Tradition, unity fuel Charlo football
Linda Sappington
Winning football games at Charlo is a true team effort. During their home game against Darby, five players scored, and 15 had at least one tackle.
Linda Sappington
Viking junior Tyler Delaney breaks a tackle attempt as he races down the field in Friday’s 59-28 win over Darby.
Linda Sappington
Charlo head coach Mike Krahn uses reward stickers to encourage his football team.
Linda Sappington
Charlo football players push each other to be better, even practing running routes and passing every Monday, according to senior quarterback #10 Tra Ludeman, above center.
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
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CHARLO — As the lights dimmed and bleachers began to empty Aug. 31, the scoreboard at Charlo’s football field told tale of a decisive Viking victory over the visiting Darby squad. Charlo, (now 2-0 in conference play) scored 45 points in the first quarter and recorded a total of nine touchdowns throughout the game.
Far from a one-man show, five different athletes put points on the board and 15 recorded at least one tackle. According to former head coach and current Charlo High School principal Steve Love, these types of victories are far from an accident. The team effort, team victory and well-distributed statistics are a result of a philosophy engrained in players from day one: the team is above the individual.
“We teach the kids that it’s not about the accolades. It’s not about the individual, and it’s not about the stats. It’s about the team; it’s about the win,” Love said.
Reinforcing this mentality, head coach Mike Krahn said as long as he’s coach, no player will have his name on the back of a game jersey. To the coaches and players involved in Charlo’s program, the only name that carries weight is already on the uniform: Vikings.
“We always say, ‘The name on the front is what matters,’” he said.
Every Charlo football season starts with a 12:01 a.m. practice under the lights. An idea originally suggested by former player Andrew Marcure, the tradition started during Love’s tenure as head coach and continues to this day. Recently, Krahn added his own twist: the team meets several hours beforehand to watch the previous year’s highlight film. In recent years, the last game on the tape has been a season-ending loss. This leaves something to be desired and acts as a major motivator for the upcoming season.
“It leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” he said. “You always want to win the last game you play, so it’s a good way to get us focused on winning state.”
But the traditions don’t stop with a night practice and a game film. Players start each season with a blank helmet. A “V” sticker is awarded only to the players who earn them. It is a right of passage and not something given out lightly. To earn a V, players must be seen doing something, “outstanding, out of the ordinary, or above and beyond,” Krahn said.
“It doesn’t have to be on the football field,” Krahn said. “I think the ones that mean the most are the kids who aren’t the most talented but show their character through something outside of football.”
Additional stickers for big plays, forced fumbles, touchdowns, interceptions, etc., are usually awarded to the player making the play. However, on the Viking gridiron, everyone on the field at the time of a big play earns a sticker.
“If someone gets an interception or scores a touchdown, one of the coaches will give him his sticker. We’ll also give him the other seven, and he gets to give those to his teammates. It took all eight of them to make the play,” Krahn said.
Having been brought up in such a unique system, many players take it upon themselves to practice in the offseason. This is not required; they take the initiative to become better players.
Senior starting quarterback Tra Ludeman said he and his receivers practice running routes and passing every Monday.
“A lot of it’s just getting the timing down and knowing where the receivers are at (and) where they’re going to be,” he said. “We’re always pushing each other to do better.”
The extra work seems to be paying off, as Ludeman has yet to throw an incomplete pass in the 2012 season.
The team boasts four seniors. Krahn referred to them as “coaches on the field” and said they will sometimes correct a coach on a play call. More often than not, they correct each other.
“I’ve got one senior on the line who will correct somebody on what they’re doing wrong before I can,” Krahn laughed. “He even uses the same terminology I use. It just makes you smile. You know you’re doing it right when they correct each other.”
According to this year’s coachs’ poll, the Vikings are picked to place first in the Western C Conference. Arlee High School, their biggest rival and toughest test to date, is less than a week away.
The two schools are only a half-hour apart, so players and coaches know each other well. This week’s game will decide bragging rights for the next 12 months.
“Charlo has a great tradition for football,” Krahn said. “I grew up in this valley and went to school in Ronan, but when I was in high school (Charlo) had the Montana state record for wins. These kids grow up dreaming of playing for the Vikings.”
