George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com
The Montana State University- Northern 2009 football recruiting class grew to 23 this week as head coach Mark Samson announced the signing of 12 more prep standouts. Included in the group announced by MSU-N on Tuesday are two Havre high products, as well as several more Montana high school stars and one Idaho standout. HHS seniors Jordan Van Voast and Jarrett McLain have both signed to play for the Lights next fall. Van Voast, a 6-1, 210-pound two-way star was a Central A All-Conference and Class A All-State selection this season for the Central A champion Blue Ponies. A three-year starter for HHS, Van Voast has played quarterback, running back tight end and several positions on defense, as well as being HHS's punter the last season. He is also a three-sport star at HHS, playing basketball and running track and is slated to play defense for Northern. McLain had a breakout senior campaign for the Ponies, leading the team in rushing and as one of HHS's top tacklers on defense. The 5-9, 160-pound Blue Pony was a Central A All-Conference selection on both offense and defense this past season, and is slated to play linebacker for the Lights starting next fall. Samson also signed two Fairfield stars, including one of the most coveted preps in the state in 5-11, 175-pound quarterback Derek Lear. Lear led Fair- field to two consecutive Class B state title game berths, and in 2008, he threw for 2, 014 yards and 27 touchdowns, while rushing for 316 yards and seven more scores. He is a two-time Class B All-State selection on both sides of the ball and was selected to the Montana East/West Shrine Game. Lear was also a coveted basketball recruit and is averaging 26 points per game for the Eagles this season. Lear's teammate, 6-4, 185-pound Mickey Miller will also join the Lights as a wide receiver. Miller was a Class B All-State selection at both receiver and defensive end and was also selected to the shrine game. Miller as a large, rangy but speedy receiver who caught 41 balls for 7-2 yards and 13 Tds this past season. Samson has also added a third quarterback to the roster, one of three recruits in the group from the Class AA state champion Helena Capital Bruins. Matt Reyant, a 6-1 200-pound firstteam all state QB will join the Lights as will Capital teammate, 5-10, 185-pound linebacker Logan Nafhe. Reyant had a strong senior season and was selected to play in both the Shrine Game and the Montana-North Dakota All State Game this summer. At defensive end, Capital star Dalton Peaslee has also signed to play with the Lights. The 6-1, 195-pound Peaslee was a first-team all state selection and a Shrine Game selection for the state champion and Bruins as an offensive lineman but is slated to play defense for MSU-N. Another pair of area speedsters have also signed to play at MSU-N. CMR running back Josh Wilson (5-6, 190) will play at MSU-N. Wilson was a three-year star at Columbia Falls, gaining more than 3,000 yard son the ground before transferring to CMR where he missed most of his senior season due to a knee injury. The Lights also added Malta quarterback/defensive back Jake Handley. A 5-11, 185-pound Class B All-State selection on both offense and defense, Handley joins his brother Jeff, who is already a defensive back for the Lights. Rounding out the Montana recruits in the group are Helena High's Cory Budak, a 6-2, 270-pound offensive lineman and Missoula Big Sky's Brandt Monetelius, a 6-2, 175-poind wide receiver. Samson also added a quality outof- state player in 6-1, 225-pound offensive lineman Brock Hyder from Boise, Idaho. Hyder was a unanimous Idaho All-State selection at guard and an allstate performer at linebacker. He was selected to two all star games in Idaho and is also a standout baseball player at Boise's Bishop Kelly High School. “We are extremely excited to announce this next group of recruits. We are very pleased with the caliber of kids that we have recruited to our program," Samson said. "All of these 12 young men are great people on and off the field and will have a positive impact on our campus. We expect a few of these men to have the ability to see some playing time early on in their careers at Northern and a couple as early as next fall. We feel that we have for the most part addressed our major offseason needs and couldn’t be happier with the success that we have had recruiting the state of Montana." Samson expects to sign six to seven more plays within the next week.
