Even Odds: Grace under pressure

By Pat Ryan - 09/24/2008

Last week we extolled the virtues of an occupation without excessive pressure, and described a few jobs where people are under the gun.

On the football field, you could argue that the most pressure rests on the shoulders (or maybe the foot) of the field goal kicker, but if you ask me, the quarterback has the most on his mind.

Take Montana Western backup Micah Mamiya, a 5-foot-8, 165-pound true freshman from Hawaii. The Bulldogs were down 3-0 when the diminutive signal caller stepped in and was intercepted on his second throw of the game.

Mamiya overcame a rocky beginning to lead the Bulldogs from a 17-0 deficit to their first win of the season. He directed an 80-yard scoring drive over the last 40 seconds, capped by a 5-yard strike to Colton Woods.

Mamiya is small in stature, but he looked fearless in taking hits from the Eastern Oregon defense.

"I'm sore all over," he said after the game. "I just want to go back to the dorm and get a shower." Laundry central Western overcame more than just the Mountaineers from Eastern Oregon on Saturday, as the Bulldogs were whistled nine times for 103 yards in penalties.

The previous week against Montana Tech in Butte, Western had 16 penalties for 158 yards.

Another set of Bulldogs, this one from Butte High, has played a relatively disciplined season thus far. The 'Dogs have been the least penalized Class AA team to this point, though they'd probably trade that distinction for a win.

They'll get another shot Friday in Helena, as Butte takes on the Bengals. That could be a tall order as Tony Arntson and his team will likely still be stinging from the 34-14 defeat at the hands of crosstown rival Helena Capital last Saturday.

Butte roots One of Arntson's former players, Mike Ferriter, is a receiver at the University of Montana who is having another outstanding season. He received honorable mention as a junior when he had team-highs of 49 receptions and 733 yards, averaging 15.0 yards a game.

So far this year, he's averaging 20 yards per catch and has three touchdown receptions.

Though Ferriter is from Helena, his father Mike is from Butte and he still has family ties in the Mining City.

A guy would have to write a book to document all the sports talent with Butte roots.

back in black Watching a track meet last spring, I was sitting in the stands at Bulldog Memorial, shooting the bull with retired judge Mark Sullivan. He's a regular at Butte High athletic events, keeping an eye on his grandkids.

We were watching the girls' 200, and noticed that all of the runners were dressed in black, including the Butte High entrants.

The judge said he couldn't tell there were local kids in the race until they had almost finished.

Butte High has been leaning toward using black in its uniforms, particularly the volleyball and girls' track uniforms.

"Butte High's colors are purple and white," the judge noted. "Not black." Some people Someone at the front desk relayed a complaint upstairs to the sports department Tuesday morning. Seems a gal called to inform us that we had a headline wrong, as Indianapolis wasn't playing Monday night like we said they were.

The NFL shootout featured the New York Jets and the San Diego Chargers.

The caller went on to tell the receptionist that it's the "Colts," not the "Bolts." As the Big Boss says, some folks shouldn't be allowed to watch football.

— Pat Ryan's column appears here most Wednesdays. Contact him at 496-5570 or Pat.Ryan@mtstandard.com.