Glacier Wolfpack to Face Gallatin Raptors in Rematch of 2023 AA Football Semifinals
This will be the second year in a row the Wolfpack (9-1) have faced the Raptors (10-0) in the AA semifinals, with last year’s matchup resulting in a 35-14 win for Glacier
By Mike Kordenbrock
Fresh off a hard-fought 48-38 win over Butte, the Glacier Wolfpack football team is headed to the Montana Class AA semifinals this week, where they will face the undefeated Gallatin Raptors in a Friday night away game in Bozeman.
Head coach Grady Bennett said that the Butte Bulldogs had his team on their heels at times last week, but that he sees the challenging quarterfinal game as an experience that will help his players continue to develop the resilience that he believes it takes to win playoff football games.
“When it comes down to playoffs, all that matters is you have one more point on the scoreboard, and that you’ve made one more play. And so we preached that all week,” Bennett said.
Butte jumped out to a 10-7 lead in the first quarter, but Glacier responded by outscoring their opponents 20-7 in the second quarter, which gave them a 27-17 lead at halftime. Butte continued to threaten Glacier’s lead throughout the second half, but the Wolfpack continued to score and were able to stay in control until the final whistle.
The win has left Glacier as the only remaining Flathead Valley team in the state playoffs. Columbia Falls fell to Laurel in the Class A quarterfinals last weekend 35-28, and Whitefish lost to Billings Central in the Class A quarterfinals 55-21.
In Glacier’s win over Butte, senior running back Kobe Dorcheus rushed 19 times for 129 yards and three touchdowns. Junior quarterback Jackson Presley was 11 of 16 passing for 184 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, and also ran the ball seven times for nine yards and a touchdown. Senior wide receiver Bridger Smith led the Wolfpack in receiving with five catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. Senior wide receiver and defensive back Easton Kauffman also caught a touchdown, and finished with two catches for 41 yards.
The Wolfpack defense forced three turnovers, with Kauffman and junior linebacker Asher Knopik contributing interceptions, and senior defensive back Carson Baker recovering a fumble. The defense was led by senior linebacker Mark Ahner, who finished with 25 total tackles, including 15 unassisted. Dorcheus also contributed on defense with 1.5 sacks. Leading the team in sacks was junior defensive lineman Wayne Cox, who finished with 2.5 and one tackle for a loss.
This will be the second year in a row the Wolfpack (9-1) have faced the Raptors (10-0) in the AA semifinals, with last year’s matchup resulting in a 35-14 win for Glacier. This will be Glacier’s ninth semifinal appearance in football. Another win would return the Wolfpack to the AA championship game for the second year in a row, and the fifth time in program history.
In last year’s semifinal game against Gallatin, the Wolfpack leaned on their running game, with all four of their touchdowns coming on the ground. Glacier’s defense also intercepted four passes and recovered one fumble on their way to last year’s win.
Gallatin, the No. 1 seed in the east this year, is coming off a 35-13 win over the Helena Bengals last week.
Bennett said that in studying film of the Raptors, it jumps out to him just how hard Gallatin plays.
“They fly around. Coach (Hunter) Chandler really has them — I mean, my goodness, offensively and defensively, they really just fly around.”
He pointed to the Dahlke brothers — Reese, a senior and the team’s quarterback, and Carter, a junior wide receiver — as two players who are key playmakers for Gallatin’s offense.
“We’re gonna to have to tackle well,” Bennett said. “Ultimately, the game of football, no matter what, it really comes down to blocking and tackling.”
This season has been a special journey so far, and Bennett said he doesn’t want it to end. Watching his players grow from freshman to seniors, and mature into young men, is part of what makes it so meaningful to Bennett. The coach said that he continues to admire the blend of good character and toughness that he sees in his players.
“You just want to do your best every day to give them a shot to play another week and be with them as long as possible,” Bennett said.
Glacier plans to depart for Bozeman Friday morning. Kickoff at Van Winkle Stadium in Bozeman is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night.