GREAT FALLS — No one in Montana had fathomed the idea of spring football before 2020. Now that the spring season is in the rearview mirror, the Frontier Conference is looking forward to a full fall season. Not every team opted into the spring season, one of them being Montana Tech.
Not only that, but they’re also starting the year with a new, yet familiar, head coach in Kyle Samson. He was Tech’s offensive coordinator and has been involved with Montana football most of his life, so this shouldn’t be anything new to him.
After Tech’s first game next month, Samson will be a third-generation head coach in the Frontier Conference, following in his grandfather and father’s footsteps.
“It’s something I’m very proud of… and it’s really cool for me to be a grandson and son and do that… it’s something I can tell my kids about too,” Samson said.
For a team that hasn’t played in two years, you might expect some rust to be shaken off. Not everything is certain, but Samson knows his guys have been preparing for the fall season. His goals are to create a family-oriented program and to have everyone be held accountable. He says the adversity him and his team have gone through the last 18 months will make them a better program in the long run.
“We’re holding each other accountable every day, making sure we’re doing what’s right for our program, our school, and for the community of Butte, and just trying to get a little bit better every day,” Samson said.
One way or another, rust will be shaken off August 28 as Tech opens its schedule in Butte at Bob Green Field against the preseason No. 1 favorite Eastern Oregon.
From the Orediggers website:
- Coach Samson served as the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach for the Orediggers in 2019
- Previously Coach Samson led the Flathead High School football program for five seasons reaching the AA state title game in 2018 after an 18-year drought
- Coach Samson coached in the Frontier Conference for the Montana State Northern Lights as the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach from 2007-14
- The Orediggers open the season at home on August 28th in the Copper Game presented by Rocky Mountain Credit Union
- The Orediggers host Eastern Oregon at 6 p.m. on Bob Green Field at Alumni Coliseum
- The Orediggers did not play in 2020-21 season
