BILLINGS — Last season was supposed to be the opportunity for Billings West goalkeeper Brennen Ellis to have his breakthrough campaign. A serious knee injury, mere minutes before the end of the season opener, derailed those plans.
Ellis made a return just in time for the postseason, and while he might not be back to full health for this his senior season, Golden Bears coach Luke Ashmore is more than happy to have Ellis between the posts.
“The minute he walked into the program, we could tell he was a very talented keeper,” Ashmore said. “He does have something special, and so we were ready for him to step in.”
Ashmore saw something special in Ellis from the very start. Ellis is the younger brother of Kendell Ellis, who was a standout keeper for the West girls program, and he took a lot of his cues from her. Ashmore knew Brennen would someday have the same propensity for success as did Kendall, who is in her senior season at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
So Ashmore exposed Brennen Ellis to as much of the varsity experience as he could, bringing the young keeper on playoff trips even if Ashmore wasn’t quite ready to put Ellis into matches.
Ellis’ first career start came in that season opener a year ago against Bozeman, a team the Bears haven’t beaten in nearly a decade, ever since Ashmore was in his playing days at West.
The Bears trailed 1-0 when, in the final moments, Ellis collapsed to the turf, his knee giving out, after going up high for a long ball that was sent into the box. He’s still not sure whether he was chipped by an opposing player or not; regardless, sitting on the turf, Ellis and Ashmore thought the worst.
Instead of the dreaded ACL injury and the end of his season so shortly after it started, an examination after the injury determined that Ellis had suffered a dislocated patellar tendon and a tear to his MPFL (medial patellofemoral ligament) ligament that helps stabilize the knee.
With some rest, vigilant rehab, and some luck, the possibility existed that Ellis could return before the end of the season. Return he did, though it took a little bit of self-convincing.
“There were times during rehab and stuff my body was protecting my knee,” Ellis said. “Like, when I would jump and stuff, I'd land on my strong leg and push off more on my strong leg to protect (the other leg).
“But then over time, I just kind of realized, like, if it's going to go out again, it's going to go out. So, I might as well do what I can right now.”
That was music to everyone’s ears, particularly Ashmore. Aaron Chambers had stepped in admirably in Ellis’ place and helped the Bears keep their heads above water during the regular season. But Ashmore considers Ellis to be one of the best keepers in the state and naturally wanted him to miss as little time as possible.
“First off, you have his personality and presence. ... He's just a natural leader,” Ashmore said. “And so, he's one of those guys that the guys just trust when he's behind them.”
Ellis was cleared to return for the penultimate match of the regular season (against rival Billings Senior, no less) and shared time in goal with Chambers for that match, the final regular-season match, and the first round of the state playoffs.
Once the quarterfinals started, the space between the posts belonged to Ellis solely. The Bears, who entered the postseason as the fourth seed from the East, edged past the West’s top seed Kalispell Glacier in a penalty shootout after the teams played to a 1-1 draw in regulation. Ellis made a first-half PK save to help keep the Wolfpack within reach.
Ellis and West then posted a clean sheet in a 1-0 semifinal win over four-time defending champion Missoula Hellgate before falling 1-0 to Bozeman in the final. The Hawks’ goal came on a direct kick from Bryce Lenneman at the top of the 18-yard box.
It was West's first appearance in the Class AA title match since the Bears won it all in 2009.
“I think from the start (of the season), we didn't know how good we were actually going to be,” Ellis said. “So, towards the end of the season, our training and everything became a lot more serious, a lot more intense. We brought a lot more to the table because we knew what we could do. I think that's how we changed the most, was once we realized how good of a team we actually were.”
Ellis was able to test his knee even more over the summer when he helped the Billings United U-19 club team finish runner-up to the FC Boca (Florida) Predators in the final of the National President’s Cup competition in Wichita, Kansas. United qualified for the competition by defeating a team from Missoula for the state title, then topped the Utah Development Academy to win the Far West Presidents Cup.
Now, in his final high school season, he’s ready to backstop another Bears run at ending that title drought. West graduated six seniors last season but has plenty of players ready to step in, he said.
Ellis, who said he has 10 college programs interested in his services, was voted a captain’s arm band, and he fully expects to live up to that responsibility. Depending how his knee holds up, he might still need surgery. But the Bears hope Ellis gives them two good legs to stand on as they chase that state title.
There’s still hope for that breakthrough season, after all.
“He’s just one of those kids that’s easy to root for,” Ashmore said. “He earned that armband this year with legitimately no surprise. He likes to have fun with the sport. He'll be serious during game time, don't get me wrong, but he seems to really want to enjoy the day-to-day process, enjoy being around the team. So, he just adds a very nice feeling to our atmosphere every day at practice.”
