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Warriors take nothing for granted en route to their second-consecutive title

by Jason Blasco
| March 29, 2018 1:57 PM

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ARLEE WARRIORS point guard Phillip Malatare shoots over a Scobey defender in the semifinal against Scobey at the Butte Civic. Malatate didn’t lose very many basketball during his illustrious high school career. (photo by Jason Blasco/Lake County Leader)

Arlee Warriors boy’s high school basketball coach Zanen Pitts has been in and around the business of basketball long enough to know never to take his success of capturing not one MHSA Class C title but two consecutive basketball titles too seriously.

Pitts prefers to stay humble knowing he and his team couldn’t achieve the pinnacle of the MHSA Class C Montana basketball world without the help of a long list of contributors too numerous to name.

Pitts’ assistant coaches Andrew Heavy Runner and Francis Brown are two coaches that Pitts said he couldn’t win without and is the real “three-headed monster” that has fueled the Warriors to two consecutive titles.

“You know the minute that you take any of this for granted, you aren’t going to make it,” Pitts said. “We (as a team) are already going over what we need to do in order to win next year and our kids are already putting in the time.”

For the last three consecutive seasons, the Warriors have played on the Class C Montana High School Association’s biggest stage and Pitt’s has credited the coaching staff for being able to get them there.

Pitts said he felt the key to the Warriors success is his staff’s ability to communicate with each other.

“That just goes back to having great coaches that sit there and talk about the issues and make the adjustments during games,” Pitts said. “Our staff has been in every battle that we can be and we go through every scenario. Our coaching staff is seasoned and they are able to get the next generation seasoned. We have to be there with them every step of the way because you can’t take two steps forward unless you are going to learn to minimize the mistakes and continue to work hard.”

Pitts and the coaching staff knew they had something special in their star player Phil Malatare, who was one of the key components of the last three consecutive MHSA championship appearances.

To quantify just how key of a piece Malatare was projected to be to the success of the Arlee Warriors future program, all you have to do is look at the bottom line stats for Malatare’s competitive edge and track record in high school. You soon realize these Warriors teams are Mission Valley history in the making.

When Malatare played, the Warriors had a combined four-year record of 99-6.

“The six games we lost, he fouled out,” Pitts said. “During his freshman year, he lost three games. During his sophomore year he lost two games, in his junior year, he lost one game and his senior year he lost zero.”

The Warriors know next year will be different because they will be losing two key components to their team many believe can play at the NAIA, NCAA Division-I, II or III level or the NJCAA. All-state caliber basketball players Phillip Malatare and Will Mesteth are both predicted by many to go on and play at the collegiate level.

Greg Whitesell, a teammate of Malatare’s and Mesteth’s for several seasons, admits he is biased but believes both of the players could continue on their careers at one of basketball’s biggest stages.

“It may be biased but I believe every single one of them can play at Division-I and (Phil, Will, Tyler) all have the skill-set to play anywhere,” Whitesell said. “I may be be biased but they are my friends and that is how I feel about it. I wish them nothing but the best moving forward because they are huge role models. I’ve taken pieces from each of their games and hope to add it to mine next year. We are best friends and brothers and I wish them nothing but the best in chasing their dreams, whatever that maybe.”

Whitesell remained adamant in his belief the two departing senior’s skill-sets would be an asset to any basketball team because they have something that can’t be quantified by any scout and that’s heart.

“Another thing we are able to witness is how much heart, time, dedication and true competitors they are and want to be,” Whitesell said. “They are able to lead the team. They want to be the best players in the world and have the work ethic too. Phil and Will are two of the best competitors I’ve ever played with and they just continue to make big adjustments. I believe they could make adjustments at the college level because they have a big heart. They are big enough competitors and you see how bad they want it there.”

Arlee knows it will not be able to replace Mesteth and Malatare when they graduate but they know they will continue to focus on the future of their program. After the team was involved in so many lopsided games, it gave them a chance to further cultivate their future.

“I think why we are very successful is that every year we have two to four kids coming off the bench that play minutes, get experience and continue to put in the time to become an impact player the following year,” Pitts said. “Our system is really special because it gives kids the opportunity to get depth and tries to get those more playing time to allow them to have experience and understand what they can become. Lane Johnson, Darshan Bolen, Chase, Billy, Cody, and Isaac all got a taste. Our roster will be a whole new thing next year.”

Playing with a purpose

All season, the Warriors have played for something greater than themselves. Arlee was playing for their community and their reservation, according to Will Mesteth, who talked about that after his team won the MHSA Class C state championship over Manhattan Christian for the second consecutive season.

Mesteth explained the significance of the victory in a post-game interview after the Warriors overhauled Manhattan Christian for a second consecutive time.

