Hitting the ground running

There is no doubt that Mark Samson is a Montana coaching legend. And if anyone disagrees, his three Class AA state championships at Helena Capital and successful record at Montana State University-Northern act as proof. Yet, the great coaches never rest on their laurels and neither is Samson, who has a new goal in mind ... bringing the Class A state football championship back to Havre High.

Samson, who was the head man at Helena Capital for eight years and at Northern for 10 before resigning last fall, has taken over a Havre program that hasn't won a state championship since 2004, which is something he said both he and his players are eager to change.

"I think the kids are very motivated by it," Samson said of the prospect of winning a championship, "But it's not something that we talk about. I have talked to them about how playing football in November is a special thing. And how playing in a playoff game is a special thing. I like the kids that we have, and I think we can be as good as we want to be. If our kids are showing up and playing hard every Friday or Saturday night, then I think we have a good shot. But one thing I hope is that when the community comes out to watch us play that what they see is a good, fundamentally sound football team. That is a big focus for us, that and to play with a lot of excitement."

While Samson has clearly been reenergized by his return to high school football since being hired as the Blue Ponies' head coach, there was a time last fall when he wasn't even sure he would ever coach again.

"You know after everything that happened at Northern, even though it was my fault, I still had a sour taste in my mouth," Samson said. "I started working for Mike and Craig Tilleman and it was a different way of making a living, but I enjoyed it and enjoyed the people that I worked with. And there was a time where I wasn't even sure if I wanted to go back to coaching. But, at some point, I started to miss football and that's when I started to kind of see what was out there in terms of coaching possibilities."

Once Samson decided he wanted to coach, he thought about a return to teaching and decided to take a position teaching special education at Havre High School. Of course, at that time, the head coaching job at HHS was not even open and in his mind, Samson was just trying to build his resume to apply for a coaching job next season.

"I hadn't taught special-ed in years," Samson said. "But I have really enjoyed it. I have really enjoyed working with these kids. It was after I began teaching that the job became open. I didn't come here to take Jason Christenson's job, my intention was to come here and teach at the high school so when I applied for jobs for next year and they ask when I was in a classroom last, I could say this year."

Once the 2014 high school season was over, there were a number of head coaching jobs available in addition to Havre High's. Multiple Class AA schools were in need of a head coach, including Helena Capital, where Samson had so much success previously. But, after a lengthy process, Samson chose to become the head man of the Blue Ponies.

"The Capital job was appealing to me," Samson said. "I had success there and a lot of friends and people I coached with that wanted me to go back there. But, of all the three places that I put my name into (Havre) was really the only place where the people we're saying: we would really love to have you here and have you stay here."

Once the decision to lead the Ponies was made, Samson went right to work, building an outstanding coaching staff and getting the players into the weight room for offseason workouts. When it comes to coaching staff's, there can't be many in Montana high school football to rival Samson's.

Scott Leeds, who spent 10 seasons coaching at Northern will be the offensive coordinator, even though Samson will still call the plays, while Jarrod Wirt, who is a former Havre High and Carroll College standout on the gridiron and has years of college coaching experience, will run the defense. Samson also has five other assistants with experience playing NAIA college football under him at Northern.

"I am fortunate that I have a really good staff," Samson said. "They have been really great. Scott has worked for years with me at Northern and Jarrod has brought a lot of great ideas for the defense. And even all the young guys have been really great. I told them, it would be great if they would come into the weight room in the mornings once in a while, and they have been there pretty much every morning."

Having a coaching staff that is enthusiastic about offseason workouts is one thing, but getting players to buy in and have that same excitement is quite another. Yet, according to Samson, that has been exactly what's happened. He said from day one, the weight lifting sessions have been very well attended and he expects that the practices he will run in June, which he is treating as a sort of spring ball will be heavily attended as well.

"I think the first day we opened up the weight room, we had like 36 kids show up," Samson said. "We have even had kids from the middle school coming up and lifting. The numbers have dropped down a little bit but we are still getting probably two dozen kids in there lifting. And the really great thing is that we have started to see some of our players like Dane Warp, Jase Stokes, Parker Filius and others recruiting other kids to get in there and lift. I was a little worried how they would respond when we started but the response has been great."

Yet, as positive as the start has been for Samson as the Ponies' head coach, he knows there is plenty of work to do. Samson is putting new systems in place on both offense and defense, which can come with growing pains and that's why installation will be a key focus in summer workouts.

"There are some teams out there that will go full pads because you can basically do whatever you want with the kids until July 31," Samson said. "But, honestly we aren't even ready for that. We have a lot of installing that we need to do. We might have some days where we go half shells (shorts, helmets and shoulder pads), but mostly we are going to be installing our systems and trying to get the kids familiar with them."

Without getting to in-depth into the playbook, Samson said the Ponies will run out of the shotgun and under center this season, while at times running an up-tempo offense. Defensively, they will be using an odd front, but on both sides of the ball, the goal will be to find a variety of ways to get their versatile athletes in a position to make plays.

"We have some really great athletes," Samson said. "If you look at all three classes, the seniors, juniors and sophomores, we have some great talent. There are kids that have won state championships in other sports and that's what these kids want to reach that level as a team."

And with three-time All-State quarterback Dane Warp, as well as All-State running back/wide receiver Parker Filius, to go along with Jase Stokes, former All-Conference wide out Nate Rismon, receivers Isaac Warp and Nate Korb, running back Kody Pribyl and versatile sophomore-to-be Ivar Aageson, it's hard to argue with Samson's evaluation of the talent his team possesses.

"In my opinion, with the kids we have from our sophomores through our seniors, we have as many athletes as any other team in Class A," Samson said. "I know that we have to beat the Dillons, the Billings Centrals, the Columbia Falls', the Miles Citys and teams like that. But, if there is anyone that has more actual talent and athleticism than we do, then Class A is going to be really tough. Now, talent doesn't necessarily mean you are going to win. I had teams at Capital, where we weren't the most talented team and we won the state championship. But, in terms of our athletes, I think we are as good as anyone in Class A."

With the talent on his roster and his coaching staff in place, Samson knows the window for a run at a state championship is wide open. And while he understands better than most, just how difficult it is to reach the top of the mountain - he is going to do everything in his power to help the Ponies get there.

"I don't know what will happen in a year or two," Samson said. "But, I have gotten really, really excited about football again. Not that you would ever plan to lose a job, but it was kind of good for me to step back a bit. I could have very easily continued to work at Tilleman's or just taken a job teaching. I could have done that too and had a lot more time and a lot less stress in your life. But, ultimately I wanted to coach and my goal is to bring a state championship back to Havre.

"Now, it won't be the end of the world if it doesn't happen," he added. "But, that is my goal because I know there are a lot of kids that have experienced that feeling of standing on the top of that platform and being on the stage and I know there are a lot of kids in this school that want to be there. You know, when you win a playoff game or a state championship, that is a feeling and a high that is just hard to understand. And that is one of the really cool things about high school athletics."