Montana Tech football goes through spring with eyes on ‘ultimate goal’

It ultimately fell to Dickinson State in the opening round, but it was a feat for a program that’s been building each year since head coach Kyle Samson took over ahead of the 2020 season (cancelled due to COVID-19).

Two weeks into spring practice, the Orediggers have been driven by getting back to the NAIA’s big stage.

“These guys getting a taste of that and earning that opportunity to be in the playoffs, and knowing that we got there, now we want to get there again and not be satisfied,” Samson said after a spring practice on April 5.

Although it’s only April, the Orediggers are very open about their goals. The program has made strides over the last three seasons, but the ultimate objective has eluded them.

“You got to have goals, but also having a vision. Being able to see what you want and remember why you’re out here,” Samson said.

“Our goal is to be Frontier Conference Champions. We know that we’ve built and improved every year, but we still haven’t gotten that.”

The Diggers know that capturing the gold in the Frontier doesn’t happen overnight. But the work towards reaching their goals has already started as the snow melts away on the sides of Bob Green Field.

And Samson constantly reminds his players, and the players remind each other, what the work in the offseason is all about.

“Coach Samson always ends off with ‘earn the right’ which is pretty much our motto this season. It’s a picture of the conference championship and the national championship, and every meeting we end off with that,” defensive back Angel Sanchez said.

To Tech’s advantage, it returns much of its roster with only seven graduating seniors from last year’s team.

It’s an experienced group that has been in Butte throughout the program’s recent ascent, helping the Diggers win 7 games in each of the past two seasons, another feat it hadn’t accomplished since 2016.

“Our leadership this offseason has been tremendous, because we have so many guys that have played so many games in this league,” Samson said.

For Tech’s leaders, there is still more they want to accomplish before leaving the Mining City.

The Diggers’ climb has been clear: 5-5 in 2021, 7-3 and missing the playoffs in 2022, to 7-4 with a playoff defeat in 2023.

For 2024, Tech hopes to continue its rise, with an outright conference championship to show for it.

“We’ve been working at it (Frontier title) for four of five years here for some of these guys, and haven’t been able to do it. So, to get that thing done going into some of our last years, it’s our ultimate goal,” wide receiver Kyle Torgerson said.

Tech has one more week of practice before spring ball culminates with the Spring Game at Alumni Coliseum on Friday at 5 p.m.