Opland earns post-season honors

Troy’s Sean Opland will be returning to the football field sooner than expected.

The standout running back and linebacker, who has accepted a full-ride scholarship to play football at Montana State University beginning this fall, has been selected as a running back for the West squad in the 70th annual Montana East-West Shrine game, which will be played July 16, 2016, in Butte. Opland was also recently named to the honorary Great Falls Tribune Super-State and the ALL-USA Montana teams.

“I’m honored to be able to participate in the Shrine game,” Opland said. “I’m pretty excited. We’re in basketball right now but I’m missing football a lot more than I thought I would.”

Opland, listed at six feet, 200 pounds, will play running back in the Shrine game. The multi-talented athlete was listed as a linebacker for the two honorary teams. During the season, Opland did quadruple duty for the Trojans, playing running back, linebacker, quarterback and safety at various times.

Opland averaged 177.4 yards per game this season, which ranks him sixth all time in the Montana record books, including AA, A and B class football. He ended his career with 4,044 rushing yards, third on the all-time list. Those yards resulted in 42 career rushing touchdowns, putting him on the eighth spot.

Opland also had 14 consecutive 100-yard games, a Montana high school record, and 20 career 100-yard games, which tied him for fourth on the all-time list.

On the defensive end, Opland racked up 83 solo tackles this season, 12 of them for a loss.

Brendan Miller, who has coached Opland since seventh grade, said talent is just a small part of the Sean Opland package.

“He has always had goals and he works hard to reach them,” Miller said. “He didn’t let the fact that he didn’t have to work hard to be the best around here stop him from working hard to be one of the best in the state. Going off pure talent, he could be a very good college player. Going off his work ethic, he could be a great college player. He will refuse to not be on the field and he will put in the work to get himself there.”

Opland’s father, Tor Opland, echoed Miller’s sentiment.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” he said. “That’s what’s going on. He works his butt off to get these honors. He works during the summer, plus the work he does during all of the sports seasons.”

Miller said Opland’s work ethic has had a tremendous impact on Troy’s football program, making the star athlete impossible to replace in his roster.

“He has made a great impact on the younger players on the team,” Miller said. “Many had seen him play, and thought he was going off of talent alone. But after going through a season with him, he has shown them how hard they need to work to be successful. I now have many wanting to get into the weight room and put in the extra time. His leaving creates a hole that cannot be filled, especially by one player. It is going to take improvements and execution from many players to cover the areas that he was able to cover. I hope that people see the hard work that he put in to get himself to this level. It wasn’t just talent.”

Miller said he knew Opland was going to be a special kind of player after the first play of his first game coaching him.

“First game I ever coached Sean was against Thompson Falls in junior high,” he said. “It was my first game as a football coach. On the opening kickoff, he returned it 70 yards for a touchdown. I thought to myself, ‘this kid sure makes me look good.’”

Opland said Miller’s coaching and support were important elements in his success on the field.

“It’s nice to have a coach who knows me and knows what I can do,” he said. “He’s a terrific guy. I can’t thank him enough for all he’s done for me.”

Opland’s father said he was proud not just of his son’s achievements on the gridiron, but also of his overall character and demeanor.

“We’re extremely proud of him,” the elder Opland said. “It’s a big deal to get a full-ride scholarship. That’s pretty special right there. The on-field accomplishments are great, but he’s also a good kid. He treats people with respect and he’s an all-around good kid. We like hearing about that even more than the football honors.”