At 0.5 people per square mile, Harding County, South Dakota, is one of the least populated places in the nation. The county’s only high school, located in Buffalo, is small by even small-town standards, with 56 students in grades 9-12. However, few schools can match its 9-man gridiron success. Nicknamed after the primary industry in the region, “The Ranchers” football team has experienced only one losing season in its 58-year history. Among the players who carried this tradition forward was Gage Gilbert, a Dickinson State University tight end who will be on the field Saturday afternoon, November 23, as the Blue Hawks take on Kansas Wesleyan in the opening round of the NAIA playoffs.
Gage grew up ranching, wrestling steers and, with his sister Gracy, making the grueling 45-mile commute from his family ranch to school. His work ethic was forged on his family’s ranch and sharpened on a football field many regard as the worst in South Dakota – a patch of hard-packed dirt scattered with cockleburs. A field that is too muddy to use when it rains, and when it’s dry, clouds of thick dust blow across from adjacent rodeo grounds. Gage thrived here, calling it “hard pan” and declaring, “I liked it!”
Friday Night Lights
In Harding County, boys like Gage suit up every Friday night and dominate 9-man football. Nine-man football is a small-town sport, unique to three upper Great Plains states (South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota). It was designed for rural high schools, where mounting a standard 11-man team simply isn’t feasible. The key to 9-man football, according to Ranchers head coach Jay Wammen, is speed. “With two less defensive linemen, we have more space to work with. Like most 9-man teams, our kids play both offense and defense, so there is a demand for physicality and the ability to be on the field giving it their all from the first whistle to the last.”
Football is a collision sport, and wrestling cattle on the ranch prepares boys like Gage Gilbert for confronting 250-pound opponents. Getting up at sunrise to feed livestock trains them to be alert, disciplined, and ready to execute.
From Harding County to Dickinson State
Located in the farthest northwest corner of South Dakota, Harding County is known to paleontologists as the T-rex capital of the world—more T-rex fossils have been found here than anywhere else. It has a population of 1,324 people, spread out over 2,678 square miles. The region boasts the nation’s coldest winters, punctuated by fierce blizzards that are capable, even today, of immobilizing residents for weeks at a time. When its high school team members are not playing football or going to school, most are working on the family ranch: branding calves, wrestling steers, herding sheep, or moving hay. When they start practice in August, the players are in shape and ready to work hard.
Whether they win or lose, away games constitute a long ride home over vast stretches of two-lane roads. Their conference encompasses an impressive 38,000 square miles, with the farthest regular season game 213 miles away. An average round trip is over 250 miles.
Places as isolated as Harding County are sometimes referred to as “the middle of nowhere.” But for ranch kids, it’s not “nowhere” – it’s “now” and “here.” It’s their past, their future, and, according to Gage himself, one of the best places to grow up in America.
A Legacy of Grit
Standing at 6'6" and 240 pounds, Gage Gilbert is the embodiment of Harding County’s legacy of grit and determination. Hailing from Camp Crook, South Dakota, Gage was a standout at Harding County High School, earning First-Team All-State and All-Conference honors. A member of the National Honor Society and valedictorian of his high school class of 14 students, Gage grew up balancing academics, sports, and ranch work.
By middle school, he had joined the “No Screw Branding Crew,” a group of Harding County kids who throw cattle every spring. The crew threw a remarkable 19,000 calves for branding and vaccinating in one season when Gage was a high school junior. According to his mom, Carmen, “They’re efficient, fast, and easy on the cattle.” Carmen believes that this demanding work helped shape Gage into the disciplined student, teammate, and athlete he is today.
Carrying the Blue Hawk Legacy
At Dickinson State University, Gage has quickly become a key player for the Blue Hawks under head coach Pete Stanton. “Gage has really come along well this year,” said Stanton. “He’s put on about 20 pounds and is just what we look for in a tight end—someone versatile and mobile. He brings a lot to our offense as both a receiver and blocker.”
Gage follows in the footsteps of his father, Matt Gilbert, a former Blue Hawk linebacker who played from 1993 to 1997 under legendary coach Hank Biesiot. According to Biesiot, “Matt played football the cowboy way – hard-nosed and powerful. He set an example for the team and was outstanding on the front line. Matt had a lot of confidence and helped set the tone for the defensive squad. To this day, Matt is a loyal and committed part of the program.”
Gage Gilbert wouldn’t trade his childhood on the ranch for anything. In high school, he played multiple sports, including basketball, track, and rodeo, finishing 14th nationally in steer wrestling his senior year. While he considered rodeoing in college, his parents encouraged him to focus on football. “You can rodeo the rest of your life,” they told him, “but you only get four or five years to be a part of a football team.”
Gage’s commitment to football is already yielding results. In his debut season, the former Harding County standout has made an impact, appearing in six games with 11 catches for 162 yards and four touchdowns. Reflecting on this week’s playoff game, Gage said, “My intent is to go out there and do my job. I am proud to be playing in the first home playoff game in 20 years. We have a lot to play for on Saturday.”
For Gage, football is a continuation of a tradition that ties generations of Harding County Ranchers to the land. As Coach Stanton aptly put it, “Gage represents what’s best about small-town football: hard work, determination, and pride.”
The tailgate party will kick off the festivities at 10:00 AM (MT) in the parking lot of the BAC. The Blue Hawks and Coyotes game will begin at 1:00 PM (MT) on Saturday, November 23. Game tickets can be purchased at www.dsubluehawks.com/game-day-tickets. General admission pricing is $15 for adults and $10 for students. A limited number of reserved Blue Seat tickets are available as well for $25.
By: Debora Dragseth, Baker Boy Professor of Leadership | School of Business and Entrepreneurship Dickinson State University