After trip behind woodshed, Libby football looks for silver lining

In the locker room, after a shutout loss in which they allowed 73 points and 480 yards, the Libby Loggers did what they always do: mention the positives they saw in their teammates’ play. One Logger, after the physical, merciless defeat, stood up and praised 175-pound defensive end Bryce Moeller. Then another Logger stood up and said the same thing. Then another.

Five years ago, when Montana State football Coach Rob Ash was recruiting his son, Joel, Libby Coach Neil Fuller noticed the coaching technique. The Bobcats ended every practice that way, young men standing up, praising their peers’ work. Like any good football coach, Fuller readily played copycat.

“In this day and age, one of the biggest challenges is getting kids to be good teammates,” Fuller said. “Having them stand up and speak helps kids get out of their self-centeredness and think about what goes on around them. It pulls them together.”

It would not be hard to blame the Loggers for giving up. No high school boy, brimming with a desire for coolness, manliness wants to lose by an over-par golf score. But when a team representing a town with a nascent youth tackle football program travels 100 miles with 22 dressed players to take on a team with 19 seniors, there is not much to be gained looking at the scoreboard.

“It’s with a heavy heart that you deal with these games,” Fuller said. “These kids get their butts kicked while working their fannies off. You have to maintain a positive outlook. It helps when the kids are giving each other pats on the back.”

Fuller said he knew Libby would reach a point where the numbers to compete simply were not there. As his team looks to enter Class B next year, Fuller sees potential. Formerly the only team in the Northern A conference without a youth football program, there are now 45 fifth- and sixth-graders in pads in Libby. The program began last year and the first class with elementary experience, now in seventh grade, includes 20 players. A generational change, in ways on and off the field, may be what Libby needs.

The hope is that revitalized participation will result in more players like senior lineman Michael Curtiss, Austin Marshall and Cooper Brown. Fuller praised the trio’s toughness. Libby’s big boys up front battled rotations of bigger, well-rested Wildcats all night while playing both ways.

The Loggers could use more players like Moeller, too. The junior’s aggressive, never-say-die attitude late in the game kept his teammates attention away from the scoreboard. Several times the undersized Moeller ran down Wildcat ballcarriers from behind.

Fuller added off-the-field issues that arose during homecoming week have settled. Despite earlier issues, he praised fullback David Winter for his development on and off the field this season.

The Loggers travel Friday to Whitefish for a 7 p.m. kickoff.