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Fossum Forges Forward in Helena, Poised for the Present

The rigors of everyday training endow Chase Fossum with a lurid portrait of balance's necessity in a productive life. Couple lifting sessions, team meetings and on-field practices with the social and scholarly demands placed on the shoulders of any college freshman, and one is left with a rough sketch of the NAIA athlete's kinetic schedule.

This not to label the life too tall a drink for the young man. When the seemingly unconquerable is fitted with self-imported structure, the chimerical beast of "can't" is rendered tame.

Fossum, a 2015 graduate of Glasgow High School and current wide receiver for Helena's Carroll College Fighting Saints, holds such a plan, and in both his mind and his deeds the 6'5", 190 lb. specimen harkens to and delivers upon the continuity and autonomy he demands of it.

"It's Sunday to Friday, nonstop," says Fossum. "We really have to make good use of our time to stay on top of things."

Fossum notes that despite the lack of home-cooked dinner and the difficulty in refusing the dulcet whispers of campus nightlife in order to preserve and sanctify a regular sleep schedule, Carroll is everything he hoped it would be.

"With football, the team becomes a family," says Fossum. "It's taken a little while to get to know everyone, but now that I've gotten over that hump it's easy to talk to any of the guys about anything. They've been accepting and understanding [of my adjustment]- they know what it takes to get used to college football."

A three-sport star in high school, Fossum's athleticism, to his college coaches, is undeniable. "We watched him play basketball and saw him at track meets," said head football coach Mike Van Diest. "He really impressed us with his competitive drive and his talent. We knew he was pretty special."

Van Diest, in his 16th season at the helm of Carroll's program, holds an .878 winning percentage - third all-time among college coaches with ten-plus years' experience, behind only Mount Union's Larry Kehres and Notre Dame legend Knute Rockne.

Fossum dropped basketball - though he and his football teammates plan to form an intramural team once the season is through. Come spring, he will trade his muddied football cleats for spikes and compete on the Fighting Saints' track team.

"All my Glasgow coaches supported my choice to continue my athletic career," said Fossum. "They're really what made that choice so easy."

A burgeoning future on the Mondo and gridiron provides ample fodder for distraction, but true to form, Fossum locks his vision on the future behind a firm plan for present action.

"I'm going to get my degree and become a pharmacist," he assures.

Next-level stardom has also clouded many an indulgent eye from that which facilitated its beautiful rise. Fossum again eschews temptation, unwavering in his ardent support of his origins.

"It's hard to talk up a town located nearly in both North Dakota and Canada," he says, "but if people don't want to recognize the tradition and unique atmosphere of our town, that's their loss."

So Chase Fossum, the loyal, hard-nosed giant, soldiers onward. A five-and-a-half hours' drive away over cracked highway; a mere skip from home in heart - ever the more-tangible reality.

Fossum has yet to record a reception for the Fighting Saints, who have won the last eleven Frontier Conference championships (40 total), taken 6 national titles (all since 2002), and will soon make the jump to NCAA Division II competition, but in his mentors' eyes, this lack of touches is but an ephemerality, a cocoon soon to birth fluttering life from its tight-wound fortress.

"Chase has an infectious attitude," said Van Diest. "He works hard to improve his route-running and discipline. He has a great future here at Carroll and will be a difference maker for us not only on the football field, but in class and on campus as well."

 

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