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The new kids on the block might just be the toughest kids on the block. The Fort Benton Longhorns left no uncertainty on the floor Friday night that they will challenge for a district crown, as they swept away visiting Big Sandy, 25-3, 25-5, 25-12. The Pioneers fell to 0-3 in league play and could salvage little more optimism for the ride home than that at least it made for a short trip. “It was just disappointing because, obviously, last week we didn’t win but we showed up to play,” said Pioneers head coach Brittany McKenney. “To turn around...
Big Sandy made quick work of North Star, Saturday afternoon in Rudyard, beating the hometown Knights 42 -7. Overall it was a solid day of football for the Pioneers with Seniors setting the tone and young leaders like Kody Strutz stepping up big with flashes of greatness. The pioneers showed some creativity early on the offensive side of the ball with Kade Strutz starting the afternoon with a 12 yard completion (yes I said completion) to Parker Proulx, before pounding his way in from 20 yard out...
The rumpled appearance of new wrinkles in the Big Sandy offense ironed out smooth in the second half of a 47-6 win against visiting Valier in Friday's football season opener. "It was very sloppy," said Pioneers head coach Larry Jappe. "I was not happy in the first half." Three consecutive seasons of state playoff appearances and a combined 26-7 record during that run can make for a 29-0 halftime lead that isn't up to snuff. "We kind of figured out what was working against them," Jappe said, in...
An opening week against upper-tier league foes Chinook and North Star sent Big Sandy volleyball to the school of hard knocks. The defending league champion Sugarbeeters swept the host Pioneers, 25-15, 25-17, 25-22 Thursday to begin the 2020 season. Big Sandy grew in confidence and competitiveness throughout the match despite the sweep. "I told the girls right away I don't think we have anything to hang our heads about," Pioneers head coach Brittany McKenney said. "Chinook is a strong team. It's...
The more things change, the more they stay the same for the powerhouse Pioneer pigskin program. Big Sandy left unfinished business on the field after a 10-1 2019 season ended with a semifinal loss to eventual state champion Jordan in the Montana 6-man semifinal. The Mustangs' lone blemish for the year wound up being a season-opening 44-28 loss to Big Sandy. In 2020, it's a whole new ballgame. The Pioneers replace more than half their starting lineup. But so does Jordan. So do many teams in the...
Before a single set is played, chalk one up in the "win" column for Big Sandy volleyball. With all the chaos and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the squad is well aware every match, every practice, every spike, every drill, every day they can suit up in purple and gold is a privilege. "We are grateful just to be playing," said senior Alicia Bjornestad."Because it can be taken away at any time. I hope we can cherish this time together as a team." The Pioneers are guided by second-year...
The Big Sandy Barracudas’ 2020 swim season came to an end in late July with a final meet in Shelby on the 25th. This season was unlike every other year for Big Sandy because of the challenges posed by the Covid shutdowns. Fewer meets, many towns simply not participating, and smaller teams from the towns that did compete changed the year dramatically. Coach Travis Baumann describes the challenge as it related to the meet in Conrad: “There were other teams there, but not very many. So, in Conrad there was us, Conrad, Chester, a couple kids fro...
Preparations for a Big Sandy Pioneers fall sports season are geared toward maintaining as regular a program as the COVID-19 pandemic will allow, according to state and local authorities. At press time, Big Sandy Schools Athletic Director Melanie Schwarzbach told the Mountaineer the Montana High School Association, the statewide governing body for interscholastic activities, is developing a tiered system for conducting athletic play. The five tiers are roughly akin to the three phases of re-opening outlined by Gov. Steve Bullock’s office. ...
The Big Sandy Barracudas swam the final meet of their abbreviated 2020 season in Shelby on Saturday. They placed second, behind the hometown Shelby Stingrays. The team swam at half-strength, as COVID kept 11 of the team's swimmers from being able to leave their homes in order to attend. Other swimmers chose not to attend due to concerns of possible exposure to the virus. While the team is disappointed to have their season end early, they were grateful for their opportunities to compete and are...
Let’s talk about clean eating. What is it? Is it beneficial? Or is it just a fad diet that will soon phase out? Clean eating is defined as consuming Whole Foods and avoiding processed foods and foods with preservatives, added sugars, and coloring. “Clean eating” became a fad diet in the U.S., really starting back in 2007 when a Canadian fitness model wrote a book talking about how she lost 75lbs just by eating “clean,” by taking processed foods out of her diet, mainly white flour and sugar. Now, just like any diet, there are pros and cons. The...
The 2020 swim season has proven to be an interesting one, with most meets canceled throughout the federation. Conrad received approval to host a 7-team meet this last Saturday, in which the Barracudas swam in the closest thing to a traditional swim meet they've competed in this summer. Missing were the touch-pads, relay events, a timer for each lane and approximately 300 swimmers that would normally attend a Conrad-hosted meet. Teams that host are being required to host smaller, more local...
Stephanie Overbay accepted the 365-day challenge I want to take the time to give a shout-out to my friend Stephanie Overbay in this week's article. She's been on her journey by walking AT LEAST a mile every day for the last 345 days! She's committed to doing this for a full year! 365 days! And she's almost there! I asked her to answer a few questions for me. Question 1: Me: Why did you choose to do the challenge? Stephanie: I choose to do this challenge to help motivate me to get outside every...
