‘This team is special’: 5 Takeaways from Kalispell Glacier’s Win Over Helena High

HELENA — Kalispell Glacier has a special quarterback and the Wolfpack think they have a “special” team too.

On Friday night, No. 2 Glacier scored 27 first-half points and got four touchdown passes from Boise State commitment, Jackson Presley, in what ended up as a 40-27 win over Helena High.

Glacier, the Class AA runner-up last season, improved to 4-0. Helena High dropped to 1-3. However, midway through the third quarter, the score was 40-7 in favor of the Wolfpack who were a 2-point play away from enacting the mercy rule.

Instead, the Bengals battled back and made things competitive. Trygve Braun ripped off a 79-yard touchdown run. Jaxan Lieberg caught two touchdowns and Brady Swenson caught another.

Kobe Dorcheus added two touchdowns for Glacier, while Bridger Smith, the Montana Grizzly commitment, hauled in three touchdown passes in the 13-point win. Here are five takeaways.

Jackson Presley lives up to the recruiting ranking

This was my first look at Jackson Presley live and the highest-ranked quarterback recruit in the 247 Sports era certainly looked the part on Friday night at Vigilante Stadium. 

The numbers were one thing: Presley completed 14-of-25 passes for 286 yards and four touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was an 80-yard strike in the first quarter. On the second, Presley was throwing off his back foot and that last two — a 36-yard seam route and a 14-yard out route were picture perfect.

“He was awesome,” Glacier head coach Grady Bennett said. “I thought he was dialed in. He read the coverage very well and put the ball on the money. Helena did a good job of mixing things up. He stood in there and delivered the ball and played great tonight.”

It’s safe to say the Treasure State haven’t seen many who can sling it like Presley can.

A dynamic QB/WR connection

Great quarterbacks tend to have a certain receiver they like to throw the ball to and for Glacier, it’s clear that Bridger Smith has become that guy.

“Bridger is a stud,” Presley said. “Every time he runs his route I know he’s going to find some space and I’ll be able to find him downfield. We have a great connection. I have a great connection with all my receivers. This is a very talented team.” 

But when you catch seven passes for 160 yards and score three touchdowns, as Smith did on Friday, you can be a friend to most quarterbacks. Yet, Smith said he and Presley spent a lot of training together in the offseason.

Clearly, it’s paying off.

“I had him at quarterback last season and this offseason we trained like no other,” Smith said. “We knew it was going to be a big year for a lot of young guys so we tried to dial in and get all the young guys rolling.”

So far, it’s worked. The Wolfpack are averaging 41.5 points per game this season and have scored at least 41 points in three straight outings. 

“This team is special”

The 13-point win for the Wolfpack was the first for the program in Helena since 2016, according to Bennett. Glacier will be back in Helena, for another key matchup against fifth-ranked Helena Capital, but there’s no doubt, Glacier looks and feels like a state title contender.

“This is a very special team,” Presley said. “I’m excited to continue to see us grow and keep going down the line.”

What makes Glacier so hard to defend is that they run it as well as they throw. It’s easy to focus on Presley, but Dorheus went over 100 yards for the fourth time this season.

However, it wasn’t a perfect night for Wolfpack, as they allowed more points to Helena High than they did in their previous three games combined. 

“We have to learn how to finish,” Bennett said. “We have done this two weeks in a row where we have played around a bit and not finished the game. So a lot of lessons, but give Helena High a ton of credit. They are tough and fought to the very end.”

Touchdowns like a video game

There were 67 points scored Friday night, which isn’t unusual. But, there were two instances of two touchdowns being scored in 15 seconds.

That’s something you usually see in a video game, not real life.

However, Glacier scored twice in 12 seconds in the second quarter after a touchdown run by Dorcheus making it 14-0, the Wolfpack recovered a fumble and got a touchdown pass from Presley to Smith on the next offensive play. Suddenly, it was 20-0 Glacier.

Then, in the third quarter, after Presley’s fourth touchdown pass and third to Smith at the 1:36 mark of the third quarter, Trygve Braun scored 15 seconds later on a 79-yard touchdown run. The senior finished with 160 yards on 21 rushing attempts.

“Too many mistakes” for Helena High 

You have to admire the effort of the Bengals in the second half. Glacier had allowed 23 points total coming into Week 4. Helena High scored 27 in the second half.

Mac Lundstrom, the senior quarterback, tossed three touchdowns. The running game was working and the defense forced two takeaways. But there were other errors that hurt the Bengals such as penalties and a fumbled kickoff.

“We could have folded up our tent and went home,” Helena High head coach Dane Broadhead said. “I’m proud of the kids. I’m proud of the effort. Just too many mistakes in critical situations and that’s on us as coaches to figure that stuff out and put our guys in a better position.”

The Helena crosstown game with Capital looms next Friday and Helena is hoping it found something in the second half against Glacier.

“We have to find that recipe we had in the second half,” Broadhead said. “But it comes down to execution. We have to execute. We had the ball in the red zone in the first half and didn’t score. We fumbled a kickoff. It’s just little breakdowns across the board — it’s assignment, alignment and execute.”