Easton Brooks was born to be a Wildcat. 

His mother, Jolandie, has been the Columbia Falls volleyball coach since 2017, and he has known football coach Kelly Houle for longer than he can remember. So, when Houle asked Brooks to join the Wildcats on the gridiron in 2024, the answer was always going to be yes. 

“Coach just came to me and said, ‘Do you want to play football again,’ “ Brooks said. “I walked out on that field my junior year with some of my friends and a coach who I enjoyed playing with, and from there it’s been a slow grind and also just enjoying the moment.” 

“Once I sat him down and talked to him about my vision, he was all in,” Houle said.  

Brooks had focused on basketball in his sophomore year. 

“I was a basketball kid for most of my life and I just thought that basketball was the way I was going to go,” Brooks said. “Then I came back and football was my first love as a little kid, that was the first thing I wanted to do. If I was to look back at little Easton and what he wanted to do, he wanted to play on Friday nights.” 

Brooks also notes that Houle has been a part of his life from a young age, be it going to church or Houle attending Easton’s middle school games.  

Houle added that having a player he trusted from the start helped to make his transition from assistant to head coach much easier. 

“That’s really important to me. That’s why I thought it was really important that he be a part of the program,” Houle said. “To have that solid senior leadership, that’s very, very important. He has filled that role for me very well.” 

Houle also noted the importance of juniors Banyan Johnston, Trip Ross and Jory Hill as well, noting their ability to follow Brooks as senior leaders. 

Brooks has shined under the lights in 2025, hauling in 27 catches for 462 yards and six touchdowns so far his senior season. He helped Columbia Falls to the top seed in the Northwest A and a home quarterfinal against East Helena on Friday at 7 p.m. 

While thinking about what little Easton wanted to do helped, the culture that Houle brought in from the start only made the decision easier. 

“Coach really hammers home brotherhood,” Brooks said. “We probably take it for granted because we are a bunch of teenage boys, but he says ‘LEO’ a lot which means ‘love each other.” 

Brooks adds that while other sports try to mimic the brotherhood that football creates, nothing compares to it. 

“It takes 11 guys each doing their job trusting and loving each other, putting their bodies on the line,” he said. “It’s like the modern-day gladiator.” 

“He is a great leader,” Houle said. “He has been voted as a team captain for us for two years. We are a player-led team, and he is the kind of kid we want leading our team.” 

Houle also commended Brooks’ consistent strive to better himself on the field, both at practice and after. 

“He is a very cerebral player,” Houle said. “He always tries to be better, always tries to think of ways to beat an opponent. He plays wide receiver so it is important to him to be able to beat them off lines. 

“He stays after practices and works out with our receivers coaches, in the last two years he has grown a ton.” 

Houle said that after Columbia Falls’ playoff defeat to Laurel a season ago he told Brooks, “The keys are yours now.”  

Brooks responded: ”I got you coach.” 

“That is the kind of guy that you want,” Houle said. 

Brooks hopes to be able to continue his athletic and academic careers at the collegiate level next year, though he said he is staying in the moment. 

“I’m just taking it one day at a time, one sports season at a time,” Brooks said. “Especially since it’s my senior year, go through football and enjoy every moment. Go through basketball and enjoy every moment. Go through track and field and enjoy every moment. Hopefully before the end of this year, maybe even sooner than that I can find something that is calling.” 

Regardless of the decision, Brooks will always bleed Wildcat blue.