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Lynn Ahrens

From Basketball to Tight End To Coach

Ahrens got into sports early in junior high as did his friends. “John and Willy Weeks, Harvey Langager, Bruce Ericksen, and I played sports together… all the way from junior high through high school,” said Ahrens. “We weren’t rabble rousers or out chasing girls, no fancy cars, our focus was on sports achievement.” Ahrens added that although they like all sports, “Basketball was the big thing around Wolf Point, more so than football.”

When Ahrens hit the Eastern Montana College practice field in 1969 as a freshman, he was listed as number two at the tight end position. By the end of the season he became number one and earned All Frontier Conference Honorable Mention honors.

Over the next three seasons, Ahrens, who was a highly-touted pro prospect as early as his sophomore year, became a three-time first team all-conference at tight end, and garnered NAIA All-American Honorable Mention honors his junior year. His biggest game came against Carroll College in 1971, catching 8 passes for 200 yards and scored 2 touchdowns as EMC blanked the Saints, 28-0.

Ahrens said there was a flicker of hope playing ball somewhere, “I got a call from the Chicago Fire of the WFL, so I flew to Chicago. It didn’t take long to believe that this league would seem to be short lived. I went back to Eastern Montana College to finish my degree.”

Upon getting his degree, Ahrens “went to the placement office at EMC where I learned there was an opening at North Toole County High School in Sunburst so I applied, got the job, and have been there ever since.”

Read full bio on pages 30-32 in our 2023 Hall of Fame Ceremony Book (PDF).