Rogers mourns tragic loss of former student-athlete

Dylan Honnoll, a 2022 RHS graduate, died on July 12 after a hiking accident in Montana

by Erik Nelson

Sports Reporter

On Friday, July 12, the Rogers sports community suffered a tragic loss.

Dylan Honnoll, a 2022 graduate of Rogers High School and a sophomore at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, died after falling into the rapids of East Rosebud Creek just below Rimrock Lake in Carbon County in southern Montana. Honnoll was 20 years old.

On Monday, July 22, friends, family, former teammates and former coaches of Honnoll gathered for a prayer vigil outside his family’s house hoping for a miracle. One didn’t come.

Authorities recovered his body on Tuesday, July 23. His family learned of his death the next day. Authorities in Carbon County said he was hiking along the Beaten Path trail in the Beartooth Mountains when he fell into the rushing rapids.

Honnoll played for the Rogers football team and was the starting kicker for the 2021 team that made it to the Class 5A semifinal and lost to eventual state champion Mankato West. In 2021, he made eight out of his 10 field-goal attempts and was 31-for-31 on extra-point attempts.

Royals head coach Marc Franz said Honnoll was an outstanding young man who was mature for age as a high school student.

“I feel terrible for his family,” Franz said. “Dylan was the oldest of three boys. Peyton graduated from football last year. His younger brother, Garrett, is going to be a junior on the team this year. [I] loved having him on the football team.”

Dylan also played in the Rogers soccer program. Royals varsity head coach Bruce Schulztenberg met Dylan when he was an eighth grader and said Dylan showed respect toward teammates and coaches while remaining competitive.

“[During] is sophomore year and junior year, he was on the bubble between varsity and JV. He got most of his minutes in JV, but there would be occasional times that he would play during varsity games. At practice, he would work harder than anyone else.

“The other coaches and I pulled him aside one day and we told him that we appreciated his work, especially his attitude. We told him in a normal year, he’d be playing, if not starting, on varsity, but this year, his junior year, he was coming off the bench for limited minutes. We’ve had kids quit when they didn’t get the team they wanted or the place they wanted. Dylan did the exact opposite. He was appreciative of us letting him have a varsity jersey and getting minutes here and there as a junior. That stands to his entire character of who he is.”

Dylan was born on Dec. 13, 2003, the same year Rogers High School opened and the football program began. He was five months shy of his 21st birthday.

Besides sports, he enjoyed the outdoors and was passionate about skiing, fishing, hiking and golf. He also loved all kinds of music.

While at Montana State University, Dylan was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, where he was admired and recognized for his leadership qualities and strong work ethic. According to his obituary, his smile and radiant personality “endeared him to his peers and community.”

Franz said when he told the football team that Dylan had died, they were in shock.

“[They] wanted to give Garrett any support they could,” he said.

Dylan is survived by his parents, Michael and Jill Honnoll, his brothers Peyton and Garrett Honnoll, and his grandparents: Maryann Larson, Larry Larson and Linda Honnoll.

A memorial service for Dylan is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 24, at Word of Peace Lutheran Church in Rogers at 2 p.m. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m., and a light reception at the church will follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, the Honnoll family is asking that donations be made in Dylan’s name to Red Lodge Fire and Rescue. To donate, go online to https://www.rlfrfoundation.org/donate.