Linemen wallow in hog heaven

Four Flathead linemen won the Hogs of Camp team championship at Saturday's Valley of the Hogs Linemen Competition at Legends Stadium.

Bob Hickey (6-foot-6, 266 pounds), Travis Knoll (5-8, 217), Dan Ogden (6-1, 252) and Matt Study (6-4, 245) competed against other Flathead linemen as well as athletes from Cut Bank and Ronan, finishing first in every event except the obstacle course.

Cut Bank's team of Michael Birky, Bryce "Bubba" Bull Calf, Tim Fitzgerald and Cory Mazurkiewicz placed second.

The 5-foot-11, 300-pound Bull Calf was named Hog of Camp, while Ronan's Frank Swan (6-0, 185) earned the Junior Hog Award.

The linemen competition ran simultaneously with the 7-on-7

Passing Tournament, but it was unsurpassed in entertainment value.

Six teams comprised of four linemen battled through seven events, earning points based on order of finish in each contest. Three of the teams were from Flathead and two were from Ronan.

The competition began at 9 a.m. as teams took turns pushing a five-man sled for 15 yards as quickly as possible without bumping any cones. Colliding with a cone resulted in a five second penalty.

With legs aching from the sled push, the linemen trudged over to the bench press and lifted 185 pounds for as many repetitions as possible. Knoll was the individual bench press leader with 21 reps, followed by Hickey (16) and Swan (15).

For the third event, Flathead defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Arron Deck sat in his half-ton Chevrolet pick-up truck while teams took turns pushing the vehicle across a practice field.

Next came the tug-o-war, which was Bull Calf's favorite event, but the one that gave Knoll the most trouble - not surprising since Knoll was outweighed by 50-100 pounds on many individual pulls.

Following a break, which included every lineman's favorite activities - resting and eating - the hogs carried massive truck tires two-by-two over their heads, stopping to flip the tire and switch sides at the end of each leg.

After the tire-flip relay, the linemen were treated to an obstacle course, featuring a labyrinth of tires, cones and hurdles, as well as a lengthy sprint, which was downright torturous due to the hot sun and preceding events. Ronan's squad of Mike Courville, Mike Crawford, Swan and Woodrow Wayman won the obstacle course challenge, followed by Flathead's team of Ian Anderson, Lorne Craig, Jake Larsen, Josh Marsh and Dustin Ozagovich.

The day's final event, which was kept secret until the last minute - was a power press competition, but with an unusual touch. The linemen performed squats before exploding to lift a barbell overhead, but the bar was flanked with tires rather than standard weights.

That seemingly subtle twist made the event awkward in addition to grueling. Still, Knoll performed 40 reps - the most of any athlete.

Strength is important to all football players, but it's paramount to a defensive tackle lacking ideal bulk.

"Yeah, I work hard at it, go to the weight room every time I can, get in there every opportunity and do the best I can," Knoll said.

Knoll expected the linemen competition to be "just another Saturday," but he was surprised by how much fun he had. He was also surprised by the talent displayed by other linemen.

"That (Bull Calf) fella from Cut Bank impressed me," Knoll said. "He's pretty tough - a big kid. And of course (Hickey) and all my teammates always impress me."

Cut Bank left home at 5:30 a.m. Saturday to make it to the competition on time. According to Bull Calf, the early trip was well worth it.

"I had an awesome time, I had a blast," Bull Calf said. "It tests your strength and everything that you're prepared for."

Bull Calf was impressed with the linemen he battled all day. He was also proud of his team's effort and pleased with the bonding experience his Wolves shared.

"It brings you together," Bull Calf said. "It makes you work as a team."

Despite his strong individual showing, Swan left wowed by "some of the AA Kalispell kids," describing Flathead's linemen as "some big boys, pretty strong."

Flathead strength coach Buf Bennett coordinated the competition with Deck. Though first-time events have their glitches, including Saturday's last-minute cancellations by five teams, Bennett was pleased with his athletes and the day in general.

"As hot as it was, I thought our kids did really well," Bennett said. "We should have probably had them drinking a little more water, as hot as it was."

Ronan's linemen were smaller than most of Flathead's, but they were an intense bunch with effort to spare.

"I thought that Ronan - they've got some scrappers," Bennett said. "They've got kids that just flat fight - real competitive. And Cut Bank's kids - real competitive kids."

Deck planned for Valley of the Hogs to entertain the linemen and give them a chance to compete while their teammates participated in the passing tournament.

"What you look for in a day like this is just guys getting together, having fun, screaming, a lot of emotion, a lot of attitude, obviously getting better individually, as a group and as a team," Deck said. "We're here to get better and obviously we want to be safe, but we want kids getting after it a little bit."

Deck was pleased with Flathead's performance, but he wasn't surprised because he already knew what Hickey, Knoll, Ogden and Study could do. He was pleasantly surprised by Flathead's younger players and named Jake Larsen as an athlete who "definitely demonstrated that he has a nice motor in that tug-o-war and one-on-one."

Deck believes Flathead's underclassmen gained confidence Saturday by performing well against veteran players. He also became a Ronan and Cut Bank fan.

"Hats off to Cut Bank and Ronan," Deck said. "I mean, they come in here with four, five, eight kids, and shoot, they got after it. I'm excited to follow those teams this fall as well."

The award-winning linemen were presented with trophies, but pristine sculptures of marble and brass wouldn't do for this blue-collar crew. Bull Calf, Swan and Cutbank left Kalispell with scraps of iron, while Flathead's championship team was awarded a trailer hitch, which they plan to hang on their weight room wall.