Game Day

MINING CITY MEN: Butte tradition runs deep on Bobcats run to National finals

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Watch as the players, current and former, file past the statue. So often, even if a person has seen the bronze homage countless times, passersby cannot help but stop for a moment to take in the iron image of “The Chief”.

As the current Bobcats file into the newly opened, pristine Bobcat Athletic Complex, most if not all of them make sure to touch the hallowed statue, trying to channel the luck and spirit of a man with peerless accomplishments within the Montana State football program.

Sonny Holland is the greatest Bobcat of them all, although if you asked the icon for most of the last 20 years who he would give such a title, he would say Kane Ioane. And 65 years after Holland helped lead Montana State to its first national football championship as a player, 45 years since he led his alma mater to its second national championship as its head coach, Holland might have a new Bobcat great to compete with given all that Troy Andersen has accomplished.

But only one statue watches over Bobcat Stadium. And that man is still alive. To have Holland still sitting in Montana State athletic director Leon Costello’s suite at each MSU home game is a true testament to the reverence for history that has always trademarked Bobcat football.

And it’s that reverence for the foundation for the house Montana State has built that has consistently influenced the collective mentality of this MSU team, a squad that is into the national title game for the first time since 1984 Saturday against North Dakota State.

“There’s something that has been built here and not by us,” Montana State senior defensive end Daniel Hardy said. “We are standing on the shoulders of giants. We have a duty, a responsibility to uphold that legacy and achieve greatness because of what has come before us.”

Montana State statue honoring Sonny Holland/by Brooks Nuanez

During MSU’s 26-7 win over Tennessee Martin in the second round of the FCS Playoffs, Mellott turned a too-close-for-comfort game highlighted by wind and his first career start into a rout sparking MSU with a 74-yard touchdown rip early in the fourth quarter.

Holland, who is 83, doesn’t say much these days, preferring to intently watch the game in peace from his bird’s eye view. But first hand observers said that when Mellott scored that touchdown, Holland simply stood and raised his arms above his head, bellowing just one word: “BUTTE!”

Coach Holland is a Bobcat legend, a Bobcat great,” MSU All-American senior captain offensive lineman Lewis Kidd said. “To get that perspective, to see and hear his messages, it’s so sweet. To have a legend around like that, it makes you want to create a legacy like him.

“That statue is something we really appreciate and that’s why we touch it every time we hit the field.”

Growing up in Butte in the post World War II era and into the early 1950s, the Mining City had built a reputation as one of the toughest towns in the United States. A diverse community built in large part with settlers from all over the country and the continent seeking wealth in Butte’s infamous copper mines caused the Mining City to become one of the first Western towns to swell to more than 100,000 people.

That boom attracted folks of all different ethnic backgrounds and places of origin. Holland remembers that impacting him as a young man.

Holland grew up in a German-Irish family that valued hard work and respect of one’s elders. His father worked on Butte-Anaconda Pacific, running the ore train from Butte’s thriving copper mine to the smelters in Anaconda. The household was strict, something that stuck with Holland for the duration of his life.

“We were brought up that way,” Holland said in 2017. “We were brought up to be respectful, kids always had to be respectful. We had to work hard from a young age and we learned the value of a dollar quickly.”

Holland’s father also played in an independent football team that featured six local teams. Holland remembers his father bringing home his gear, including a leather helmet with no facemask when Sonny was in the third grade. At that moment, he fell in love with the game and began playing tackle football as an eight-year-old.

Butte High still has the Montana record for state titles by a single school with 15 even though the Bulldogs have only claimed two Class AA state crowns (1991, 2012) in the last 35 years. Butte won 13 state titles between 1924 and 1981, the same number Great Falls C.M. Russell has won since its first its first title in 1975.

“Butte, it’s a fiber, a work ethic, a intrinsic fiber of the people that you aren’t going to put them down and keep them down forever because they will surprise you,” Holland said. “It’s a blue collar type of town. They’ve tried themselves in that. The game of football is something that Butte has hung its hat on.”

Sonny Holland/courtesy of MSU Athletics

When Holland arrived at Montana State as a standout offensive lineman and middle linebacker, he already knew how to mix, mesh and compete alongside teammates from different backgrounds.

