Bozeman High begins its push for its fourth Class AA state title this decade, Joe Olson will have a front-row seat to watch all the action.
It’s the last place the standout Hawk running back wants to be.
“It’s been really hard,” Olson said on the Sunday before the Class AA postseason begins. “I love watching my teammates do well but I want to be out there playing.”
In Bozeman’s sixth game of the season on September 28, Olson broke both bones in his left forearm under his own body weight trying to stand up after his first carry on the first play of the game against Kalispell Flathead.
“He went to put his hand down to bounce back up like he’s done 100 times and he broke both bones in his left forearm,” Bozeman head coach Levi Wesche told 406mtsports.com in October. “So it wasn’t even like a contact injury where he was getting hit. He just put his hand down and happened to break it. But I’ve seen him do that about 100 times no problem, but something about that time just wasn’t right.”
“I just landed weird and it broke really bad,” Olson added. “The pain was like a nine out of 10. It hurt a lot.”
At that point in the season, the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder had already rushed for 974 yards on 136 carries (7.2 yards per tote) and scored nine touchdowns. He had five 100-yard games in five full outings and was averaging 162.3 yards per game. The game he suffered the injury, Bozeman beat Flathead 49-34.
Perhaps more importantly, he already had his mind made up for his destination for playing college football. Olson became one of two players from this year’s Bozeman team — tight end Ryan Lonergan committed on June 23 — that join the long line of former Hawks to choose Montana State. Olson verbally committed to MSU on July 13 last summer.
“It was super exciting,” said Olson, who’s live in Bozeman and rooted for MSU his entire life. “It’s always been a dream for me since I was a little kid. I finally got to experience it and I’m excited for the future.
“I’ve always been a Bobcat fan but mostly, I just think they are going in a really good direction. They are not really moving backward at all in my opinion. They seem like a solid team and I really like Coach (Jeff) Choate.”
Olson joins a roster that loses linebacker Grant Collins and wide receiver John D’Agostino, each members of Bozeman’s 2013 state title team but gains Olson and Lonergan, keeping the total of former Hawks at seven. Next season, linebacker Balue Chapman, the 2016 Montana Gatorade Player of the Year after leading Bozeman to its most recent state title, will be a junior as well wide receiver Lance McChutcheon, although McCutcheon is a year behind Chapman in school. Inside linebacker Callahan O’Reilly, McCutcheon’s quarterback in high school, will be a redshirt sophomore.
Linebacker Jory Choate and wide receiver Logan Kleinhans will be redshirt freshmen.
Olson said he counts Chapman and McCutcheon as friends but that the connection from BHS to MSU did not have much influence on his decision. He said he “wasn’t entirely sure where I wanted to go yet” when MSU started recruiting him following National Signing Day last February 7.
MSU was the first to the table but Montana, Montana Tech and Montana Western followed. He attended camps at Washington, Boise State and Wyoming but “the recruiting from those wasn’t too intense.”
He attended Montana State’s junior day during spring football and started to get to know MSU’s coaching staff. Olson was not yet in middle school when MSU running backs coach DeNarius McGhee was winning his second Big Sky Conference MVP as Montana State’s last championship-level quarterback. Weekly phone calls through the end of the spring into the summer solidified Olson’s commitment.
With the pressure of the recruiting game behind him, Olson had a stellar start to his senior year. The Hawks had not lost before his injury. They haven’t lost since.
Bozeman enters the playoffs with a perfect 10-0 record fresh off a 69-20 win over Billings Skyview to cap the undefeated regular season. Bozeman hosts No. 8 seed Great Falls High (5-5) on Friday night at Van Winkle Stadium.
“It’s just our mentality,” Olson said of Bozeman’s run. “We go into every game focused and we want to win more than other teams and that’s what’s got us so far this year.
“When I first got hurt, I was pretty upset but now it just gives me more of a drive to get ready for next year and work really hard. Hopefully I can watch my teammates finish this thing off in the meantime.”
Next year will bring Division I football and his first semester pursuing a business marketing degree. He also intends to pursue a minor in international business.
There’s no chance Olson will return to the field this season. He is not allowed to lift anything over five pounds for two more months. The wound from the necessary surgery is not fully healed.
All of that is disappointing. But Olson has concentrated on supporting his teammates through the season and anticipating his future.
“I know a lot of my friends growing up, my family and friends are proud of me for going here,” Olson said. “It will be really fun to have them watch me. I’m just excited for the step Montana State is taking. It will be fun to be a part of it.
“I had almost tears of joy to know I finally had decided on a place to call home and that it was official. I have been thinking about it for most of my life.”
Photos courtesy of Olson. All Rights Reserved.
