Take one look at the student section at a Century High School basketball game and in the front row usually sits Daniel Pape.

    Dressed in an old basketball uniform a couple of sizes too small, the senior offensive lineman cheers on his fellow Diamondbacks with pride.

    The 6-foot Pape will tell anyone who will listen that he has a sweet jump shot and an awesome beard. At the Jan. 25 home boys’ basketball game against Preston, he nailed a 3-pointer to win $50 in a halftime contest.

    While he may enjoy shooting hoops, his exploits on the football field have earned the Diamondbacks’ guard the chance to play at the next level. Last week Pape signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at Montana Western.

    “It was a great place, a great community and I saw a chance of early playing time,” he said about why he chose to attend Montana Western. “I loved the coaching staff and the players and it seemed like a good fit for me.”

    For the Diamondbacks, Pape was a fixture on the offensive line as he played both guard and center. For the Bulldogs, he plans to continue playing on offense, but has no preference on which position.

    Last season Montana Western started 11 true or redshirt freshman and that had a big impact on why Pape eventually settled on heading to Dillon.

    “The coaches really push for kids,” Pape said. “If you deserve to start you will start and I really enjoyed that about the team and the coaches.”

    The recruiting process for Pape was a long one. He had a long list of schools on his original list that showed interest in him and his talents.

    It was not until he cut that list down to the final three that he began to enjoy the process. Not long after he realized Montana Western was where he wanted to be.

    “There are quite a few kids from this area that are on the team up there, and that was a factor in my decision,” Pape said. “It was not a huge factor, but it definitely helps that I may know kids on the team when I get to campus.”

    Pape and his Diamondback teammates had the best season in their careers under head coach Dave Spillett. Century finished with a 5-4 record, just outside of qualifying for the 4A state playoffs.

    “I learned to be a good leader while I was at Century,” he said. “I learned to take whatever role is needed for me to take. If they need you to play center, then you grind it out and play center. Those types of things will help me a lot in college.”

    Montana Western is a NAIA school with an enrollment of 1,300 students and is located in Dillon, Mont.

    “I wanted to get out of Pocatello,” Pape said. “But I did not want to go too far.”

    The Bulldogs team that Pape finished 4-6 last year and was tied for fifth in the Frontier Conference.

    For now Pape is going to enjoy the rest of high school and support the Diamondbacks’ basketball teams — and grow out his beard.

    When asked if Montana Western offered his beard a scholarship Pape joked, “Yes they did, but it was a very minor one.”