His leadership and his demand that MSU stand up against racial injustice set the tone for MSU’s run to the NAIA national title in 1956. When the Bobcats went across the country to Little Rock, Arkansas, the team was informed its three Black players would have to stay in a different hotel. Holland and his teammates refused to let it happen.

That foreshadowed Holland’s transition into coaching. Meanwhile, Jim Sweeney starting putting his finger prints all over Montana State, helping start an era dominated by unforgettable figures from the Mining City hailing from Butte.

Sweeney, the son of a hard-rock miner who emigrated from Ireland, led MSU for five seasons, winning 31 games before taking the head coaching job at Fresno State. The Butte Central alum and former BC head coach, led Montana State into the Big Sky Conference era when the league was formed in 1963 and helped MSU win the title in 1964, 1966 and 1967.

Sweeney also famously talked MSU skier Jan Stenerud into walking onto the football team, sparking a career that culminated in Stenerud becoming the only pure kicker in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Dennis Erickson, a College Football Hall of Famer, also played quarterback for Sweeney.

When Sweeney left for Fresno State, Tom Parac went 9-21 in three seasons before giving way to Holland in 1971. His sevens seasons are littered with accomplishments like the 1972 Big Sky title, or the program’s first No. 1 overall national ranking in 1978 with a roster recruited mostly by Holland. Of course, the 1976 title deified the then 38-year-old Holland. And most remember him both for that national crown and for posting a 10-1 record against the rival Grizzlies.

“Growing up, my dad would bring up Sonny Holland when he would talk about the Bobcats from way back in the day,” Montana State senior tight end Ryan Davis said. “Through his coaching career, my dad used to bring up when everybody in the state was a ‘Cats fan. When all of this was a big gold rush and the Cats would dominate, always, especially the Griz.

“I never heard really much about him after that until we got here and then you see the Sonny Holland End-Zone, you see his picture in our locker room. I love reading his picture. You just hear legends and legends of this guy from Butte, America who made this thing really take off. He influenced the pride of Montana State and turned this into a winning program.

“Then we get to see the statue every day. Sonny still comes into the locker room. The look on his face when he saw it, you could tell he was like, ‘Man, I’m seeing this through.”

During that 1976 title spurt, Paul Dennehy was the quarterback for the Bobcats. The Butte Central product guided MSU to 26 wins, including a 12-1 mark in 1976 when he was s sophomore. That year also included the school’s sixth Big Sky title in 13 years and its second national title in 20. Holland’s Bobcats also had prominent Butte products like Ron Ueland and his brother, Don along with safety Jim Mickelson

“I was always scared of Butte guys growing up,” laughed Dan Davies , Montana State’s senior associate athletic director and a man who has lived a life intertwined with Bobcat football. “You heard all the stories, playing on Naranche Field full of dirt and glass and mud, all that lore.”

Davies was a walk-on receiver from Chinook who “spent most of my time on the meat squad during that championship season.” Davies was also an assistant on Dave Arnold’s staff during MSU’s run to the 1984 national championship. He’s worked in athletic administration and as part of MSU’s radio broadcast team for most of the last four decades.

Legendary Montana State head coach Sonny Holland and the Bobcats in 1976 after winning the D-II National Championship against the University of Akron/courtesy of Montana State Athletics

When Holland abruptly and surprisingly retired at age 39 following the 1977 season, Sonny Lubick took over after serving as an assistant on Holland’s staff. Lubick, of course, also hailed from Butte.

Lubick led MSU to the 1979 Big Sky championship and over the next few seasons, assembled a roster flush with talent, many of whom hailed from Montana. And a collection of those players — Mark Fellows, Tom Mahlum, Doug Kimball, Troy and Kirk Timmer, Tex Sykora, Lonnie Burt — helped lead Montana State to its most recent national title in 1984.

The Bobcat team that will try to derailed the North Dakota State freight train on Saturday in Frisco is also flush with talented and memorable Montanans. All-American Troy Andersen is the ring leader, an uber talented cowboy from Dillon who has played a variety of positions at MSU.

Chase Benson, a silent yet lethal hulking defensive tackle from Helena, is the enforcer, wearing Montana State’s legacy No. 41 number proudly while anchoring the interior of the Bobcat defensive front.

