HELENA — Friday marked the first day of high school football practice in the Treasure State.
Both Helena High and defending Class AA state champion Helena Capital tackled the first day of football with two-a-day practices.
“Exact same thing, do it all over again, win another one,” said Capital's Barrett Hageman, who helped lead the Bruins to their 12th state title a year ago. “It means everything to me, my dad coached here when they were really good a couple of years ago, so I’ve been a Bruin my whole life.”
Team captain Cole Dawes is looking forward to his younger teammates stepping up on the squad, saying: “We’re looking to shock a lot of people and maybe regain that success we had last year, that was a fun ride with all those guys and we’re just looking to have repeat success.”
Many of the teams across Montana will be under the lights come Aug. 25; Capital hosts Bozeman Gallatin at 7 p.m.
Just a hop, skip and jump away, Helena High and second-year head coach Dane Broadhead will travel to Bozeman High for their first contest of the new season.
Helena quarterback and linebacker Carter Kraft is excited to learn from Broadhead. “He’s been here obviously a long time before he was a head coach, but there’s a lot of knowledge to learn,” Kraft said.
With the new high school football season officially in full swing, Helena's crosstown rivals have the same goal which is to maintain the crown.
“It’s the same expectation every year just like every other team in the state, I mean, we want to win a state championship,” mentioned Kraft.
Bengals safety and wide receiver Brett Grange will be bringing a lot of heart to the table.
“Working hard every chance I get and hopefully at the end of the day we can get it done,” said Grange.
