BILLINGS — The Fairview football team has been a model of consistency for more than a decade over in eastern Montana.
The Warriors finally broke through for a state championship last year when they held off Belt for the 8-Man title.
Several key cogs from that team have moved on, but coach Derek Gackle has plenty of experience to turn to.
“Our senior class has played nine postseason games, which is a whole season-plus for most teams, in addition. So they’re like fifth-year seniors, to be honest," Gackle told MTN Sports via Zoom.
Tyler Loan is one of those seniors expected to shoulder the load for Fairview, and he’ll do it primarily from the quarterback spot this season. Loan and Deacon Gackle should prove to be the bell cows for the Warriors.
“(Loan) is going to be fun this year. Just super dynamic. Allows us to do a lot more things with quarterback run and quarterback options, like we saw last year," Derek Gackle said. "I think he may surprise some people with how well he throws, to be honest, but we didn’t throw with him last year. He just came in to run the ball.”
That "Pound the Rock" shirt that you see Gackle wearing isn’t just about the style of football he likes to play.
“One of the things we say all the time here is, 'Winners win.' That's that mentality piece. If you want to do what's right, you've got to do the work," Gackle said. "You've got to put in the work before you see the result. That's our 'Pound the Rock' mantra we say all the time. You've got to do the work even if the rock doesn't break right away."
In the MTN Sports preseason power rankings across 8-Man football, we see powers like Fort Benton and Drummond-Philipsburg, but everyone is looking up at defending champion Fairview.
