The Official Site of the Fighting Saints

When Helena Cathedral High product Rich Ronan arrived on the Hilltop campus as a 6’4” 215-pound freshman in the fall of 1963, he made an immediate impact in the middle of the Saints line. A four-year starter at defensive tackle, he was selected first team All-Conference each of his final three seasons. After a 20-2 win over Northern as a frosh, the IR mentioned Ronan’s “outstanding” defensive play. In 1964, prior to the Saints 13-9 victory over Western Montana, which halted the powerful Bulldogs’ 16 game win streak, the paper described Rich as “holding down the center of the stingy Saint forward wall.” 

After a 27-0 whitewash of Rocky, he was lauded for his “particularly outstanding” defense. His sophomore and junior seasons, the Hilltoppers went 5-3 and 6-2, anchored by a defense that allowed just 7.8 and 9.3 points per game, respectively.  In his final season – bulked up to 235-lbs. of intense fury and playing on both sides of the ball – Ronan garnered his third straight first team All-Conference citation. After enlisting in the U.S. Navy, he was a member of the East Coast Naval championship grid team, and later played for the semi-pro Norfolk Neptunes. In 1969, Rich Ronan was voted the No. 1 defensive tackle on the Billings Gazette’s All-Time MCC/Frontier Conference team.