George Ferguson Column: Ten years later, something special happening with HLP again

Ten years probably seems like an eternity to anyone who is a fan of Hays-Lodge Pole boys basketball. Yes, it’s been 10 years since a Thunderbird team played in the Class C state tournament.

Today, when the T-Birds tip it up in the 2017 Class C state tourney in Bozeman, the wait will finally be over.

But it isn’t just the 10-year anniversary of HLP’s last state tournament appearance. No, it’s something much more than that.

A decade ago, the Thunderbirds won a Class C state championship in Great Falls. It was HLP’s second state title in a five-year stretch. But the one the T-Birds won in 2007 was really the stuff of legends.

It was a legendary state championship because the T-Birds had a legendary player, the late A.J. Long Soldier. Covering high school basketball on the Hi-Line, I had heard about Long Soldier long before he ever stepped foot on a high school basketball court. And keep in mind, this was well before things like Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter had taken hold of our lives, and yet, everyone around the Hi-Line still knew Long Soldier was about to burst on the scene.

And burst might not be an appropriate word for his greatness. From his freshman season on, Long Soldier was everything he was billed to be. An incredibly talented basketball player, with size, strength, speed and jumping ability. Simply put, he was a once-in-a-generation player and was truly special.

And there was more. Long Soldier was the engine that fueled the T-Birds, but he had tons of talent around him. He also had a head coach in Charlie Ereaux, who had just come home not only to lead the talented T-Birds, but also to help his community. Ereaux knew exactly how much the community loved his T-Birds, and in particular Long Soldier because, less than a decade earlier, he was that same type of prodigy. Yes, in his days as a T-Bird, Ereaux was as good as it got when it comes to talent in the District 9C.

So it was fitting, and magical, that he would come home to lead the T-Birds to an incredible Class C state champion.

Of course, every magical basketball story has two sides to it, and the story of the 2007 Thunderbirds had one in the Big Sandy Pioneers.

Purple, talented and a legendary coach on their side, the Pioneers were THE rival for HLP in 2007. With Roy Lackner at the helm, with a sensational freshman duo of Corbin Pearson and Blake Brumwell, loads of talent around them, the Pioneers were as close as close can get to being the best team in Class C that year. And yet, they ended up not being the best team in the Northern C, or even the 9C.

For three straight weeks, once in Havre, and twice in Great Falls, HLP and Big Sandy waged an epic battle for Class C supremacy. Yes, two 9C schools, already having played each other twice on snowy cold nights in the regular season, would play in three straight championship games, the last of which came in the Class C state tournament inside the famed Four Seasons Arena, in front of a sold-out crowd almost made up entirely of fans from around the Hi-Line.

For locals from Hays to Chester, from Havre to Big Sandy, it couldn’t, and didn’t get any better than that. The Hi-Line and the 9C were the king of boys basketball that winter, and after beating the Pioneers three straight times, HLP stood above the rest.

Yes, 2007 was a year that will always go down as one of the greatest basketball seasons in local hoops history.

Now, fast forward to this weekend. Could we possibly be seeing 2007 all over again?

It’s true that neither HLP nor Box Elder, going for its second consecutive state championship this weekend, are the true favorites in Bozeman. That title belongs to Arlee, especially considering the Warriors have wins over both the T-Birds and Bears this season.

But, by no means does that mean we couldn’t see an all 9C championship Saturday night, just like we did 10 years ago. Yes, HLP will have to play its best to top Arlee Friday night, and yes, Box Elder will have to be at its very best to beat Manhatten Christian, if those four teams advance to the semifinals. But, make no mistake, it could, and very well might, happen.

And if it does, we’re right back to that magical 2007 season. No, it’s not Big Sandy this time, but, it will be two 9C rivals playing for state supremacy. How special would that be?

Of course, a lot has to happen for that to go down Saturday night, but considering it’s 10 years ago to the date when HLP won that magical state title, against a bitter 9C rival. Consider the dominant ride Box Elder has been on the last four-plus years, and consider the fact that the T-Birds and Bears have already played two great championship games this winter, and if you believe in fate, I wouldn’t bet against the T-Birds and Bears meeting one more time this season. It just seems like that destiny has already been set.

And it seems, and feels like, that destiny was really set in motion, on a magical March night in Great Falls, 10 years ago.