MISSOULA — Montana natives almost always leave their imprint on the Brawl of the Wild.
The annual rivalry football game between Montana and Montana State — being played for the 124th time Saturday — has featured thousands of Treasure Staters over the years. Who will shine brightest this week when the stakes are as high as they've ever been?
The winner of Saturday's game wins the Big Sky Conference championship and secures a likely top-two seed for the FCS playoffs — not to mention the Great Divide Trophy and bragging rights until the next meeting.
Montana State has the prolific Dowler twins — juniors Taco and Caden from Billings — among its contingent of 44 Montanans its bringing to Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Montana counters with 32 in-state products, led by the likes of TJ Rausch of Missoula and Drew Deck of Kalispell.
Rausch, a redshirt senior safety from Sentinel High School, had two interceptions in last week's win over Portland State and ranks fourth on UM with 48 total tackles this season. Deck, a redshirt senior receiver and returner from Glacier High School, has 21 catches for 329 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 236 yards on 18 punt returns.
Safety Caden Dowler leads MSU with 72 total tackles and three interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown last week. Receiver/returner Taco Dowler is the Bobcats' top pass-catching threat with 56 catches for 723 yards and five TDs this season. He's also returned 16 punts for 220 yards and another score.
The 76 Montanans in this year's Brawl of the Wild is a decrease from previous years. There were 96 Treasure State natives in the game last year and 92 in 2023.
The 2025 players come from 24 Montana communities, ranging in size from Melstone (population 126 in 2020) to Billings (117,116). Melstone has Montana State linebacker Bryce Grebe in the game, while Billings has nine guys: Bobcats Neil Daily, Malachi Claunch, Paul Brott, Braden Zimmer and the Dowler twins from Billings West and MSU's Vinnie Souza and Grizzlies Kade Boyd and Clay Oven of Billings Central.
Missoula has more players in the game than any other Montana community. The Garden City has 15 players spread across the two rosters — nine from Sentinel High and two each from Big Sky, Hellgate and Loyola Sacred Heart high schools. Sentinel's nine players in the game is the most of any school.
The Griz from Missoula are: Rausch, Ian Finch (Hellgate), Geno Leonard (Sentinel), Taylor Jones (Loyola), Talen Reynolds (Loyola), Grady Walker (Sentinel), Spencer Tripp (Big Sky), Ezra Meyer (Big Sky), Tate Templeton (Sentinel) and Danny Sirmon (Sentinel).
The Cats from Missoula are: Adam Jones (Sentinel), JJ Dolan (Sentinel), Zac Crews (Sentinel), Tommy Nilson (Hellgate) and Dylan Rollins (Sentinel).
Forty-nine players played Class AA football in high school, 11 played in Class A and 10 in Class B. Four guys — Grizzlies Kade Cutler (Drummond-Philipsburg) and Bridger Salvevold (Culbertson) and Bobcats George Helms (Lone Peak) and Hunter Sharbono (Fairview) — played 8-Man football.
Like Grebe at Custer-Hysham-Melstone, MSU's Mason Dethman played 6-Man football in high school. Dethman won state championships with Froid-Lake in 2020 and 2021.
Below is a list (alphabetically by last name) of the Montana natives on the Cats and Griz rosters for the 124th Brawl of the Wild, which kicks off at noon Saturday and will be broadcast statewide on the Montana Television Network's CBS affiliates.
Montana Grizzlies from Montana
Dillon Botner, OL, Whitefish
Kade Boyd, S, Billings Central
Austin Buehler, OL, Helena Capital
Chase Cook, RB, Red Lodge
Kade Cutler, S, Philipsburg (Flint Creek co-op)
Drew Deck, WR, Kalispell Glacier
Kellen Detrick, DE, Havre
Ian Finch, WR, Missoula Hellgate
Kash Goicoechea, S, Kalispell Glacier
Cameron Gurnsey, WR, Butte High
Tanner Huff, S, Butte High
Torin Jeske, OL, Bozeman High
Taylor Jones, LB, Missoula Loyola
Isaac Keim, DL, Kalispell Glacier
Geno Leonard, LB, Missoula Sentinel
Ezra Meyer, OL, Missoula Big Sky
Jake Olson, TE, Butte High
Hayden Opitz, LB, Helena Capital
Clay Oven, LB, Billings Central
TJ Rausch, S, Missoula Sentinel
Talen Reynolds, RB, Missoula Loyola
Fynn Ridgeway, S, Whitefish
Tommy Running Rabbit, RB, Browning
Bridger Salvevold, LB, Culbertson
Cody Schweikert, Ath, Columbia Falls
Danny Sirmon, TE, Missoula Sentinel
Gage Sliter, QB, Kalispell Glacier
Bridger Smith, WR, Kalispell Glacier
Cy Stevenson, LB, Libby
Tate Templeton, OL, Missoula Sentinel
Spencer Tripp, DL, Missoula Big Sky
Grady Walker, LB, Missoula Sentinel
Montana State Bobcats from Montana
Paul Brott, DL, Billings West
Thomas Buchanan, TE, Red Lodge
Everett Carr, OL, Bozeman High
Tom Carter, WR, Helena Capital
Kee Christiansen, WR, Dillon
Malachi Claunch, RB, Billings West
Zac Crews, DE, Missoula Sentinel
Carter Curnow, TE, Dillon
Neil Daily, LB, Billings West (spent two years at Missoula Sentinel before moving to Billings)
Mason Dethman, DB, Brockton (Froid-Medicine Lake co-op)
JJ Dolan, DB, Missoula Sentinel
Caden Dowler, DB, Billings West
Taco Dowler, WR, Billings West
Blaine Downing, DE, Saco (Malta)
Patrick Duchien, QB, Florence
Kenneth Eiden IV, DE, Bozeman High
Kash Embry, WR, Bozeman High
Bryce Grebe, LB, Melstone (Custer-Hysham-Melstone co-op)
George Helms, RB, Big Sky (Lone Peak)
Adam Jones, RB, Missoula Sentinel
Ryan Krahe, LB, Great Falls High
Rocky Lencioni, TE, Bozeman High
Jonathan Luhmann, OL, Florence
Talon Marsh, DL, Helena Capital
Burke Mastel, OL, Red Lodge
Tommy Nilson, OL, Missoula Hellgate
Dalton Noble, OL, Clancy (Jefferson High)
Luke Oxarart, DB, Montana City (Jefferson High)
Jaren Perkins, DL, Bozeman High
Colter Petre, DB, Helena High
Dylan Rollins, OL, Missoula Sentinel
Rylan Schlepp, TE, Bozeman Gallatin
Hunter Sharbono, DL, Fairview
Luke Smith, TE, Bozeman High
Vinnie Souza, LB, Billings Central
Tommy Springman, TE, Bozeman Gallatin
Cole Taylor, LB, Great Falls CMR
Grant Vigen, QB, Bozeman Gallatin
Jake Vigen, DE, Bozeman Gallatin
Hudson Wiens, DL, Bozeman High
Ben Winters, OL, Kalispell Glacier
Vaughn Wirkus, OL, Helena Capital
Josh Woodberry, LB, Bozeman Gallatin
Braden Zimmer, OL, Billings West
