HARDIN — The Bulldogs at Hardin High School are preparing for a new football season, but this year will be different.
Starting this football season, the Hardin Bulldogs are teaming up with the Lodge Grass Indians.
The 40 players on the Hardin-Lodge Grass co-op team are confident this season will be more successful than ever.
See the Hardin-Lodge Grass Bulldogs practice at Hardin High School below:
According to Hardin High School Athletics Director Travis Krieger, last season was rocky for both the Hardin Bulldogs and the Lodge Grass Indians.
"Both schools were on the very edge of cutting the programs," he said Tuesday.
Last year, Krieger said Hardin High School's football team had been bit by the "injury bug," and they were forced to forfeit their last two games.
"By the time we forfeited, we only had two seniors and one junior that was able to play," he said.
After the two teams experienced a rocky season, Krieger said that the athletics director at Lodge Grass High School, Dee Pretty On Top, gave him a call, recommending that Hardin and Lodge Grass form a co-op team for the fall 2025 football season. Hardin is a Class A school, while Lodge Grass competes in Class B.
"We're in a very unique situation, 'cuz a lot of these boys, they played together when they were younger," said Krieger.
The co-op team is made up of 40 players, including about 15 from Lodge Grass High School, and 25 from Hardin High School.
Practice for the newly constituted team began in early August. According to Krieger, the boys practice for two hours every weekday at Hardin High School. As the players began practicing over the month, they grew a brotherly bond. However, according to teammates DJ Lefthand and Hunter Kindness, players were initially hesitant to play with their previous rivals.
"I kind of wasn't too excited at first, honestly," said Kindness, who plays center and defensive end.
Kindness, who is number 51, rides the bus each day after school from Lodge Grass to Hardin, about 35 miles, to practice.
"It's kind of difficult sometimes. There's the moments," said Kindness on Tuesday.
The team's first home game is Friday, Aug. 29 at 5 p.m. against the Stevensville Yellowjackets. Kindness said he's confident about the upcoming game after hours of practice with the Hardin Bulldogs.
"I'm pretty excited. I feel like I'm pretty confident. I'm confident in all our ability to go out and execute, and win," he said.
Similar to Kindness, quarterback DJ Lefthand, was hesitant about teaming up with the Lodge Grass Indians.
"I was happy, but I wasn't at the same time," said Lefthand on Tuesday.
Lefthand said he formed a brotherly bond with his teammates over the summer. Lefthand, who wears number 7, grew up in Lodge Grass and eventually moved to Hardin in the seventh grade. Because of that, he already knew many of his co-op teammates from elementary and middle school football.
"Most of us come from the rez. Most of us are around here. It's poverty, so we get to see a little bit of each other's stories," said Lefthand. "This is my safe space, honestly. I get to get away here."
As a co-op team, the football players will now be referred to as the Hardin-Lodge Grass Bulldogs.
Krieger said it was important to unify with one another throughout the transition. That's why the team's newly designed logo features a bulldog wearing a headdress, to keep part of the Lodge Grass Indians' original logo.
"When we went into this, we didn't want to have a 'we' and a 'they.' You know, we wanted it to be 'us,'" said Krieger. "We're two communities, two schools, but we wanted to really show unity."
