacier 52-45 at the Civic Center.
Johnson finished the weekend with four 3-pointers, giving her a total of six on the season. She has played in each of Butte High’s 16 games, scoring 76 points.
The 5-11 McPartland receives the boys’ nod after he scored a total of 64 points in an amazing two-game stretch as the Maroons avenged losses to Frenchtown and Hamilton.
On Thursday, McPartland scored 32 points to help Central to a 78-75 double-overtime win over Frenchtown as BC celebrated Senior Night at the Maroon Activities Center. (Note: the book had McPartland for 31 points, but BC coach Brodie Kelly reviewed the video and said he had 32.)
Two nights later, McPartland scored 32 points again, this time in a thrilling 58-55 win at Hamilton, lifting BC to 8-8 overall and 5-3 in Southwestern A play.
“He was unbelievable,” Kelly said of McPartland, who is averaging 18.9 points per game on the season. He scored 303 points in BC’s 16 games.
For the third year, Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warranty, is teaming 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 Johnson courtesy of Alycia Holland Photography. McPartland photo courtesy of Josie Trudgeon Photography.
The ButteCast with Bill Foley 