Archie’s wry hook

If you were among the 12,071 announced attendees at the Vikings’ yearly clash with Montana this Saturday, you likely observed the one major distinction between the two programs.

Montana, the colossus of the Big Sky Conference, has won at least a share of the last 10 conference championships.

Portland State has never won a Big Sky Championship.

Montana is consistently ranked among the best Football Bowl Subdivision squads in the nation and, despite an early Big Sky loss to Weber State, carried a No. 5 ranking into Saturday’s game.

The Vikings were last ranked in a national poll when head coach Jerry Glanville’s newly arrived presence swooned voters into believing that rebuilding a program would take months instead of years.

Their Washington-Grizzly Stadium is one of the finest facilities in the nation for schools that play at this level.

Built in 1985, it has already undergone three expansions and is the place to be on Saturday afternoons in autumn. Missoula has a population of only 64,000, but the stadium that seats 23,000 is nearly filled to capacity on game days.

PGE Park is a nice facility in a picturesque and unique setting. But no opposing team would ever find the converted baseball stadium intimidating. The Vikings have struggled to consistently fill the stadium even since Glanville and the typically high-scoring offense arrived.

The difference between the two squads isn’t found on the field, either.

Both teams have players with size, speed and skill. Despite the loss, the Vikings defense controlled the game for three of the four quarters. And the Vikings offense sputtered because of lack of execution–not a lack of talented players.

Some fans probably think the separation between the two squads was noticeably visible on the sidelines, where Montana coach Bobby Haupt seemed to outsmart and outcoach Glanville and offensive coordinator Mouse Davis.

Truthfully, it wasn’t the coaches, players, stadium size or the disparity in success that distinguished the two squads that seem to have a mutual distaste for each other on Saturday afternoon.

The biggest distinction between the two teams became unmistakably evident after the game, when Montana players gathered in front of their fans–the same group that likely outnumbered the hometown Vikings supporters–and sang the school fight song, loud and proud.

For a casual college sports fan, school pride from their own student-athletes is an assumed element of motivation.

Fans assume that athletes bleed their school colors, but in reality players, like most people, go where the opportunities–or in this case, scholarships–take them.

Teams are assembled with the best parts available with little regard being paid to where the player is from.But not in Montana.

The Grizzlies, a team with the benefit of not having to battle Division I schools for in-state players, rely almost completely on local talent.

Talented football players in Montana–and there may not be that many that don’t end up on the Grizzlies’ or Montana State’s roster–grow up dreaming about putting on silver and maroon jerseys.

For them, playing for Montana is an honor.

Across the sideline, Glanville’s squad is composed of transfers, out-of-state talent from Texas, Washington or California, and a few Oregonians that likely envisioned themselves wearing orange and black or yellow and green, not playing in front of home crowds composed primarily of the other team’s fans.

When the game was on the line, when a play needed to be made, it was the visiting Grizzlies who always seemed to have a little extra motivation that put them over the hump.

It looked like they were playing for something more.

Don’t get me wrong, it was clear that the Vikings wanted this game.

After the game, senior linebacker Andy Schantz and junior receiver Aaron Woods seemed dejected, deflated and crushed by the loss.

But the thousands of Grizzlies fans in attendance on Saturday can tell you: It’s just different in Montana.

Players who want to play for their community are a valuable commodity, and fans like the ones that sat in Montana garb in the stands at PGE Park know the importance of keeping their local talent in the state.

The recruitment of in-state players leads to a greater sense of community among fans and alumni.

The Grizzlies started 13 players that were from the state of Montana Saturday afternoon. Just seven local kids found their way into the starting lineup for the Vikings.

Perhaps even more importantly, of the Vikings’ 22 starters, 15 have come to the South Park Blocks as transfers from another university or junior college.

For the Grizzlies, only four of their starters have were transfers, and three of those four came by way of highly esteemed Division I programs.

You want further evidence that Vikings fans want to see local kids playing? Listen to the cheers for fourth-string quarterback Connor Kavanaugh.

The Vikings who seem to receive the most cheers are native Oregonians KJ McCrae and Aaron Dickson. Not coincidentally, those two players may have had the best game of any Portland State players against Montana.

There were many things that went wrong on Saturday in what will be remembered as another opportunity squandered for the Vikings this season.

The defense couldn’t hold for 60 minutes, the offense struggled mightily throughout and Portland State gave up a backbreaking play on a fake field goal.

When all was said and done, Montana had taken their rightful place on the field and in the stands as the dominant program.

But the 17-point loss could be corrected with a simple adjustment: putting players on the field that are willing to be a part of the Portland State community.