Whitefish watched Ryder Barinowski play Bulldog football at Memorial Field for years. Now, he is the kicker for the Montana Tech Orediggers in Butte, where he recently received a scholarship award. 

In mid-January at the Orediggers’ first team meeting, Barinowski was honored and surprised when he was announced as the winner of the Freshman of the Year award, which is sponsored by Gunnar Kayser, former Tech All-American defensive back. 

“It was kind of like a kickoff to the year,” he said. “It provided a lot of motivation for me, so I was very thankful for it.” 

Kayser graduated in 2017 and was inducted into the school’s hall of fame the following year. Barinowski said Kayser founded the award because he knew the challenges faced by freshman in the football program and wanted to provide support. 

“I'm very thankful to be selected for [this award],” the freshman kicker said. “It's based off work ethic and performance on and off the field, as well. I was very excited to earn that.” 

Although Barinowski will tell you he doesn’t care about the stats, in his first year at Montana Tech, tasked primarily with kickoff duties, he led the NAIA in kickoff distance, averaging 62.5 yards. He totaled 42 touchbacks on 82 kickoffs, gaining 5,000 yards for the Orediggers. 

He also set a Montana Tech record when he kicked 10 touchbacks in one game.  

“I'm not gonna lie, in that game I was getting a little tired. That's a lot of kickoffs,” he said. “But I was still able to get them back there.” 

While his stats are impressive, his character off the field caught the attention of recruiters and was one reason he won the Freshman of the Year award. 

“Obviously, there are so many words that can go into representing leadership, like responsibility and respectfulness, but I think the main part of it is coaches recognizing who you really are,” Barinowski said. “That can be like, what do you do after a loss? Or what do you do after a dropped pass? 

“You can do so much when you find a lot of success but what do you do when you fail?” he added. “I think that’s a big important piece in life. Failures define who you are.” 

He is thankful for his support system which includes coaches, teammates, family, friends and the cities of Butte and Whitefish.  

“It might be my name on the award but there’s been a lot of support and a lot of hard work that’s gone into it so I can’t, by any means, take all the glory for that,” he said. 

While Barinowski has athletic prowess, strength of character and humility, he also revealed a bit of homesickness.  

“It’s crazy to be away from Whitefish after growing up there my whole life,” he said. “It’s still a motivation for me every day, just to be able to represent Whitefish because of how much it’s given to me.  

“It’s a special spot in my heart,” he said. “It always will be.”