BILLINGS — The Brawl of the Wild 2.0 is just days away, and two former Billings high school players will carry special legacy numbers into the rivalry game that could send one team to Nashville Jan 5.
Sophomore linebacker Clay Oven will represent number 37 for the University of Montana, while senior defensive linebacker Paul Brott will wear number 41 for Montana State University.
Watch former high school coaches Rob and Jim Stanton talk about their players representing both universities:
These numbers are carefully chosen to represent both universities. 41 for the Bobcats pays homage to Montana becoming the 41st state, and 37 for the Griz is a number given to a player who grew up in Montana and best represents the program.
Both players learned the game under brothers Jim and Rob Stanton, who coached them at Billings high schools.
"To be honored with that number 41 is pretty special," Rob Stanton said Wednesday about Brott.
The legacy numbers represent more than just digits on a jersey.
"Team came before individual, and he represented that," Jim Stanton said.
Clay Oven, who played at Central High School, earned his legacy number through discipline and work ethic.
"You're not going to find a kid that is going to work harder than anybody. He represented that all throughout the time here," Jim Stanton said.
Jim Stanton described watching Oven on the field as a special moment.
"It's just a reflection on him, the type of kid he is, because again, it's not just the football kid. It's the well-rounded individual who is, you know, off the charts in his character," he said. "Just to watch his motor, watch him go, he's always been that way. There's no slowing in Clay."
Brott developed into a leader during his time at West High School under Rob Stanton's guidance.
"Paul, his senior year, he took care of a lot of kids," he said.
"He became really a good leader, not only by example, which is kind of an expectation of everybody, but just a real vocal one," Rob Stanton said.
That leadership carried from Billings to Bozeman.
"Having that legacy number for 41 for Montana State, there's been some really good players in that number, and Paul has done well with that number," Rob Stanton said.
While both coaches are invested in the rivalry, they say the experience goes beyond the final score.
"I cheer for our guys who play on both teams. So, I'm not committed to one or the other, and it's really cool that this game has such a meaningful experience for people in Montana and around the nation," Rob Stanton said.
"The outcome of the game is obviously what everybody's shooting for, but the journey that they get to go on, you know, over the last couple weeks with something, they'll really remember," Jim Stanton said.
For the Grizzlies, the tradition began in 1983 when the number was first donned by Craig Paulson, a fullback from Plentywood, who gave the number to safety Tim Hauck of Big Timber, who went on to a lengthy NFL career. Ever since, the number 37 has remained on the defensive side of the ball, and every wearer graduated from a Montana high school.
For the Bobcats, it's a tribute to Montana’s status as the 41st state admitted into the union as well as the school’s 1941 football team, during the 2025 season. The tradition began while Bozeman High product Grant Collins was wearing that number in 2018, and it has been awarded to a rising senior from Montana each season since.
