Eight Great Falls High football players sign college commitments
The Great Falls High football team had one of its strongest senior contingents in several years this past fall with 28 members. On Tuesday, more than a quarter of those in the class signed commitments to the next level.
Eight Bison signed on to play college football in a ceremony at the Old Gym, all with NAIA schools in the Frontier Conference. Committing to Montana Western in Dillon were Mason Kralj and Isaac Tolan, while Braedon Rankin, Dain McMann and Caleb Litzinger signed with MSU-Northern. Schafer Garness and Riley Collette signed on with Montana Tech, and Deegan Duffy inked with Rocky Mountain College.
Broden Molen, who is considered to be one of the top long snappers in the country, is still considering his options of where to sign.
'This group has been special since their sophomore year, even going back to their freshman year,' Bison head coach Coda Tchida said. 'We knew they had a really good chance of not only separating Bison football from other schools in the AA but separating Bison football for the future Bison. A lot of kids looked up to them in the stands, on the sidelines this past year. Again, all these guys that have earned a scholarship and the opportunity to play college football worked their tails off. In the weight room, in the meeting room, on the football field, they're all so deserving of an opportunity to go prove that they deserve it.'
Collette, also an all-Eastern AA quarterback for Great Falls High, will punt for the Orediggers after leading the state at over 44 yards per kick and earning an All-State nod. Garness was a three-year starter and second-team All-State at center last season as the Bison earned the conference's No. 3 seed and finished 6-4.
The future Western Bulldog Tolan was first-team All-State on both the offensive and defensive fronts, leading the state with 22.5 tackles for loss as a noseguard. Kralj was Great Falls High's leading tackler for the third season in a row as a first-team linebacker, while also earning second-team All-State as a running back with over 800 yards and nine touchdowns.
Rankin was a starter at tailback and linebacker for Great Falls High, as was McMann at offensive tackle. Another Northern Lights signee Litzinger was second-team All-State as a kicker, hitting 36 of 39 PATs and was 5 for 5 on field goal attempts. Duffy was a starter in the defensive backfield for the Bison.
'It's awesome to see kids move on to the next level, especially nowadays because it's so hard for a freshman to get a scholarship with the transfer portal, NIL, all those options that even the NAIA schools have now,' Tchida said. 'To see eight really good human beings earn opportunities to play college football in the Frontier Conference, which is the best conference in the NAIA, means the world to me. I'm super proud of them and I love all of them to death. I'm excited to see how it goes for them the next four years.'
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Eight Great Falls High football players sign college commitments
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