A tough, 'darn good' final year

It's been darn good.

So good, in fact, that one of the programs set an all-time record for points at a state tournament (a record that should stand for awhile) and another repeated as state champions.

The final seasons of full enrollment at Flathead High School are coming to a close over Memorial Day weekend - and what a prep year it has been.

The Braves and Bravettes, who will be split between Flathead and the new Glacier high schools next fall, have supplied the Flathead Valley with two Class AA state titles, two second-place finishes, two state consolation game victories, a semifinal loss, a fourth-, a fifth-, two sixth-placed finishes and a seventh.

Plus, a couple perennial powerhouses - softball and track - will be fighting for state titles this weekend.

"It has been a sentimental year," FHS Activities Director Mark Dennehy said. "We've worked hard to finish strong. Our coaches and teachers and kids have all worked to make it a special year and to have our kids put forth the effort they have - it's been pretty darn good."

In Dennehy's seven years as AD, Flathead has won Montana's all-sports trophy four times. Since the award's inception in 1971, the school has won it a record eight times.

Could 2007 bring No. 9?

"In terms of success, this crew of athletes are right near the top," Dennehy said. "I'm not sure if we will pull out and win the all-sports trophy, but it will be close. Whitefish won five titles during the fall and Bozeman has been tough. But we'll be right up there with them. Plus, softball and track could go a long way in determining who brings the trophy home."

To say this year was emotional for all involved would be an understatement - especially for Dennehy, who was selected in the fall as the new Glacier High School activities director.

"There has been a cloud hanging over our heads the entire year," Dennehy said. "It's affected the kids, the coaches, the parents - the entire community. People have known that the change is eminent. It has been painful and emotional. Coaching is a roller coaster ride in itself and peoples' feelings have been hurt more so this year. I've tried to be objective, as best I can, while trying to take care of both Flathead and Glacier.

"It's been tough for me and it starts with the individual relationships. I've been working closely with coaches for the past seven years. We've wrestled through challenges together and we celebrated events together. Now we're all moving on and we're not going to be working together anymore. It's been tough. But for the people moving on, it will be OK. They are going to work to grow a program with the values the people at Flathead have taught us."

While most would have expect a rift among the 2,537 kids at FHS (which houses just sophomores through seniors compared to the likes of Montana's other four-year high schools, of which Billings West ranks second in enrollment with 2,078) the transition has been somewhat healthy.

"I didn't see or notice anything that put any undue stress on the programs," said former FHS AD Gene Boyle, who held the post for 18 years during the 1980s and 90s. "Maybe the construction at Flathead High School kept it on their minds. And the new high school has something called Wolfpack Wednesdays where the kids can go up to the school and kind of socialize. It's been kept really good natured. They've done a good job of keeping it that way. Times have changed. In my day, the kids would have been getting into all kinds of fights."

In fact, a rivalry has developed more with the adults.

"I don't know if I've noticed that much of a difference in mentality this year except that in the last couple of months the rivalry between teachers and administrators even more so than with the kids," Boyle said.

While there are questions regarding the future success of both schools because of the split enrollment, both Dennehy and Boyle are confident both will flourish.

"It's all going to work out in the end," Dennehy said. "Once the dust settles, both programs will flourish primarily because of the people in our community and the coaches and kids."

Boyle echoed: "It'll just be tough for the one year. But could you imagine a football team that has up to three years of varsity experience. I would love to coach a team like that and that's what Glacier is going to have in a couple of years."