Nolan Askelson rolled out of bed and put weight on his right wrist. The pain shot up through his arm even though he could not remember taking any sort of hit worthy of the discomfort the night before.
Askelson had shown no sign of injury in Billings Senior’s season-opening 37-21 win over Kalispell Glacier in a rematch of the previous season’s Class AA state title game. In his first start at quarterback, the Montana State linebacker commit threw for 219 yards and four touchdowns as the Broncs made a statement that they were still the team to beat in Montana.
The broken right wrist meant more than an inch of training tape — “It looked almost like a cast,” Askelson said — every Friday night for the next three months. But Askelson did not miss a step on the way to a diverse and productive season that further solidified him as one of the top prep prospects in the state of Montana.
“I knew the wrist was there and I tried to not let it affect me but obviously it’s going to affect me,” Askelson said. “A lot of credit to our training staff. They did the best they could to help me play through it. Senior year, have a chance at the state title, I wasn’t going to let something like that stop me.”
Even with the heavily wrapped wrist and the pain, nothing stopped Askelson. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder earned Class AA Defensive MVP and first-team all-state quarterback honors as Senior ripped off another undefeated campaign for a second straight state title. Askelson rolled up 127 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks, while snaring two interceptions and forcing a fumble.
Offensively, Askelson shocked the state by putting together the best dual-threat season in AA. He threw for 2,469 yards and 27 touchdowns while rushing for 831 yards and 12 more scores.
“It kind of hurt to follow through, when I’d flick my wrist, it was kind of uncomfortable,” Askelson said. “On game days, I had to wear so much tape, it made it hard to grip the ball.
“Taking on blocks was kind of hard but it didn’t bother me much during games on defense. After games, it hurt pretty bad but I got through it.”
Askelson was a first-team all-state inside linebacker as a junior, helping him earn full scholarship offers from the Bobcats and the Grizzlies. He also rushed for 668 yards and five touchdowns as Senior won 13 straight games en route to their first state title since 1979.
Entering 2017, most predicted Askelson would be one of the dominant defensive players in the state and a key cog if the Broncs were to repeat. But he had the tall task of replacing 2016 Montana Gatorade Player of the Year Nathan Dick at quarterback. Dick, who redshirted at Montana last season, has officially declared his transfer to Rocky Mountain College in Billings. In Dick’s place under center, Askelson didn’t miss a beat.
“He’s an absolute stud, there’s no question about that,” Billings Senior star wide receiver Gabe Sulser said last week. “I think all of us knew what he was capable of. I think it was a matter of the rest of the teams in the state finding out how good he really is.
“To be honest, I wasn’t surprised one bit with how he did. He’s a winner and I knew from the get-go, he would come in and get the job done.”
Askelson will be the first to tell you he wouldn’t have reached the pinnacle of success without Sulser, his longtime running mate and one of the most electric players the state has seen this decade. The future Montana Grizzly was named the Montana Gatorade Player of the Year earlier this week, another feather in the cap of the multiple-time all-state selection and Montana’s 2017 Class AA Offensive MVP.
“Gabe is an amazing athlete, an amazing kid and an amazing person,” Askelson said. “I don’t think he let the pressure or any of the outside stuff get to him because he’s a great leader, a great teammate. I think he was just focused on the team. He didn’t really care about what was going on with him. He was all about the team and winning games. He didn’t let that outside stuff get to him.
“He’s worked so hard his whole life, I think he deserved it more than anyone.”
Sulser did it all for the Broncs despite battling a pulled groin for the final two weeks of the postseason. The 5-foot-9, 175-pounder caught 85 passes for 1,109 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also served as Senior’s leading rusher, piling up 997 yards on 106 carries (second on the team to Askelson) and scoring 16 touchdowns. Defensively, he also chipped in 26 tackles and three interceptions. He even blocked a field goal and earned honorable mention all-state honors as a punter thanks to averaging 37.8 yards per boot.
“It was pretty cool, a great honor for sure,” Sulser said of the Class AA Offensive MVP and Gatorade POY. “But I definitely know no one gets that award without having a successful team and a bunch of really good guys around them. I totally mean that too, I’m not saying that just to sound modest
“It really makes it easy to get that award for the team.”
Senior’s 21-12 win over Helena High capped a second straight 13-0 season, solidifying the Broncs as one of the great teams in Treasure State history. Senior became the sixth team since 1980 to repeat as AA champions, joining Great Falls CMR from 1984-86, CMR in 1989 and 1990, Billings West in 1997 and 1998, and Helena Capital twice, first in 1999 and 2000 and then a three-peat from 2006-2008.
This group of Broncs has experienced successes over their years, including winning multiple state baseball championships in Little League. Askelson has been an American Legion standout through high school but might run track this spring instead to prepare for football.
The last two seasons are part of an impressive three-year run that also includes an appearance in the 2015 state title game, a contest Senior lost to Bozeman.
“Both of the state championships were awesome as you would assume but the difference this year honestly was our guys were so close,” Sulser said. “So many of our friends were such a big part of that team. I think that was the key this year: being so close as a team and having all your buddies playing next to you. It was cool to see every guy to step up who didn’t necessarily get their shot the year before because we had so much talent. That was the best part for me.”
Askelson noted that Dick and current MSU redshirt freshman defensive back Keaton Anderson were the leaders of last year’s squad. Rising to the role of captain and quarterbacking the offense and the defense made the senior year state title even sweeter.
“This one to me, being out there, being a senior, last ride, having all my buddies in my grade that I hang out with every day play a big role, that was cool, too,” Askelson said.
“Coming into the season, I think a lot of teams doubted us so it was a lot of fun to surprise some teams. People didn’t expect us to be that good but it was fun to go out and show how good we really are.”
Now the two Senior stars will go to opposite sides of Montana’s fiercest rivalry. Despite a coaching change at Montana with Bobby Hauck taking over as UM head coach, Sulser remains committed firmly to the Griz. Askelson — who says he “makes sure to rub” Montana State’s 31-23 win “in Gabe’s face a little bit” — is still firmly committed to the Bobcats. Both are expected to sign National Letters of Intent on December 20, the first day of a new 72-hour early signing period.
Those signatures will be the first step in a new journey in football without one another.
“It will be fun,” Askelson said. “’I’ve been friends with Gabe since we were three years old. We used to play football in the front yard. It’s going to be weird for sure. I don’t want to play him because he’s such an amazing player but it’s been fun poking back and forth at each other the past couple of months, making fun of each other, saying, ‘Cats are better than the Griz.’ It’s a lot of fun and I will be excited to play against him.”
Photos contributed and by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
