Vikes start season strong with new head coach Hunter Johnson

Bigfork Football is starting a new season with a new coach and looking good at 2-0. 

Head coach Hunter Johnson took over this season following Jim Benn, who coached the Vikings four seasons. 

Johnson is a Montana native, growing up in Dillon. “Dillon has a very big football culture, so I played high school football there,” Johnson said.  

He went on to coach the Beavers for three years, then coached in Whitehall for another three. Last year Johnson came to Bigfork as the team’s defensive back coach, working as a P.E. teacher for the school.  

“Football, I think, teaches kids a lot more than how to play football. It teaches you how to work hard, how to work together as a team, and I like seeing kids develop those traits through football when coaching,” Johnson said.  

The Vikings have an “old-young” team this season, with only three returning starters and a heavy helping of juniors. Senior lineman Henry Carlson and senior running and defensive back Sam Plummer have stepped up as team leaders. Johnson described the team as very coachable and hardworking.  

“Football’s not an easy thing and these kids have risen to the occasion, they’re great kids, they work their butts off, and they’ve gotten way better from two-a-days to now and we’re just getting started,” he said.  

With the team gaining experience, especially the large junior class, Johnson is excited to see how they will grow. A key factor in their success as they continue the season will be their ability to bounce back and recover from the tough games.  

“The school’s had success in football, so it’s been easy for me to keep on trying to get them to understand what it takes to have a winning culture,” Johnson said. 

The teams to compete with this season will be Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Hamilton and Frenchtown, Johnson predicted. The Vikes take on Hamilton at home Friday at 7 p.m. 

“This will be a good game coming up for us to see where we’re actually at in Class A,” Johnson said.