Sentinel football capped off a stellar season with a win at state, and now the coaches and players are looking back at the team’s successes and what it took to bring home a back-to-back state title.
After an undefeated regular season, the Spartans rolled through the playoffs and are once again Class AA state champions after beating Billings West Golden Bears 31-6 on Nov. 19.
“The ball bounced our way, guys made plays, and our defense was lights out all night,” said head coach Dane Oliver.
Sentinel prided themselves on a defense that didn’t allow a team to score over 21 points all season long.
“We just trust each other. We love each other, and we may fail, but together we’re going to prevail, and that’s exactly what we did,” said senior Zac Crews.
Sentinel started the season by beating West in a close game 22-19 but then rolled through the western AA schedule to a perfect 8-0 record.
Led by 18 seniors, the Spartans were poised for another championship run.
“They mean everything. We had a lot of adversity this year,” said Oliver. “They were our hardest workers by far and our best kids, so it’s amazing what you can accomplish when you have great leadership like that.”
“We’ve worked so hard. As soon as last year’s class graduated, we were right back to work and confident about what our chances were to possibly repeat again this year,” said senior Charlie Kirgan. “It’s such a tight group of dudes that just really love each other, and we just had so much fun this year.”
Confident, the Spartans were ready for another deep playoff run. They opened against Great Falls and dominated the Bison and then a familiar foe, the Glacier Wolfpack. So Sentinel did what they always do, rely on each other.
“We’re completely aligned. We say the word family a lot, and they lived it out,” said Oliver.
“We trust our underclassman and juniors when they need to step up, so it takes a lot of the load off our shoulders, and it makes the team a lot better,” said Crews.
“We talk a lot about love and how it’s the most powerful thing when you truly love each other, and that’s where the success you see comes from,” said Kirgan.
Sentinel beat Glacier behind junior Adam Jones’ three touchdowns and combined with Crews for over 350 yards.
“It’s a reflection of who they are as people. These kids are amazing human beings, high character student athletes and a highly competitive spirt,” said Oliver.
“I just think that the older guys groomed us well, and we'll groom these younger guys, and hopefully the Spartans continue to be a dominant team in the west,” said Kirgan.
After dispatching of everyone on their schedule, they faced West again for the third time in a calendar year, and from start to finish they would demolish the Golden Bears 31-6. The win makes them the first repeat champions since Billings Senior, and the Spartans’ unprecedented 21-game winning streak remains alive.