Antelope Pronghorns: Unknown Because of Proximity

The Antelope Pronghorns; Unknown Because Of Proximity

“Everything burned in 1978. Uniforms, musical instruments, grades. And some weren’t going to Plentywood to save their souls.” — a former Antelope student.

When they entered the cracker box gymnasiums in 1975, they were like a dozen ducks in a row, following their coach. Unpretentious, they were a team, traveling through time together. They were unknown then. Obscure now. If only others knew of them, these Pronghorns.

Punked

All season Antelope took a door in the face. The Pronghorns beat every team — except Westby. And still their hands were slapped, punked like nobodies. Not once were the purple and gold ranked in the 1974-75 Class C Power Poll. Montana media placed their thumbs on the scales of the centerpiece of Antelope culture: boys’ basketball.

Before tournament time, Antelope was 15-4 — with all losses to Westby. Some thought the Pronghorns would struggle to make it to state in Helena. First, was the menacing District 1C, which no team had an iron grip on. If successful, it would be the hornet’s nest of the Eastern C Divisional.

Sons of Farmers

In the fall of 1974, Antelope High School informed the Montana High School Association that 44 students walked the halls of their wooden building. On March 12, 1975 — one day before the state tournament — The Billings Gazette reported 35. Most were descendants of Germans and Scandinavians who came to Sheridan County as homesteaders. They replaced the cowboys, drifters and outlaws of the Big Muddy Creek drainage a generation before.

And before them? The Assiniboine, Chippewa-Cree, Metis and Sioux roamed. Their ancestors populated Wolf Point, Poplar, Frazer and Brockton — just to the southwest of Antelope on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Today, these towns claim over 25 boys and girls state titles in multiple sports — with basketball in the lead.

Currently, Sheridan County has 3,500 residents. During the homesteading period of the early 20th century, it counted 14,000. The newcomers snatched land so fertile that some sections supported three families. Towns sprouted — including tiny Antelope, eight miles south of Plentywood, the county seat. Besides Plentywood, Antelope and Westby, other communities included Medicine Lake, Outlook, Comertown, Coalridge, Redstone, Reserve, Dagmar, and Dooley. These grain-bearing hamlets were once thriving outposts on the far reaches of railroad spurs. Even to those in citified Plentywood, some might as well have been Saturn.

Because of the boom, the county shed a new entity to the west: Daniels County. It housed Scobey, Peerless, Flaxville and Whitetail. More railroad miles for grain shipments were needed in these secluded garrisons, as well.

With an insatiable appetite for industriousness, the communities budded, then bloomed. In between tilling virgin grasslands and consuming buckets of lefse, they adopted two sports to escape the tedium of the windy plains: They played community baseball in the summer. And if lightning cracked the sky? They fled to nearby barns and granaries to toss balls into apple baskets. Eventually basketball became the winter pastime — especially in their new high schools.

Nobody Was Glued to the Floor The 1974-75 Antelope roster was the best in history. The gritty Pronghorns also shined in track and field. In essence, they were athletic. “We could all move,” remembered 1975 senior Keith Ueland. “Nobody was glued to the floor.”

Pronghorn coach Terry Bakken didn’t run the team as if it were a game of dice. Nor did he bark about unreachable goals. Instead, he identified abilities and then calculated. Next, he coached brilliantly.

Antelope played man-to man defense. Sometimes they launched a full-court zone press. It made a mess of the enemy in the crawl spaces faking as gymnasiums on the snowy landscape of the 1C. Additionally, Bakken governed a lockstep rapid fire offense that grooved around pick and rolls, sharp backdoors, and constant movement — with, or without the ball. Even in cubbyhole gyms, “Teams became tired of chasing us,” recalled Ueland.

The premier Pronghorn was the unassuming, mophaired Harvey Lee. The 6-2 senior was a state high hurdle champion. “He was unselfish,” remembered Ueland. Lee led Antelope in scoring (16) and rebounding (12) average.

Keith Ueland was a 6-0 senior, with albatross-length arms. Defensively, Ueland was assigned “to the best guy on the other team.” He was the defending district champ in the 880 and mile and averaged 14 points and 10 boards.

Dennis Guenther was a 6-1 senior, district triple jump champion, and deadeye shooter. The defensive terror played with a substantial wingspan. He also averaged 14 points, while seizing nine rebounds per game.

