HELENA -- It's not often a senior gets a chance to play football with a good friend in college. It's even rarer to get an opportunity to do it with two of them.
Jack Marcille, Ben Swanson and David Lowry made that dream come true on Wednesday when all three Helena High student-athletes signed to play football for the Montana Tech Orediggers.
"I definitely think it's awesome to have some kids I'm close with going to Tech with me," said Lowry. "Obviously something with college is you'll go and make new friends and stuff like that, but it's nice to be able to just start out with kids I know, who I hang out with all the time."
Lowry was a cornerback for the Bengals and, according to MaxPreps, finished the season with an interception, seven pass deflections and a punt block across four games.
Lowry said he's not set on a certain focus for his studies in college but wants to get a degree and become a pilot.
Swanson said he looks forward to playing football in the fall but was mostly drawn to Tech because of the educational opportunities.
"I think Tech is a great spot, not only for football but the education there is top-notch. It's internationally known for a lot of different majors that you can go into," said Swanson. "I think that was my big decision, was education."
Swanson starred in many different roles for the Bengals last fall. At linebacker he recorded 42 total tackles and two interceptions while adding two touchdowns on the other side of the ball as a receiver and a running back, according to MaxPreps.
Swanson said he plans on studying land management and natural resources.
Marcille said playing college football was always a dream of his, and now that the paperwork has been signed he's itching to get down there and finally embark on that dream.
"I've always wanted to play college football ever since I was little. It's always been a dream of mine," said Marcille. "I'm really happy that I have the opportunity now and actually excited to get started and get down there and just enjoy the next four years of it."
Marcille spent a lot of time in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball, recording 45 tackles, five sacks, a forced fumble and a punt block for the Bengals.
Marcille said he plans on studying business.
The Montana Tech Orediggers finished the 2019 season at 6-4 under Chuck Morell and will begin their first season with Kyle Samson at the helm on Feb. 27 when they head to La Grande, Oregon to face the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers.
