MISSOULA, Montana — The stress that comes from carrying on a hallowed legacy is one thing.
What Jace Lewis is facing this season is an entirely different animal. And the Montana senior linebacker is embracing a unique challenge never before faced by any Griz No. 37 with open arms even if the Townsend native enters his final campaign with a heavy heart.
Lewis is the 15th Treasure State native to earn the honor of wearing Montana’s most vaunted and visible jersey. He grew up rooting for Ryan Fetherston, a defensive end from East Helena less than an hour from Lewis’ hometown who wore the jersey in 2011 and has become a good friend of Lewis years later.
As a middle school kid, Lewis admired from afar the slick pass rushing abilities of Zack Wagenmann, an athletic defensive end out of Missoula Sentinel that ended his career as Montana’s all-time leader in sacks and tackles for loss when his final season wearing No. 37 ended in 2014.
During his time as a four-year standout at Broadwater County High, Lewis played against Tucker Schye, a physical, hard-nosed linebacker from Malta who wore the jersey while playing defensive end during the 2017 season, the first for Lewis with the Grizzlies.
And over the last several seasons, Lewis has worked his way from Class B standout to upstart starter to first-team All-Big Sky inside linebacker to captain of the Griz, all the while dreaming of donning the jersey worn by Montana legends like Kraig Paulson and Tim Hauck and Todd Ericson and Jason Crebo.
“All those guys that came before me, I’ve always looked up to them and always wanted to be them,” Lewis said at the Big Sky Kickoff media event in Spokane in July.
But this is different. What Lewis will navigate this fall is a completely unique challenge. Taking over the number from an All-American like Crebo, which defensive end Andy Petek did following the 1997 season, comes with a bright spotlight.
Enduring a devastating knee injury early one while donning the number like Carson Bender did (2008-2010) is no easy task.
Wearing No. 37 as a hometown, third-generation Griz from Missoula comes with enormous expectation, but linebacker Jordan Tripp handled it with grace and humility in 2012 and 2013 before getting drafted into the NFL.
Lewis is tasked with carrying on a legacy that had a gap year in 2020 with the cancellation of FCS football across the state of Montana. And he’s tasked with carrying on the legacy of one of his best friends.
Word spread across the Treasure State on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend about the unspeakable tragedy. Jesse Sims, a stalwart of the Griz football team and a local legend in Western Montana since his early high school days in Stevensville, had passed away in an ATV accident near Clearwater, Montana.
The news sent shockwaves through Montana and caused for an outpouring of former Grizzlies remembering one of the hardest working Griz of them all. Sims was a mountain of a man, the type of Ruthian figure who’s weight room numbers, appetite and quiet strength most men could only dream of possessing. Sims was just 24 years old.
During his two years wearing No. 37, Sims personified what it meant to sacrifice for the good fo the team. Once upon a time, the athletic, strong, explosive athlete was set to go to either Nebraska or Oregon State to play tight end. Instead, he decided to stay home, playing up and down Montana’s defensive line in multiple schemes. His final two seasons in 2018 and 2019, Sims wore No. 37, filling a role as the man in the middle of Montana’s defensive line. He ate up blocks, let Dante Olson, Lewis and Robby Hauck pile up tackles and never said a word about it.
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Montana’s No. 37 tradition
“Grizzly football jersey No. 37 began its legacy in 1983.
Griz fullback and Plentywood native Kraig Paulson began the tradition of passing No. 37 on to a younger player who hailed from the state of Montana.
Paulson was known for his hard-nosed play and workman mentality. So the tradition began. Number 37 has come to represent the Spirit of Montana… hard work, dedication to the team, and tough play on the gridiron” – Montana athletics
| Jace Lewis | Linebacker | 2021 | Townsend |
| Jesse Sims | Defensive End | 2018-19 | Stevensville |
| Tucker Schye | Defensive End | 2017 | Malta |
| Caleb Kidder | Defensive End | 2015-16 | Helena |
| Zack Wagenmann | Defensive End | 2014 | Missoula |
| Jordan Tripp | Linebacker | 2012-13 | Missoula |
| Ryan Fetherston | Defensive End | 2011 | East Helena |
| Carson Bender | Defensive Tackle | 2008-10 | Deer Lodge |
| Loren Utterback | Linebacker | 2004-07 | Fort Benton |
| Ciche Pitcher | Defensive End | 2001-03 | Anaconda |
| Andy Petek | Defensive End | 1998-00 | Helena |
| Jason Crebo | Linebacker | 1994-97 | Helena |
| Todd Ericson | Safety | 1990-93 | Butte |
| Tim Hauck | Safety | 1987-89 | Big Timber |
| Kraig Paulson | Fullback | 1983-86 | Plentywood |
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Before his passing, Sims passed No. 37 along to Lewis, one of his best friends on the team and the latest small-school Montanan to earn the honor of carrying on a legacy started following the 1986 season when Paulson first givve the number to Tim Hauck.
“I love Jesse and that makes it that much more special,” Lewis said. “He wanted me to wear it. It’s special either way but now if you get the jersey, it means a little something more.
“When it came out officially, I was emotional about it at first. But it’s awesome and to carry on his legacy through hard work and selflessness.”
Montana head coach Bobby Hauck, who enters his 10th total season as the head coach at his alma mater,including his third season in four years since returning leading up to the 2018 season, sung Sims’ praises for his two years coaching the quiet giant.
Hauck thinks Lewis is the perfect choice to carry on a tradition that all of a sudden has even deeper meaning.
“It’s a special time to memorialize and commemorate Jesse Sims who we tragically lost this spring,” Hauck said. “Jace is an outstanding guy to put that on. Having been there around it from the very beginning of it, I think it’s a cool deal.”
The Griz open up the 2021 season at the University of Washington in Seattle. Entering the 2020 season before it’s cancellation, Lewis was named the Big Sky Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder rolled up 130 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks while playing next to Buck Buchanan Award winner Dante Olson during the 2019 season.
Before the cancellation of 2020, Lewis said he and Hauck talked about how the only accolades worth celebrating are the post season ones. Lewis added he wished Eastern Washington quarterback Eric Barriere and Idaho linebacker Tre Walker, the 2021 Big Sky Preseason Players of the Year, the best of luck
“But now prove it,” he was quick to add. “It’s definitely a little motivation.”
As if Lewis needed any more motivation, entering a senior season sure to be filled with the emotion of celebrating a brother gone too soon.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Rights Reserved.