Vic Johansen, a 5-10 senior with gigantic sideburns, was a district pole vault and sprint champion and “the quickest” of any Pronghorn. He was a defensive bully — bolting and darting across the toy-sized prairie gyms. Three sport all-stater, Steve Baldwin from 2C Culbertson, considered Johansen the best Antelope player. When needed, he could score. But Johansen embraced the role Bakken demanded — rifling the ball to open Pronghorns Jumping center was a lanky 6-3 senior, Jim Hovet. Another thinclad, Hovet qualified for the state in three divergent events: the shot put, high jump and relays. Hovet’s disparate ability was indicative of Pronghorn flexibility and intelligence. Physically, Hovet was the strongest, and a trustworthy defender who kept titans off the glass.

Junior Dan Danielson was “the perfect sixth man,” recalled Ueland. “He could start on any team.” The 5-11 Danielson was another sniper who also sparkled on both district champion relays.

Harold Ming, a 5-11 sophomore quarter miler, was a competent seventh man. Behind him were a herd of athletic Pronghorns. They practiced relentlessly in case they would receive the coveted tap on the shoulder from coach Bakken.

1C Hazards

When the opening bombardments of the 1974-75 season exploded, the sinewy 1C had already earned Montana cache. The prairies were hardwired for basketball. Many coaches were now prodigies. The schools might not be the largest, but they were dangerous.

In the Sixties and early Seventies, Medicine Lake, Westby, Outlook, Lustre Christian, and Opheim had earned a seat at the 1C table. But now the tiniest — Antelope, Peerless, and Flaxville — were beginning to strut. By the late sixties, Medicine Lake had been sentenced to the minefield of Class B for a few years (and play for the state title twice). Opheim would be condemned to the frying pan of the salty 3C (Frazer, Saco, Hinsdale, Whitewater, Turner, Dodson, St. Paul’s Mission) — and continue their competitive ways.

For 1974-75, the 1C favorite was Westby, a town that straddled North Dakota, and so near Canada, locals could trek a few miles north across an unprotected border of rolling grasslands. They were led by 6-5 Allan Jens Nielsen. According to most “up there” — along with Robin Selvig — they were the best boys to come out of the 1C. Both would play for the Montana Grizzlies. Westby was also armed with MHSA hall of fame coach Dick Norden and a half dozen skillful athletes.

The media deserves a partial pass for ignoring Antelope. For decades, they were a doormat, near the conference basement. They rarely moved on to the callous eastern divisional. And if they did? The community packed up to either Glasgow, Wolf Point, or Sidney for a “big town experience of shopping and dining.”

But for 1974-75, Antelope came like thunderbolts into unfriendly gyms. The conference was as competitive as ever — even without Medicine Lake and Opheim.

Eastern Cross Currents

In the initial volleys of the District IC tournament in Plentywood, inconspicuous Peerless refused to genuflect to Westby’s 20-game winning streak. They stunned the Rangers, 64-62.

But Westby roared back and grabbed the consolation crown. Fortunately for the Rangers, it was the 1C’s turn for three spots in the Eastern Divisional tournament. Meanwhile, Antelope slipped by Outlook and Peerless to claim the 1C title. Antelope, Peerless and Westby would travel to Sidney for the divisional tournament.

Antelope backhanded Lambert 88-44 in the first round and the Rangers clocked the 3C champs, Opheim Vikings, 72-44. In the semis, Westby won their fifth game over the Pronghorns 75-63. Neilsen scored 49, seized 17 boards, and rejected five Pronghorn shots. The Rangers then thrashed the defending divisional champs, the Frazer Bearcubs, 74-54.

Meanwhile, Antelope won three in a row to escape the east’s firetrap. They defeated Peerless 82-60, Opheim 6737, and then stunned coach Albert Murdock’s Bearcubs, 70-65 on Monday.

With Neck Snapping Quickness In Helena, the sounds of distant media drums were at high pitch for third ranked Westby (25-1, enrollment 90), southern champ Hysham (fourth ranked, 24-2, enrollment 102), northern titleholders St. Leo’s of Lewistown (second ranked, 25-1, enrollment 72), and number one ranked and western winners Manhattan Christian (23-2, enrollment 106). The press also curtsied to number five Absarokee (24-3, enrollment 120), number seven Box Elder (23-4, enrollment 113), and ninth ranked Victor (15-9, enrollment 113). Antelope had the stigma of being unknown, or at best, a blue-light K-mart special. They were 21-5 and as usual — unranked. And as Steve Baldwin of Culbertson commented, “They were unknown because of proximity to so many winning schools.”

For the opener with Hysham, the Pronghorn faithful walked into the Carroll Gym with purple Antelope Grain caps – representing the only elevator in town. They covered “Grain” with “Pronghorns” — using white cardstock and purple ink stapled neatly to their headgear. “We wore them proudly,” remembered freshman Joel Peterson who was sitting near his twin brother, Jerald.

