By  Rich Winter

605 Sports

PINE RIDGE — Well known for their exploits on the basketball court, Marvin Richard III and Domonic Ghost Bear are making headlines on the gridiron this fall for Pine Ridge.

In last week’s 44-6 win over Little Wound, Richard III, a sophomore quarterback, found Ghost Bear, junior wide receiver, to the tune of 181 receiving yards and two touchdowns. 

“The success they are having is no accident,” Pine Ridge football coach Teddy Pedregon said. “All summer long Marvin, Dominic and Daniel Davis were out running routes on the football field.”

Through four games Richard III has accounted for 882 yards passing and 484 yards rushing. He has eight rushing touchdowns and eight passing touchdowns. Ghost Bear is one of the top receivers in the All-Nations Football Conference, hauling in 451 receiving yards and six touchdowns. 

Better known as basketball players Richard III and Ghost Bear are both having tremendous football seasons despite not having a ton of reps together until this year. Both athletes played for Lakota Tech last year. 

“I started off last year running cross-country and didn’t start playing football until the third game,” Richard III said.

The quarterback said he didn’t get much playing time until the eighth game of the season against Lead/Deadwood. Having never played football together their football bond was forever solidified on a long touchdown throw and catch.

“That was the first pass I’ve ever thrown to him, and every pass since, he’s shown the trust and the bond that we’ve built over the years on the basketball court,” Richard III said. 

Football opportunities don’t come often for Pine Ridge athletes so last summer Ghost Bear, a 6-foot-3 and 170 pound player, traveled to Sioux Falls to work with two wide receiver coaches. He said that that experience opened his eyes to the wide receiver position while teaching him the finer nuances of the position. 

“Those guys really opened my eyes to using different releases and moves and what I needed to do on certain routes,” Ghost Bear said. “I have improved a lot and I’m trying to learn from my mistakes.”

Domonic Ghost Bear dives for a touchdown - Photo courtesy of Shaniah Richard

Many times this season Ghost Bear has gone up in traffic and either out jumped the defense or simply made a play. In his years of coaching, Pedregon is seeing things from Ghost Bear that he just hasn’t seen from many receivers that play for reservation schools. 

“He’s one of the best route runners I’ve ever seen plus his athleticism just takes his game to a whole new level,” Pedregon said.  

In just a short amount of time playing football together Richard III and Ghost Bear have developed a silent communication that has both athletes on the same page. Pedregon is seeing ‘little hand signals’ between the players to communicate, something he notes is something you don’t see from high school kids on the reservation. 

Marvin Richard III celebrates with Domonic Ghost Bear after a touchdown - Photo courtesy of Shaniah Richard

“We grew up together. He’s my best friend/brother and we’ve spent our lives building chemistry on and off the court and the trust is there without even having to think about it,” Richard III said. “I trust him to catch whatever I throw and he trusts me enough to get it to him.” 

Pine Ridge has earned wins over Winnebago, Nebraska, Standing Rock, North Dakota and Little Wound this season. The only loss came to defending Class A champion Todd County on Sept. 7 in Mission.