HELENA — Firetruck sirens and joyous cheers — these are the sounds of a state championship.
Over 100 Helena Capital football players paraded around Helena Wednesday afternoon as the team continued to celebrate its 13th Class AA state championship in program history, a win last week over Kalispell Glacier.
All 29 seniors on Capital’s championship team packed together atop a Helena Fire Department truck. Meanwhile, 70-plus underclassmen and coaches brought up the parade’s rear, seated on stacks of hay towed on long trailers.
And the celebration continued even after the parade, as Helena’s Buffalo Wild Wings hosted all of the parading Bruins for complimentary championship wings.
“Well, I am a Helena, Montana boy myself,” said Buffalo Wild Wings regional manager Shaun Fyfe, who was responsible for inviting the team for free wings. “And I absolutely love youth sports.
“To be able to let these kids know that the community is behind them and not only their parents and their teachers — I think it’s very important.”
So for this year’s state champs, the taste of victory came in the form of chicken wings.
“Tastes like victory. Tastes like a great championship,” said Capital head coach Kyle Mihelish while enjoying a plate of wings.
Two of Mihelish’s players added that the wings tasted “like victory” and “like a great championship.”