Swanson Honored at His Final Game on Scottie Field

Glasgow senior Cale Swanson was taken aback when he learned he was the winner of the 2019 Dale Vegge Award. "I had no idea," the humble athlete told the Courier. "I thought my friend Kristian Price was going to win it."

The Dale Vegge Award was first presented in 1991. Created by former Scottie football head coach Pat Petrino and the Vegge family, the award is presented to an outstanding senior football player after the Senior Night football game each season. Swanson told the Courier he believed he was selected because, "We played a pretty good defensive game. It was one of the better games I'd played all year."

The Scotties faced off against the Eagles of Fairfield in their final home game of the season, Oct. 25, and gave the defending champions their biggest challenge of the year. Fairfield took the victory, 34-26, with the home team putting up a fight the Eagles may not have been expecting. The Glasgow defensive line kept the Scotties closer to upsetting the number-one ranked team than any other team Fairfield had faced in regular season play.

Despite the outstanding performance of the defensive line, Swanson said, "I never thought a defensive lineman would win [the Dale Vegge Award]. I was pretty stunned." After an emotional ending to their season, it should come as no surprise it took a few days for the honor to sink in. Swanson was also dealing with an ankle injury he sustained in the game. "It took a little bit to process," he said.

The Dale Vegge Award honors the life of Dale Vegge and his passion for Scottie football. The namesake graduated from Glasgow High School in 1975, where he played quarterback from 1972 to '74. In 1974 Glasgow played Ronan for the state championship. Though Glasgow lost, 33-22, Vegge was selected 1st Team All-Conference Quarterback and All State. Vegge went on to be an assistant Scottie Coach in 1980 and did the scouting from 1980 to 1987. According to the Glasgow Scottie Athletics website, scottiepride.com, Vegge "lived and breathed Scottie football in high school and it followed throughout his life."

Swanson told the Courier his favorite football memory is "the bus rides home after a big win." The senior intends to pursue his higher education at Highland College in Butte, Mont., with plans to become a lineman.