Montana
Zimmer: Playoffs bring out best in Gronowski as Jacks roll past Montana
BROOKINGS — You could say Mark Gronowski hasn’t quite been the same quarterback this year he was in leading South Dakota State to back-to-back FCS national championships in 2022 and 2023.
Plenty of people have.
And the statistics are down a tad this year.
But in Saturday’s playoff opener for the Jackrabbits in the second round against Montana, the reigning Walter Payton Award winner delivered a performance that should silence and maybe even embarrass anyone who’s been down on the senior signal-caller.
In leading SDSU to a 35-18 win over the Grizzlies that wasn’t nearly that close (it was 35-3 when Gronowski was given the rest of the day off), ‘Captain 11’ completed eight of his first nine throws, two for touchdowns, and finished 12-of-16 for 151 yards and four total touchdowns as the Jacks advanced to the quarterfinal round, where they’ll host Incarnate Word. He even caught a 21-yard pass from H-back Kevin Brenner that should’ve been ruled a touchdown (he was ruled down at the 1-yard line).
Maybe those numbers don’t jump off the page, but in person Gronowski couldn’t have been much more impressive. His passes were on time, on target and had the kind of heat on them that close observers have noticed Gronowski putting on his best throws since the summer.
“Everything was clicking,” Gronowski said. “I was seeing things well and the O-line was giving me time back there, so I was able to make those reads and Griffin was making the plays.”
That would be Griffin Wilde, the second-year wideout who spent last year behind the Janke twins and this year was thrust into the role of No. 1 on the depth chart and on opposing secondary’s scouting reports. The former Sioux Falls Jefferson standout had six catches for over 100 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone, finishing the day with seven receptions for 114 yards. For the season he now has 63 catches for 1,014 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Marcus Traxler / Mitchell Republic
But Wilde wasn’t the only face in a new role this year. New starters on the O-line, a new offensive coordinator, no Isaiah Davis or Zach Heins — the continuity of the previous years wasn’t there back in September, so was it really that surprising that Gronowski and the offense (particularly the passing game) had some hiccups along the way?
There was a 24-3 win over Augustana in which he threw for just 141 yards on 27 attempts with two picks, and a week later he was 7-of-17 for 65 yards and an interception (though they won that game 41-0). Four games into the season, Gronowski had thrown five interceptions, equaling his total for all of 2023.
He’s thrown just one in the nine games since.
“It just takes time to work with a different set of people and that’s what he’s done,” said coach Jimmy Rogers. “He was really sharp today and made a ton of huge plays and threw the ball really accurately. Our O-line gave him time to throw and those wide receivers came down with the ball. I’m excited about how he’s progressed with the group of players he’s been working with.”
Marcus Traxler / Mitchell Republic
That goes for Wilde and running backs Amar Johnson and Angel Johnson, all three of whom had some mini-slumps midseason but are firing on all cylinders now.
If the Jacks didn’t look much like the team that went 15-0 last year without being seriously tested, they’re starting to now.
“That team last year was just better than everyone else,” said Montana coach Bobby Hauck. “But (this team) is finding ways to win. They’re finding yards.”
Hauck didn’t sound too disappointed in how his defense played. They played hard. They were in position. They just had trouble containing SDSU’s elite athletes, and slowing down a quarterback who once again looks like one of the best players in the nation.
“He’s a good quarterback,” said Grizzlies defensive back Trevin Gradney. “He spins it well, he can run. We just didn’t do a good enough job in the back end. He’s good.”
Marcus Traxler / Mitchell Republic
He’s good and now the games mean more than ever. It isn’t just the playoffs where it’s win or go home, for Gronowski and the other seniors, it’s win or be done as a Jackrabbit. Unless NDSU gets upset in next week’s quarterfinals, the upcoming game against Incarnate Word will be the final game at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, and if you don’t think those kind of stakes are going to bring out the best in the winningest quarterback in South Dakota State history, you don’t know Mark Gronowski.
“It’s kind of like a new season when you get to the playoffs,” Gronowski said. “It’s win or go home at this point. For us seniors it could be our last game if we don’t play well. We’ll come out next week with a little more extra juice.”
Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.
BOZEMAN — Aaron Flint and Al Olszewski, Republican candidates for Montana’s Western District U.S. House race, squared off Tuesday in their party’s only scheduled debate before the party primary.
The two debated for about 90 minutes at Bozeman’s Calvary Chapel before an audience of about 120 people. Bozeman anchors Gallatin County, which is second in Republican votes only to Flathead County within the 18-county district.
Natural resource jobs, affordable housing and U.S. military attacks on Iran dominated the discussion. Each question drew 12 minutes of response. Both men called for an end to stock trading by members of Congress, and for federal budgets to be passed on time through regular procedures.
The Montana GOP sponsored the debate. Candidate Christi Jacobsen, Montana’s secretary of state, was unable to attend, according to state Republican Party Chair Art Wittich. State Senate President Matt Regier moderated.
Among the highlights: Flint mentioned no fewer than eight times that he is endorsed by President Donald Trump. Olszewski mentioned Trump by name only a couple of times.
Never too far from Flint’s talking points were “far-left socialists,” whom he credited for “gerrymandering” the Western House District (which has delivered comfortable wins for Republicans since first appearing on the ballot in 2022). The 2026 election cycle was the target of Democrats on the state’s districting commission, Flint said. (Both Democrats on the commission that drew the district in 2021 voted against its current configuration.)