As the opening salvos launched on the court — there was a sudden rhubarb near the Peterson twins. Apparently, a non-Pronghorn fan was too thunderous for the full-throttled Antelope fold. He was sitting in the wrong section. Unexpectedly, hands were thrown, eyeglasses shattered, purple caps dislodged, and blood sprayed. Law enforcement appeared, and the fireworks vaporized — a gloomy foreshadowing for the tall Hysham Pirates.

It wasn’t dark yet for mighty Hysham, but it was sunset on their title aspirations. With neck snapping quickness, the Pronghorns outpaced their foe in the last minutes, 79-69. Antelope’s speed was too much, as four Pirates fouled out. Meanwhile, their eastern brothers dismantled Victor, 56-33, with Westby’s Nielsen scoring 24, snatching 21 boards, and rebuffing eight shots.

That night, as fans greased their throats in the Capital City taverns, they predicted that “the vaunted Manhattan Christian press,” would strongarm Antelope in Friday night’s semis. Sinking drinks, and placing wagers, they forecasted Westby and Christian for the title.

They were right about Westby, as Nielsen dropped 47 in stopping St. Leo’s, 7258. Antelope then stunned number one Christian, 68-65. As the last ticks of the clock evaporated, “The Power’s in the East!” chant shook the packed gym. “Antelope to meet neighbor,” was the next morning’s headline in The Great Falls Tribune.

And now two teams were left — 30 miles apart — from the same small district, northeast by northeast by northeast. When the whistle blew, the Pronghorns were ready. There were five ties in the first half, with Westby leading 27-26. In the third quarter, the crowd roared when the mutton-chopped Johansen scored a field goal and then Dennis Guenther sank two free throws. The Pronghorns were suddenly up by three.

“... [But] the rest of the night belonged to the Rangers,” reported Helena’s Independent- Record. With Nielsen in foul trouble, David Shields (20 points) Monte Solberg, and Kevin Bervik stepped up. The Rangers outpaced the Pronghorns, eventually winning for the sixth time, 65-45. Nielsen ended with 26 points and the tournament MVP.

Meanwhile in Butte, Poplar repeated as Class A champion. Medicine Lake had won the B title a week earlier in Billings. In 1976 Plentywood secured the Class A title, with Poplar third, and Flaxville winning in Class C. In 1978, Plentywood (whose best player was all-state Craig Guenther from Antelope), won the B, and Outlook topped the C ranks. And 1979 finalized the blizzard of northeast Seventies domination: Scobey defeated Plentywood for the B title, and Flaxville bettered Peerless in Class C.

Echoes of Antelope

Today, former Class A Plentywood and Class B Scobey have tumbled to C. Medicine Lake co-ops with Froid. Antelope, Peerless, Outlook, and Flaxville schools have evaporated. Westby co-ops with Grenora, N.D.

In June 1979, an ad appeared in a local paper. Antelope school district was requesting bids for, “cleanup of the burned school site.” Indeed, in the fall of 1978, Antelope school, grades one through 12, burned to the ground. Plentywood graciously allowed Antelope to use their facilities and finish as Antelope school, and more importantly, Antelope High, with 1979 sporting the last graduating class.

Because of the fire, the inconspicuous community never had a chance to properly bookend their history. In the fall of 1979, the students had the choice of attending either Plentywood, Westby, or Medicine Lake. And even though Plentywood was the closest, some, “weren’t going to the [big school] to save their souls,” remembered one Antelope alumni. As the students hopped in vehicles for one of the three locations, it signaled the end.

Today, farmers Keith Ueland and Kenny Nielson remember bucolic 1970s Antelope. They recall driving to school from their farms. They might pluck a couple of pheasants before the opening bell, leaving their shotguns in their unlocked cars and trucks. Given any chance throughout the day, they would sneak into the gym, and shoot a basket, or two.

Those days are gone. When the school burned, they knew there would be no second act. Kenny Nielson was on the 1977 team that won the Eastern C Divisional and was a state favorite. But their top gun, Craig Guenther, contracted measles. The Pronghorns were out in two games. And then Guenther transferred to Plentywood and led them to the B title in 1978.

And then came the fire. Today, the community cherishes the memories of the 1975 team, a year that brought the town out of obscurity.

With clasped arms, they traveled through time together. Gone is their rapid-fire offense.

And departed are the Pronghorn devoted styling in their altered Antelope Grain caps.