Mother Nature provided a perfect day for the first-ever Big Sandy Swim Meet. Warm temperatures and a gentle breeze made for an enjoyable day outside minus the mosquitoes. Thirty-three Barracudas took to the water for some friendly competition against their teammates in what would be considered a scrimmage for other sports. This was definitely not a typical meet for our team. They overcame the obstacles of a shorter than regulation pool, a pool too shallow to allow flip turns on one end and no...
Ryan and I exchanged E-Mails to visit about his chance to play college basketball. Mountaineer: You were first going to go to Butte, correct? Why did you decide to go to Rocky? Ryan Roth: "Yes, I had made plans to attend Montana Tech and major in geological engineering, but one day while working, the head coach from Rocky called me. Thankfully, I had the service to return his call because he told me that the program was interested in picking me up. I decided to go to Rocky because it was the...
“Congratulations to the Fort Benton-Big Sandy Wrestling Team on their 3rd place Class C Trophy! This was only recently awarded after an appeal to the MHSA executive board after the team was placed in Class B at the state tournament. That decision was reversed and our team took 3rd place! Way to go, Coach Tucker Taylor and Bayley Genereux!” The Mountaineer could not get any further information prior to printing....
The Big Sandy High School Athletic Department is pleased to award the inaugural "Spirit of a Pioneer Award" to Brock Proulx and Bailey Gasvoda. Over the last two years, our school, Booster Club and cheer squad has focused on promoting "Pioneer Spirit". That spirit can be defined many ways; good sportsmanship, positive attitudes, perseverance and grace under pressure. The award came to its inception through the joint efforts of head boys basketball coach Thomas Dilworth, school board trustee...
Hi everyone! For those that don't know me, my name is Serena Cator. I was raised here in Big Sandy, then moved away to attend college and then joined the Army. My husband and I moved back to raise our family. I've always been involved in sports and fitness. So, I was super excited when approached about doing a fitness article for the newspaper. This article will vary week to week, and I'm just so glad to be able to reach out to people during this time at home. There isn't one "right" way when...
According to Kyle Rodewald, "the Pioneer Wrestling season has been nothing but success. Beginning in November, I took six kids to Conrad for team duals. When we started our official Little Guy season, we returned 13 of 16 wrestlers from last year. Also, we gained another 17 wrestlers this year from age 3-12. We consistently had 30 wrestlers on the roster all season. To date, we have wrestled in 15 different meets/tournaments. After our regular season with the State Little Guy Tournament, our...
GREAT FALLS — All good things must come to an end. And make no mistake. Big Sandy had a good run in postseason boys basketball. Great even. Yet it ended March 3 in Great Falls against the Belt Huskies, who by virtue of a 58-39 win in the Northern C divisional tournament’s final game, snagged the last ticket to state in Missoula. The Pioneers finished the season with a 16-11 record and hoisted hardware for their third-place finish. “There are only 12 teams taking home a trophy out of the (81) teams in the (Class) C … and we’re one of them,” Bi...
Big Sandy beat the odds. And then did it again. And again. The last entry from District 9C to the Northern C Divisional boys basketball tournament won three thrilling games there to force an unlikely championship game. Though the magic did not carry the Pioneers to lift a trophy Saturday, it did allow them a second chance at a state tournament berth Monday in a challenge game against the District 8C champion Belt Huskies. Big Sandy (16-10) needed rallies from double-digit deficits in the Feb....
HAVRE - For the first time in seven years, Big Sandy is sending a boys basketball team to the Northern C divisional tournament at Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. To give some perspective, that is more than half a lifetime ago for the youngest members of the team. Pioneers head coach Thomas Dilworth had seen a Big Sandy program fallen on hard times from afar while assisting with the Fort Benton program. "Watching Ryan Roth starting as an eighth grader, I saw this fearless kid who was about...
HAVRE - Two teams with championship pedigrees escorted the Big Sandy girls out of the 9C district basketball tournament. Fort Benton successfully defended its district championship, opening with a 61-9 Thursday rout of the Lady Pioneers. Senior Amanda Cline chipped in 5 of those Big Sandy points and added a team-high 6 rebounds. Freshmen Mia Dilworth and Kylee Sternberg each added a bucket. Three Longhorns finished in double figures: McKenzie Clark (13), Aspen Giese (12) and McKenna Hanford...
One point and mere seconds were all that prevented Big Sandy from entering the District 9C boys basketball tournament on a four-game winning streak. The Pioneers followed a 56-38 win at winless Turner Friday with an upset 52-51 loss to Chester-Joplin-Inverness to close the regular season on their home floor. Though final bracket pairings were unavailable at press time, Big Sandy coach Thomas Dilworth anticipated a rematch with the Hi-Line Hawks Wednesday to open the tourney in Havre....
A more ideal opportunity could not have been presented for the regular season finale for Big Sandy girl's basketball. The Lady Pioneers, who avenged a close loss on the road against Chinook at home to snap a two-year long streak of league losses, faced Chester-Joplin-Inverness Saturday after an even closer overtime game in the first meeting. Home-court advantage did not make a difference this time, though, in a 47-23 loss. In fact, it seemed as if somebody put a lid on the bucket as nearly nothi...
In just his second year of wrestling, Big Sandy junior Bayley Genereux extended his season a week longer than last year by qualifying for the state tournament. Next year as a senior, the challenge will be to push it just one more day. Genereux finished with a 22-21 record for the season. He began with a first-round loss Friday at the Class B-C state wrestling tournament at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark in Billings to the eventual state champion in the 138-pound division. Nathan Schmidt,...
