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September 5, 2017

Dickenson was destined for greatness

Jack Johnson, Brock Sunderland, Rosann Johnson and Dave Dickenson (Photo by David Moll)

The Johnsons, on Skyline Drive, lived only a block north of the Dickensons, on Riverview Drive, back home in Great Falls, Mont.

“Our kids,’’ Jack Johnson is reminiscing, outfitted in Calgary-ready cowboy hat and jeans, the whirl of Labour Day warm-up at McMahon Stadium going on a few feet away, “could go out and shoot baskets together.

“Dave’s dad was a teacher, too.

“So I knew him from the get-go. From the third grade on. And I knew – this is true – that one day he was going to be my quarterback.

“Knew.

“As far back as pee wee sports, he just went out and took charge. Hell, even at that age, he had the ability to inspire people around him. He lifted everyone up.

“We followed him from elementary to middle school to high school. There was no doubt. He was going to be The Guy.”

Known as ‘Super Dave’ and ‘The Legend of the Fall’ in his home state, Dave Dickenson is a Montana football legend, of course.

So, too, is Jack Johnson.

Johnson built the Charles M. Russell High School Rustlers into a powerhouse, retiring in 2013 after 41 years, 340 games and 13 Class AA State Championships.

With the prospect of re-connecting with two of their favourite CMR graduates as well as family friends – Dickenson and first-year Edmonton Eskimos’ GM Brock Sunderland – at the same time, Johnson and wife Rosann decided to undertake the 300-mile drive north on Sunday to reach Calgary in time for the Labour Day kick-off.

Rosann taught Sunderland as a Grade 1 student and later when his mother died of breast cancer would “go over two or three days a week” to help take care of the family, providing support.

The ties, then, are woven tightly.

“As soon as I found that on Labour Day they both were going to be here,’’ Johnson notes, “I said: ‘Call Dave and get some tickets.’

“These boys are pretty special to us.”

Two of coach Johnson’s state championships arrived with Dickenson at the helm.

“We were undefeated those years,’’ he says. “He never lost a game he played for us.

“When he stepped in the huddle, we got better.

“Players, coaches, fans … everybody respected Dave.”

That respect is obviously reciprocal.

“Pretty cool for both of us (he and Sunderland),’’ says Dickenson. “Jack’s a legend in our neck of the woods. He really is. He’s in the Hall of Fame for the whole U.S., and I don’t think there’s another Montana coach in that.”

Naturally, the Johnsons have followed Dickenson’s post-Great Falls career, through college, the CFL, the NFL and into its current coaching phase.

They were on hand when the Dickenson-led University of Montana Grizzlies captured the 1995 NCAA I-AA title.

“And we’ve been up here before, to Calgary, when he was playing,’’ says Jack. “We’ve followed his career. Followed Craig’s. We see his family a lot.

“They’re all great people.”

As early-on he identified the slight, cerebral kid as his quarterback of the future, so, too, did Johnson recognize the coaching potential in Dickenson.

“I kinda called that shot, too,’’ he says. “A lot of people figured (after retiring as a player) Dave was going into pre-med. I think he had some post-graduate scholarship or something. But I said: ‘David’s not going to do that. That’s too much work. He’s not going to school for eight more years. He’s going into coaching!’

“I also said that some day he’d coach the Grizzlies and now I don’t think that’ll happen. But his dad coached, too, remember.

“He was born into it.”

These days, the winningest high-school football coach in Montana history takes things easy, enjoys life and keeps in touch with the scores of young men whose lives he helped shape during their playing days.

“Do I miss coaching?’’ asks Johnson, with a crinkly smile. “Well, I miss the kids and drinking beer afterwards.

“I don’t miss the practices.”