MEDICINE LAKE — Mason Dethman is one of the most decorated 6-Man football athletes in recent memory.
He played in four semifinal games, three championship games and helped Froid-Lake bring home a pair of championships. His skills earned him a spot at Montana State University, though choosing between the Bobcats and Grizzlies wasn’t easy.
“I love football. I love the game. I love how physical it is, and fast,” Dethman told MTN Sports. “It’s huge when you’re in the recruiting process, you choose the Griz or the Bobcats. You can’t be a fan of both. The biggest thing — I sat down with my parents and talked over my pros and my cons of both schools, and it just happened to be MSU over the Griz.”
It certainly helps that Dethman has friends on the Montana State team, like Melstone’s Grebe brothers (Brody and Bryce) and Fairview’s Hunter Sharbono. Though it's more than 450 miles from Froid to Bozeman, Dethman says he’ll be comfortable with the move.
“Basically, it felt like a family there. It felt like here, it felt like home,” Dethman said. “They’ve got a bunch of good guys in there, a couple of Class C kids and seeing that they can go play there makes me feel a little bit better about coming in and being able to compete.”
The transition from 6-Man to 11-Man is a big jump, but Dethman says he’s more than willing to dive into the film study and prep work. It’s the speed and physicality that’s going to be the biggest difference.
“My biggest strength, you could say, is studying the game. The 6-Man game, I studied it for hours and hours and it paid off in the end,” Dethman said. “I anticipate the game being a lot faster and a lot more moving parts. … I’ll focus on learning the game, studying it and finding the ins and outs and then going out and making plays.”
Mason is the third Dethman sibling to play collegiate athletics, as Mackenzie just wrapped up a hoops career at Rocky Mountain College and Sydney is playing basketball at Division I Fresno State. Family has been No. 1 for Mason Dethman throughout high school, and he’s hoping he can make both them and his community proud at the next level.
“They show me show much support, it’s almost like me giving it back to them. Showing them my success,” Dethman said. “Every game. Every playoff game. Obviously, you saw how many people were there (during the state championship against Centerville). That’s huge. It’s huge for us and it means a lot for us that they’re coming out of their time to support us.”
The expectation is for Dethman to redshirt his freshman year at MSU, put on some weight and let the coaching staff figure out what to do with his explosive 6-foot-5 frame. Now it’s on to basketball for Dethman, but you can bet he’ll be eyeing that Bobcat playoff run.