“This isn’t just for our community,” Mesteth adamantly stated. “This is for our reservation and Indian Country throughout the state of Montana. Winning this championship means everything to me. It will always be in my heart and there will always be a special place for this moment.”

The Arlee community suffered a significant amount of tragedy with a number of suicides and other tragedies that happened in their community.

For the rest of the community, basketball was an escape and the Warriors played for not only their community and their reservation, but the Warriors took it a step further. They reached out to the nation and the world with their video message about suicide awareness, produced by Jordan Lefler that went viral and generated over 1 million YouTube hits.

The suicide awareness video spread across the internet and is still continuing to grow in its message.

“Any time you play with a purpose or fight for any purpose, everything is different when it has meaning,” Pitts explained. “That is when you dig down deep to search and ask yourself ‘why are we doing this?’ and ‘why are we giving up all of of that time and sacrificing all of that fun time hanging out with our friends and our family?’ Working out and being on the road is when the meaning becomes different and deeper for every kid and their purpose was bigger than the game. They wanted to bring more happiness and glory to their community. That future trickles into the younger generation. Everyone has to get a taste of it and be willing to put in the time and effort. I ain’t stupid. We had to have some luck along the way. The ball bounced in our favor and we are super blessed to have this opportunity.”

Playing with a chip on their shoulder

Arlee Warriors’ guard Lane Schall will be the first to admit that he is a football player first.

However, Schall remembers during all three of the Warrior’s championship runs, each team has had one commonality: doubters.

“My freshman year, I was just a little fish and being a part of a team and kind of riding the wave,” Schall said. “You are happy and nervous. You just go with it and hope for the best.”

Schall remembers after his team lost in the championship game in 2016, he was told his team wouldn’t be back to the big stage. The Warriors proved their critics wrong by defeating Manhattan Christian 71-67 last year.

“When I was a freshman, everyone thought we wouldn’t make it back but then we won it,” Schall said. “They thought ‘that was just one class. Everyone was being so negative and saying ‘we weren’t going to do it again’ but it happened again. We were driven by the fact they kept saying we couldn’t do it again.”

Whitesell, who was a freshman when they lost their first MHSA Class C championship game, remembers what it felt like and how much it motivatedhim. It made his team want to win the next one.

“When we lost the first game, we weren’t as prepared as we could have been and we had a big chip on our shoulder,” Whitesell said. “Even when we won the championship, we felt we still had something to prove. Each and every day, we came into practice and worked hard on getting better. This championship ride has been one of the best rides of my life.”

Whitesell said he felt his team would be back after their first championship defeat in 2016.

“Right after we lost the championship, I felt like we would be back ready to win,” Whitesell said. “I had no doubt that we really wanted to win. Especially when we beat Manhattan Christian in that Divisional championship, I knew we had something.”

This year, the Warriors were playing on emotion, according to Schall.

“My sophomore year (in 2016-2017) was more emotional with all of the suicides in our community and the Flathead reservation,” Schall said. “After that, basketball was a lot more serious. I tried to learn from the coaches and the two seniors (Phil and Will). They bring to the table so much knowledge of the game. Phil’s knowledge of the game is unbelievable and learning to be a part of this team is pretty special.”

The Warriors, who remained undefeated throughout the entire season, wouldn’t be challenged until the MHSA Class C semifinal game against then undefeated Scobey.

Scobey started the game doing what the Warriors had done to so many of their opponents: speed them up.

“It was a fast-paced game and we needed fast players,” Schall said. “That is why Isaac Fisher, who understood what was going on, had to be pulled. Then, we got Darshan out there and he is one of the fastest guys on our team. We needed to bring some intensity because they were scoring on their transition very well and we needed some speed on the court. In the game, they wanted to run the ball with us. We are a Native team and Native teams are known for running the ball in our favor. They are a tough team and they have a lot of shooters that had to get out.

During the game, Schall said his team was told by Pitts “never to look at the clock.”

“He kept telling us you are 12 quarters away from a state championship,” Schall said. “Everyone knew we were the better team at state. However, we had to overcome the flu. Even during state, everyone was getting sick, throwing up during halftime and looking all pale.”

Even in the championship game, Schall said he felt his team wasn’t going to lose even though they knew they had a tough match up against all-stater Caleb Belch.

“It didn’t matter that we beat Manhattan Christian,” Schall said. “We knew that if you don’t come prepared and ready for the game, that we would lose.”

Whitesell said his team played with a significant amount of heart.

“We are just playing with more heart,” Whitesell said. “Height can get you a lot but with heart, you can get a lot more. We played with a big heart and if you are 6 foot, 7 inches tall, not to discount Manhattan Christian at all, but we weren’t going to let height take a championship from us.”