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The near faux pas of the night came during Olszewski’s discussion of good-paying jobs in trades and natural resources: “Trades jobs, natural resource jobs, you know, high-dollar, white-collar jobs, our remote workers who have moved into Montana, and we’ve adapted an economy around them. You know, these are the people, and those are the jobs that will bring our kids home, those high-paying white-collar jobs, or a good natural resource job in western Montana, in one of those mines, or, you know, you know, a sawyer or a hooker” — big pause — “as in timber, not the other way around.”
The line that didn’t land: Flint tried and failed to get audience applause for the 2024 defeat of Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester by Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy — an unseating Flint campaigned for.
“How many of you out there are so glad that we finally got rid of the flip-flop, flat-top liberal senator, Jon Tester? How many of you are so glad we finally did that?”
After a silence, Flint explained to people watching the debate on Facebook that the audience was just being polite.
“They’re waving because we can’t have disruptions. See, they’re good rule followers here in the Republican Party,” Flint said.
Asked how to alleviate Montana’s housing affordability crisis:
Olszewski: “The only way you can afford an expensive house is you’ve got to have a job that pays good money. Tourist jobs provide rent and roommates. Trades jobs, natural resource jobs, high‑dollar white‑collar jobs … those are the jobs that will bring our kids home.” Dr. Al, as Olszewski is widely known, said Wall Street investment buyers are distorting housing prices and the federal government has weakened the dollar.
Flint: “Thirty percent of the cost of a home is all due to red tape and regulations … It costs $100,000 to build a home before you even put a hole in the ground.”
Flint said reviving Montana’s timber industry would lower home values and added, “I support President Trump’s ban on these big Wall Street firms buying single-family homes. I think that’s something that we’ve got to get across the finish line.”
“We can deliver when it comes to making the Montana dream affordable again by delivering affordable housing. But another piece is promoting trades and trades education to build up our workforce.”
Asked how Congress should respond to the Iran conflict:
Olszewski: “I supported our president with what happened in Venezuela. There’s a $25 million bounty on basically someone that was killing our people through drugs, right? I’m not so happy with what’s going on in the Iran war. I’m not a warrior. I’m a physician from the military that fixed military people … What my perspective is, is that countries can win wars, but people do not. They don’t come back.” Olszewski said Congress will have to decide whether to authorize further use of military force and set terms in about 10 days.
Flint: “Let me just say this. We are sick and tired of these forever wars, and we do not want to see a long-term boots-on-the-ground Iraq-style nation-building exercise, and I think President Trump shares that mission as well. Let me also say this about Iran. First off, [former Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro is behind bars. [Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei is dead, but the far-left socialists are on the march in Montana.”
Asked about reforming Congress:
Olszewski: “What our congressmen and congresswomen have to understand is that if you’re in the House, the House belongs to the people, and they need to, first and foremost, represent you, not themselves, not special interests. It’s not about sound-bites. It’s about actually getting work done and governing.” Olszewski said the House needs to pass a budget based on 12 agency appropriations bills before the end of each federal fiscal year, a process known as “regular order.”
Flint: “We need to return to regular order and get single-subject bills and get these appropriations bills done one by one. If they can’t get a budget done, they shouldn’t get paid. And we need a ban on congressional stock trading. Because I think part of the reason why the American people are so frustrated with Congress right now is because … they believe that Congress is so useless, because we’ve got some of these politicians back there that are getting rich off the backs of taxpayers.”
Neither candidate offered a plan for cutting taxes, once a staple of Republican platforms. Both supported reductions in federal spending without identifying particular cuts.
Voting in Montana’s 2026 primary election begins May 4 and ends June 2.
POLSON, Mont. — Two motorcyclists crashed on Highway 35 near Polson after failing to negotiate a left-hand curve, leaving one man dead and another hospitalized, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.
Two motorcycles were traveling southbound on Highway 35 when both drifted into a guardrail. Both drivers were separated from their motorcycles and ended up on the other side of the guardrail.
A 58-year-old Polson man was confirmed dead at the scene. The second driver, a 45-year-old man, also from Polson, was taken to the hospital with injuries.
Alcohol is a suspected factor in the crash, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.
The crash is under investigation.
KALISPELL — A Flathead County man is turning a personal rock bottom into a lifeline for his community by starting a free, late-night ride service to keep drunk drivers off the roads.
Adam Bruzza started Big Sky Sobriety Shuttle LLC, a free ride share service for people who have been drinking, after realizing he was struggling with addiction.
Maddie Keifer reports – watch the video here:
MT man starts free, late-night ride service to keep drunk drivers off the roads
“I just wanted to give people who do still drink the option for a safe, sober ride home,” Bruzza said.
Bruzza said a devastating mistake behind the wheel became a turning point where he decided enough was enough.
“I was charged with a DUI October 22 of 2024,” Bruzza said.
After a few months focused on his sobriety, Bruzza channeled his energy into his community by starting the shuttle service.
He operates the shuttle in his personal pickup truck. Riders can reach him by phone, text or social media at any time of day or night at no cost.
“I just wanted to give others the opportunity to not get a life changing charge,” Bruzza said.
Bruzza works with bars to connect riders with his service. Although the Big Sky Sobriety Shuttle is a new endeavor, he has already seen a big impact.
“The community response without a doubt has been unconditional love and support that makes my heart all warm and fuzzy,” Bruzza said.
Bruzza also shared a message for others who may be struggling with addiction.
“Your life is worth it, there are people that care out there and it is okay to ask for help,” Bruzza said.
To learn more, click here to visit the Facebook page.
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