Friday Night Lights: Beeters' Leader

Behind every great team is a great quarterback, and when looking at the success of the Chinook football team over the past two seasons, it shouldn't come as a surprise that it has someone like Ian McIntosh under center.

McIntosh, who has been the starting quarterback for the Sugarbeeters for the last three seasons isn't just a great player, he is a tremendous leader. He helped lead the Beeters to the doorstep of a Class C 8-Man state championship a season ago and after a 5-0 start to the 2015 season, Chinook looks ready to make another run at the ultimate crown in 8-Man football.

"We want it really bad," McIntosh said. "After last season, we know what it takes to get there. There are only two teams that have a chance to make it back for the second straight season and we are one of them. We have a long way to go but that's what we are trying to do."

Not many players at the quarterback position get the chance to start for three years in high school and very few get the opportunity to return after making it all the way to the state championship.

But, McIntosh isn't most quarterbacks.

Even he hasn't always been the high quality quarterback he is today.

At times as a sophomore he struggled. That season, the Beeters posted a 4-5 record and missed the playoffs. Chinook was a running team then, just as they are now, but still McIntosh completed just 41 percent of his passes, while throwing 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions.Even last season and especially during the first few games, McIntosh was still growing but following a loss to Belt a year ago, something clicked, not only for the quarterback but for his team as well.

Since that loss, the Beeters have been on a tear that few teams in the state of Montana can rival as they have won 10 of their last 11 games, with three of those wins coming in the playoffs.

"It helped a lot," McIntosh said of getting to play early in his career. "That experience helped a lot, but it also helps a lot to have so many great athletes around me. Our offensive line and our running backs and our tight ends can just flat get it done."

During the stretch run last season, McIntosh's development as a quarterback was evident. And when it was all said and done, he would finish the 2014 campaign with 1,774 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes compared to just eight interceptions. He also ran for 414 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, which gave him a total of 42 TDs for the season.

For his efforts last season, McIntosh earned honorable mention All-Conference honors in the Northern C, which is widely regarded as the most difficult league in 8-Man football. This season, after tossing compiling 10 touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns, while also presiding over an offense that is averaging 51.6 points per game, it's likely that more honors will come his way. McIntosh, who is also an All-Conference basketball player for Chinook, has earned plenty of accolades on the field, there is no question about that. But in addition to being a great player, he is also a great person.

Football fans throughout the Northern C all remember the terrible tragedy that occurred last season when Belt player Robert Back suffered a life-threatening brain injury during a game last fall. What happened to Back is every player’s and every parent’s worst nightmare. And while McIntosh and the Beeters had no obligation to do anything about it, McIntosh and the Chinook program refused to stand idly by.

So before the Beeters took on Belt at Hoon Field last Friday night, McIntosh and head coach Scott Friede headed a fundraising effort that ended up raising $2,625. That money was given to Back's parents before the game to aid in Back's recovery effort.

"Coach Friede and I talked about it and we did some stuff for him last year, too, but it's really not something you can forget," McIntosh said. "It was something that changed his life and his family's life and they need as much support as they can get."

In order to raise money, the Beeters accepted donations but also had an auction at a volleyball game last Thursday night in Chinook where people were able to place bids on jerseys for each member of the football team.

"We had donation boxes, but we also had an auction for our jerseys and if you bought the jersey you got to wear it to the game," McIntosh said. "I think it shows how incredibly supportive our community is and how we are willing to help people out when they are in need of it."

It takes great athletes to win in sports, but it also takes good people. Thankfully for the Beeters, McIntosh and his teammates are both. That's why, as the Beeters prep for another playoff run, they are one team that will be hard to root against.