Locals part of team enshrined in Montana-Western Hall of Fame

DILLON — Lake County men Jay Krantz and Jim Petersen were inducted into the University of Montana-Western Athletic Hall of Fame along with the rest of the 1977 UMW football team last month at the university’s homecoming.

Krantz, who teaches and coaches girls basketball at Polson High School, played linebacker for the Bulldogs. Petersen, a teacher and coach at Charlo High, was a wingback on the team, which won the Frontier Conference in what was both of their junior seasons.

“The first two years that I was down there, I’d come off of winning a state title at Ronan.,” Krantz said. “We were just kind of so-so down there. For whatever reason, I guess it was maturity, we really put it together that year.”

Petersen recalled how close the team was.

“It’s awesome because they’re always family,” he said. “When you’re playing football with those guys, you form great bonds.”

Not much had changed at the team’s reunion, Petersen added—the connections were just as real, coach George Nelson sported the same crew-cut—except that “there were a lot of bald-headed fat guys out there.”

“It was great to catch up,” Krantz said, “I can hardly remember the [homecoming] game. We were talking so much.”