FOOTBALL: Bigfork's Austin Pacheco headed to Montana Tech

Bigfork's Austin Pacheco leads a pack of a dozen local college football commitments revealed on Wednesday.

Pacheco, a member of District 7B champion Vikings, is headed to Montana Tech. An offensive and defensive lineman, Pacheco was an all-state and first team all-conference pick as a senior.

Whitefish’s Jed Nagler (Montana) and Troy’s Sean Opland (Montana State) were the only two local athletes to sign NCAA Division I National Letters of Intent.

The top two offensive weapons from Glacier’s explosive offense will be moving on to the college level, with quarterback Leif Ericksen committed to Division III Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, and record-breaking running back Thomas Trefney headed to Carroll College. Offensive and defensive lineman Roger Guillory, who helped pave the way for Trefney, will play at Montana State University-Northern.

Ericksen earned second team all-state honors in his only season as the Wolfpack’s starting quarterback. As a senior, he threw for a state-best 2,727 yards and 18 touchdowns, and guided Glacier to the semifinals of the Class AA playoffs.

Trefney was named the Western AA Player of the Year in 2015, running for a state-best 1,656 yards and scoring 23 touchdowns. He set Montana’s all-class record for rushing touchdowns in a career, reaching the end zone 52 times in just two varsity seasons.

Flathead is sending a pair of linemen to the college level. Disruptive defensive lineman Cody Howe will play at Montana Tech after earning second team all-state honors as a senior. Offensive lineman Duntrael Moss is committed to play at MSU-Northern next year.

In Class A, Whitefish’s Brian FauntLeRoy is headed to Carroll following a senior season in which he was named all-conference at safety, wide receiver and returner. His teammate, offensive and defensive lineman Steven Quimby, will play junior college football at North Dakota State College of Science.

Columbia Falls’ Sean Hoerner, a wide receiver and safety, has committed to continue his career at Montana Western.

Gerald Branscome, a second team all-conference offensive lineman from Eureka, has also signed. He is committed to MSU-Northern, becoming the first Lions player to commit to play college football since 2013.

2016 College Commitments

Class AA

Leif Ericksen, Glacier (Whitworth)

Thomas Trefney, Glacier (Carroll)

Roger Guillory, Glacier (MSU-Northern)

Cody Howe, Flathead (Montana Tech)

Duntrael Moss, Flathead (MSU-Northern)

Class A

Jed Nagler, Whitefish (Montana)

Brian FauntLeRoy, Whitefish (Carroll)

Steven Quimby, Whitefish (North Dakota State College of Science)

Sean Hoerner, Columbia Falls (Montana Western)

Class B

Austin Pacheco, Bigfork (Montana Tech)

Sean Opland, Troy (Montana State)

Gerald Branscome, Eureka (MSU-Northern)