BUTTE — The state's best eight-man football players will converge on the Mining City on Tuesday to cap off the week with the 40th annual Bob Cleverley Eight-Man All-Star Game on Saturday night.
All eyes will be on the game when it gets underway at Bob Green Field around 7 p.m., but “The Kleb” means much more to the players and coaching staff than the first few hours of the game.
“We're here to play football and showcase our abilities, but the relationships we make in this game will last a lifetime and that's what's great about this game,” said Red and Fairview head coach Derek Gackle.
Coach Gackle's Red team features five players from the state champion Warriors squad on a roster made up of players from the East and South Central districts.
Belt head coach Matt Triplett will lead a blue team that will also include five former players from that team and the Huskies' state runner-up team, with the team made up of players from the North, West and Southeast districts.
After four years of competing against each other, the old rivals can now call themselves teammates and friends.
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“It was fun getting to know everybody. Kids from all over the state that I wasn't friends with before are now friends, or we were rivals and now we're not rivals anymore, so it was a lot of fun and very unique,” said Krinting Buyan of Ennis.
“It's been a great experience,” Fairview's Jeff Thielde said, “Some of these guys have been rivals their whole lives, and now we get to play together, practice together all week, hang out together. It's been a fun time.”
And for many of the athletes competing this week, it will be the last time they'll be able to put on pads and play the sport they love.
The rest of the Fairview team thought their high school football careers had ended with a loss, but now they had another chance to come out on top and to simply enjoy playing the game.
“It's pretty amazing,” Buyan said, “to be able to put the pads on again and play one more game on the Montana Tech field with some great players.”
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In addition to getting another chance to play, players and coaches are appreciating the opportunity to bring more attention to the eight-a-side game.
“I think it's really important to represent eight-man football in the state of Montana because the sport doesn't get a lot of attention throughout the year,” Bhuyan said, “I don't think a lot of players get the recognition they should. There are a lot of good players in eight-man football.”
After four years representing their small town in Montana, players playing for “The Kreb” have one more night to play the sport they love.
“This is a celebration of the work they've put in over the last four years, culminating in the all-star game. We've got the best eight-man players in the state here and they're showcasing what they've done over the last four years,” Gackle said.
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