GREAT FALLS — The No. 40 jersey is the highest honor that a player can receive being part of the Great Falls High football program.
It's bestowed in honor of Derek Dowson, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 16 in 2005.
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Dowson's legacy carries on each year, and for the tenth time the No. 40 jersey has been passed down to an incoming senior. With it being the 10th anniversary, the Dowson family is putting together a documentary commemorating the history of the jersey.
"It just kind of blows my mind, these young men are ... they're just amazing young men," Dowson's mother Angie said Monday about the previous jersey recipients. "Kudos to their parents, they've done a great job with them. It was very interesting to listen to the different perspectives that they've had on everything."
"To hear how they're kind of living that legacy and creating their own legacies was really just incredible to hear," Dowson's sister Nicole Marchion said. "An amazing group of kids, and it just really gives you hope for the future and Derek's legacy living on through the cool things that they're doing."
The documentary is being produced alongside Redleg Studios out of Billings.
"Originally it was an idea of just an article that every year was updated with the new No. 40 recipients, so that there was kind of a year-over-year record," Marchion said. "It's really through conversations and sharing the idea around the 20th year of his passing and then the 10th year of the legacy jersey that's really, totally turned in to this kind of documentary that's become a real thing that we're actually filming this week."
"They thought it would be a good story," Angie Dowson said. "It's just been probably two, three weeks now, and it kind of just snowballed in to this story."
Every past recipient of the jersey will be interviewed by the Dowson family whether in-person or virtually. One of them is Jordan Komac, who said he still tries to carry on Dowson's legacy in his everyday life.
"Staying true to who you are. I'm done competing in sports but I still go to work every day," Komac said. "Still go to work every day early, leave late. I work hard every single day. I treat others right around me. I try to be a leader as much as possible. I try to be the best son I can be. I try to be the best brother I can be. I try to be the best teacher, coach that I can possibly be."
For this upcoming season, senior Colter DeVoss will don the No. 40 jersey for the Bison.
"It feels good to know that my teammates will look up to me and I'll do my best to be the best player I can be," DeVoss said.
Marchion said the family's goal is simple, yet meaningful.
"To help his legacy live on even longer, hopefully longer than all of us," Marchion said. "Really tell this story and hopefully inspire kids to want to be the best versions of themselves like he really brought out in people. And you know, if it inspires and changes one kids life by hearing this story, I think that's what we're looking to do."
The Dowson family and Redleg Studios said they aim to premiere the documentary to be released sometime during football season. It will be titled "I am Number 40."