Bozeman native Lance McCutcheon has blossomed into one of the most explosive pass catches in the country during his senior year and has some historic numbers within reach entering his final college game.

And players like Davis, former walk-on redshirt freshman center Justus Perkins (Bozeman), former six-man star tight end Treyton Pickering (Sunburst), hard-hitting junior inside linebacker Callahan O’Reilly, cerebral redshirt freshman safety Rylan Ortt, and, of course, Touchdown Tommy, have had the biggest impacts of any Bobcats this season.

“I think that it’s a sense of work ethic for the people of Montana and even though it’s a giant state, it’s one big, small town and everyone knows each other,” Andersen said. “They really want to see each other do well. Regardless of where you are from, if you see Montana kids playing for the Bobcats, you want them to do well. And we take pride in that.”

Montana State defensive end Marcus Ferriter (99) and former linebacker Grant Collins (41) vs. North Dakota 2016/by Kelly Gorham Montana State University

Kidd, who hails from Minneapolis, remembers the first time he heard the reference to “Butte, America,” from former Bobcat defensive end Marcus Ferriter, who is also part of the pride Butte Central Catholic. Kidd learned quickly that Montana-made products had a distinct sense of pride for the program. And for those from the Mining City, they love representing for their prideful hometown.

“That kid (Ferriter) was a serious character and he had so many stories to tell about Butte,” Kidd said.

“I remember our freshman year when we all had to stand up and tell stories about ourselves in camp and he stood up and said, “Marcus Ferriter, Butte, America.’ And I was like, what is that, I’ve never heard of that and now it’s become a thing.

“Now to see Tommy, and to see how much everyone has rallied around him and the guys from Butte, it’s amazing.”

Mellott spent time in his hometown over the holiday, posing for several pictures during a Butte High game. MSU head coach Brent Vigen, he of North Dakota State roots, said he thinks all the momentum and attention Mellott has garnered is a good thing. And as has been the case with basically every element of this unbelievable hot streak, Mellott is handling the spotlight with poise.

“We had a drastic change and a lot of guys jumped on board throughout the entire state and believed in me and have given me endless support,” Mellott said. “I have been very thankful for all of that. It’s been quite an experience. Montana, it feels like one big city and everyone roots for their own. I’ve been blessed by this opportunity.”

“You have to appreciate the opportunity you have and very few people have the opportunity we have right now,” Mellott said. “Everyone wishes for this. Everyone dreams about this.”

Although Lubick helped assemble a group that reached its ultimate goal, he was not the head coach for that unforgettable run. Instead, he was surprisingly and controversially fired following the 1981 season after winning seven games in two seasons, giving way to for one season of Doug Graber, then Dave Arnold ahead of the 1983 season.

Those who believe in superstition might tell you the lean years for Bobcat football were part of some sort of Babe Ruth-like curse stemming from Lubick’s firing. Hysell’s inability to beat the Griz or get into the playoffs emphasized that misery.

Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott (16) vs. UT Martin in 2021/by Brooks Nuanez

Following MSU’s historic run to the ’84 title, the Bobcats fell on hard times. The 34-24 comeback win over the Grizzlies in Missoula that regular season would be the secone-to-last rivalry victory for Montana State. In 1986, Montana State lost for the first of 16 straight rivalry games.

The bond between Butte and the Bobcats has always been strong. Arnold’s teams had a tough stretch in 1985 and 1986, winning five total games leading to Arnold’s dismissal. The failed experiment of hiring former North Dakota State head coach Earle Solmonson led Montana State to hire of Helena product as its head coach when Cliff Hysell took the reins before the 1992 season.

From Lulay‘s streak snapper in 2002 to shares of six Big Sky titles between 2002 and 2012, playoff hot streaks of the past seemed to always elude Montana State.

Lulay, DeNarius McGhee, Dakota Prukop; each had postseason opportunities and none advanced past the quarterfinals.

Saturday, nearly half a century since Dennehy led MSU to a 24-13 win over Akron in the Pioneer Bowl, another of Butte’s finest gunslingers will lead the Bobcats for a shot at the national crown.

 “It’s so cool thinking of the connection that goes all the way back to Jim Sweeney,” Davies said. “You talk to Tommy Mellott and how important being from Butte is for him and being the quarterback at Montana State, what a story.”

Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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