Column: Samson hits send, lands big fish
It was March of this year that Kyle Samson, seeking a home football game for his Montana Tech Orediggers, did something drastic.
“I sent an email to every coach in NAIA,” Samson said Tuesday. “And he was one of the guys that sent one back, because they had an open date as well.”
“He” is Chris Oliver, the third-year coach of Georgetown (Ky.) College, an NAIA football power. Which is to say that before Carroll College won five national titles from 2002-2007, Georgetown won back-to-back championships in 2000-01.
The Tigers needed a game, and the Orediggers needed a home game — otherwise, their Alumni Coliseum opener would be Oct. 5. So up to Butte, America the Tigers traveled, the 2023 semifinalists facing a squad that reached the postseason and lost a first-round game to Dickinson (N.D.) State.
The battle, played last Thursday, came down to the final 12 seconds. That’s when Oredigger quarterback Blake Thelen found Wyatt Alexander in a back corner of the end zone with a 31-yard scoring pass.
The final: 29-22, Tech.
“Obviously to knock off the No. 3 team in the country right off the bat will give us confidence for the rest of our season,” Samson said. “Last year we beat (NCAA D-2) Central Washington on the road. We just feel to be prepared for a tough conference season, scheduling a really tough nonconference schedule is key.”
Samson is in his fourth season guiding the Diggers. Locals will know he also guided the Flathead Braves football program for five seasons, culminating in a 20-14 loss to Billings West in the 2018 State AA championship.
He moved to Montana Tech as Chuck Morrell’s offensive coordinator in 2019, and he hit the ground running — as in Flathead running back Blake Counts.
“I got here and I signed him a week later,” Samson said. “He and Jayden (MacNeil) and Max (Anderson) all signed that first year.”
A year later Morrell left for a job at Fresno State and Samson was elevated. Now MacNeil, the quarterback on that 2018 Flathead team, is a starting safety, though he was banged up and didn’t play against Georgetown. Anderson is the Orediggers’ starting right tackle.
Counts used up his eligibility to the tune of 575 carries for 2,919 yards and 27 touchdowns. Into the gaps stepped Charlo product Landers Smith.
“Kind of a crazy story,” Samson said. “He came here in the fall of ‘19. We put him at receiver, kind of a slot receiver. Then we moved him to fullback.
“Then last year when Blake got hurt, we moved Landers from fullback to tailback and he had a heck of an end of the year.”
On Thursday, Smith ran 34 times for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
Samson is a third-generation Frontier Conference coach, following his father Mark — who coached Kyle at MSU-Northern, and then used him as OC — and grandfather, the late great Carroll College coach Bob Petrino.
“It was always a goal of mine to be a head coach in this conference,” he said. “I’m just super fortunate to be able to coach with my father at Northern. I’m forever thankful to Coach Morrell for bringing me on. I’m living the dream. I couldn’t have asked for a better spot here at Montana Tech.”
His roster is stocked with a few talented transfers — Thelen started his career at Montana State — and many Montanans, quite a bit from around Kalispell. Luke Bilau and Cohen Kastelitz from Glacier; Mason Kelch and Ryder Barinowski from Whitefish.
Samson called redshirt freshman Jarrett Wilson of Polson his third-string QB, and Wilson will likely battle Bozeman’s Jake Casagranda for the starting spot next year.
That’s then. Right now, No. 21-ranked Tech has to prepare for a nonconference game at Carroll (they play twice this season). By now the Georgetown buzz has worn off, but what a start.
“Our guys were excited,” Samson said. “We’re trying to take the next step from being a playoff team to being a national championship-caliber team.”
Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 406-758-4463 or at fneighbor@dailyinterlake.com.