For Thompson, a work ethic breeds success

When Nate Thompson was in sixth grade he had a knee injury. After he recuperated from it, he wasn’t feeling very strong.

So he started lifting weights to build back the strength in his 12-year-old body.

He’s been lifting weights ever since. Five times a week for the past six years, even during the summer. The 17-year-old Columbia Falls’ star runningback gets up at 6 a.m. each day and is in the weight room at Columbia Falls High School by 6:45 a.m.

After  his workout, he watches tapes of football games, looking to gain an edge on his opponents. Then it’s a day of classes, then football practice and after practice, supper, homework and bed by 9 p.m.

Today Thompson is 6-foot, 185 pounds and solid as a brick. He bench presses 285 pounds. He has a 4.0 grade point average. He’s thinking of studying medicine in college.

But this fall, his main focus has been putting the hurt on his opponents. Take the Polson game a couple of weeks ago. Polson’s safety went to shove Thompson out of bounds and Thompson cracked him one before he went out. He wanted the safety to remember him.

A few plays later, the safety met Thompson again. This time at the goal line. Thompson cracked him again, drove him three feet into the end zone. The Cats won 25-20 and took first in the conference.

Welcome to the new Wildcat football.

By the end of the Polson game, Thompson racked up 1,357 yards rushing in just six games. By all accounts, he’s already broken the school record by a couple of hundred yards. At this pace, with two games left in the regular season, he’ll shatter it. Thompson averages 8.33 yards per carry and has seven touchdowns on the year.

He credits his weight lifting regime and his teammates, coaches and parents for his success. Head Coach Bill Coleman is a great motivator as is line coach Kelly Houle. And his parents, John and Alison, have always supported him, “no matter what I’ve done.”

John is a physics teacher and the athletic director at Columbia Falls High School and Alison is the lead clerk for the Columbia Falls City Court. John was the head coach at Columbia Falls from 2003 to 2008, leading the Cats to a playoff victory in 2008 — the first in 38 years. Now he’s an assistant coach. Alison takes photos at every game. It’s a football family.

This year’s team is 2-0 in conference play after a 1-3 start.

“Coming back from 1-3 and going to 2-0 shows our team’s confidence,” Nate said. “The linemen have come together and are playing as a unit.”

And with improved play by junior quarterback Austin Barth and the Wildcat receivers, opponents can’t ignore the pass, Nate noted.

“Team’s can’t load the box,” he said.

There are two conference games left in the season against Whitefish and Ronan. The goal is simple. Win both. Hit hard. Run fast. Have fun and, of course, make a little more history in the process.