Black and Blue and Golden

The Black and Blue girls have reached the top of the mountain. 

The Flathead Valley’s U19 girls team conquered Yellowstone in the state championship match June 1 to bring home the team’s first title, in its second season since moving from sevens up to 15’s. 

Montana made the change in 2024 from the faster paced sevens game — the style played at the Olympics — to the slower and more team-based 15-a-side as the girls game continues to grow at a rapid pace across the country. 

“Sevens is more or a running game as the game is 15 minutes,” said Black and Blue co-captain Kylie Anderson. “Fifteens is more fun as I got to play with more of my teammates and set up plays more similar to soccer or football, it’s a more technical game.” 

Leading the way for Flathead Valley is fourth-year head coach Rob Davison, who started helping at the Black and Blue program 11 years ago when his son Nate played. Now Davison celebrates a championship with his daughter and team captain Ashley. 

“I think it’s amazing,” Ashley Davison said. “It’s not an opportunity that other girls get, sometimes he can be a bit harsh with me, but that helps with improvement and makes me a better player. It’s a great memory to look back on.” 

In 2024 the Black and Blue put together a perfect 4-0 league season before injuries took hold and the team fell in the semifinals. 

“Last year we felt we had the best team in the state and in the semifinal we had six injuries to our starters,” Rob Davison said. “This year we were motivated to come out, our girls were in better shape than any of the teams that we played.” 

Another injury — this one to Anderson — looked to put Flathead Valley behind the eight ball before the season even started, but the senior wasn’t having any of it. 

A meniscus tear from the 2021 rugby season cropped up last fall as Anderson competed for Flathead’s flag football team. 

Surgery and a scheduled six-month rehab ensued, but with some determination and help with physical therapy, Anderson took the pitch just four months after her surgery for her senior season. 

“I wanted to be there for my team and I wanted to be there for Ashley and to win the state championship,” Anderson said. “I wanted to be a part of this team as a senior and as a key player for the team.” 

Anderson joined her 25 teammates in January for two months of practices ahead of the 2025 season to work on — among other things — conditioning. 

“Usually in the second half of games we would pull away thanks to our conditioning,” Rob Davison said. “We had 26 girls who all contributed” 

As they rolled into the season, the club topped the regular season standings again with a 4-1 record, the lone loss coming 24-19 to Yellowstone in Billings. 

After dispatching Gallatin in the semifinals in Columbia Falls, a rematch with Yellowstone ensued with a championship on the line. 

“We were all nervous for game two just knowing how the first game went,” said junior Nickie Desch. 

Desch, Anderson and Ashley Davison said this team had a camaraderie that helped them perform on the field. 

“What gave us confidence is the family that we had built up between each other,” said Desch. “I think our connection really helped us improve on the field.” 

The confidence led to a 15-9 first half lead before Flathead Valley pulled away for a commanding 44-19 victory. 

“We definitely understood their game plan a little more and developed defenses around it,” said Ashley Davison, who noted that the Black and Blue used the speed of their wings to help control the game. 

“We were just an overall well put together team, and I think our coach utilized us in the best ways to help us win the state championship,” Desch said. 

Kaya Carlburg led the Black and Blue with three tries in the win; Desch added two. Tayler Smith, Soraya Warden and Ciara Shade all scored tries. 

Flathead Valley added to the lead with conversions from Amelia Remley, who Rob Davison called “the best kicker in the state, boys or girls.” 

Remley, like many of the girls on the Black and Blue roster joined the team this season for their senior year. 

Rob Davison and the players urge any girls who want to give rugby a try to reach out to the club. He notes that many of the former players have earned scholarships to play at the college level — including Ashley Davison, who plans to attend Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. Anderson is still evaluating her options after high school.

    PLAYERS FROM FLATHEAD VALLEY and Gallatin matchup for a scrum in a semifinal on May 24 in Columbia Falls. Flathead Valley won 47-19. (Photo Credit: Occi Aumont)