Helena Capital Beats Kalispell Glacier for AA football Championship

HELENA — After a night of dodging defenders and finding open receivers, Merek Mihelish had one final target in mind.

The Helena Capital senior quarterback wasn’t trying to throw another touchdown pass — although he did throw four in the Class AA state championship game.

He was looking for his father — Kyle Mihelish, the Bruins head coach — so father and son could share in the Bruins’ 34-21 state championship win against Kalispell Glacier.

“It’s pretty special,” Kyle said, moments earlier, holding back tears, when asked what it meant to win a state championship with his son.

That’s when Merek hit him with a bear hug — as perfectly as one of the 15 passes he completed against Glacier for 293 yards on Friday night at Vigilante Stadium.

“That’s the best thing I’ve ever felt in my life,” Merek said of embracing his dad as a state champion.

Two years ago, the Bruins defeated Bozeman 35-14 to reach the pinnacle of Class AA football. Now, after standing on the sidelines then as sophomores, Mihelish, Dylan Alqmuist, Cole Graham, and others took their turn writing their Capital legacies.

“Winning it with Merek is fantastic,” Kyle Mihelish said. “But winning it with all of these guys is even better. They believed in what we started doing back in March and with this senior class, they believed since their freshman year. They stuck to the we, not me mentality. That’s our mantra. No one individual is bigger than the team and they truly did that.”

“I’m proud of them for that and proud of the coaches as well.”

One player the Bruins are certainly proud of is Dylan Almquist, who had the game of his life, in the biggest game he’s ever played in.

Playing on both sides of the ball, the senior intercepted a pass, hauled in six receptions for 108 yards, scored three touchdowns, and right when Glacier was threatening in the fourth quarter, pulled off a 69-yard touchdown that proved to be the dagger.

“Just make a play,” Almquist said of what he was thinking. “It’s the state championship game, so there’s no other time. You have to make it now.”

With the Bruins leading 28-14, facing a third-and-six, Mihelish, facing pressure, rolled right and threw up the sideline to Almquist, who snared the pass and scampered to the end zone for a state-title-clinching touchdown.

“That’s probably one of the best feelings in life,” Almquist said. “Scoring a touchdown, helping your team win — it was just pure joy seeing all my teammates so happy and knowing I was able to help us.”

Help might be an understatement. When the game was tied 7-7 in the second quarter, Almquist caught a nine-yard touchdown pass with 1:46 left before halftime, giving the Bruins a 14-7 halftime lead.

Then, after a 46-yard completion from Mihelish to Daniel Larson, on a play that was called a simultaneous catch with Glacier’s Bridger Smith, Almquist caught a six-yard touchdown on third down to extend the CHS lead to 21-7.

“Just seeing all my teammates’ faces, people I have known for 10-12 years, just be so happy, and with my coaches, being able to do that with them, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime feeling,” Almquist said.

Just 4:27 after his second touchdown reception, Dylan’s younger brother Drew Almquist got in on the act, also converting a third down for a score to make it 28-7 on Mihelish’s second TD pass of the third quarter.

“I wasn’t even thinking about that, that’s crazy,” Dylan said of his brother also scoring a TD. “Obviously, he’s a really talented kid and he’s going to be a stud for the next couple of years. I’m just going to cherish this for the rest of my life.”

Kobe Dorcheus kept hope alive for the Wolfpack in the second half, scoring on a 38-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 28-14 in the fourth quarter. Then, on the ensuing possession, Dorcheus sacked Mihelish, forcing a fumble that Glacier recovered.

“He’s such a good kid,” Glacier head coach Grady Bennett said of Dorcheus. “He’s special. He was a beast. If we don’t make so many other mistakes, and the game goes our way, he’s the MVP. That’s the kind of night he had.”

With the chance to make it a one-possession game, the Capital defense stiffened, forcing a turnover on downs, which was the third time a Glacier drive in CHS territory ended that way.

Three plays later, Mihelish hit Almquist for the 69-yard touchdown and the celebration was on.

“I trusted my reads and my progressions,” Mihelish said. “I trusted my guys to make plays and to give me protection. It was a team effort. It was everyone out there.”

“I’m not really surprised about Dylan,” he added. “He’s been doing that all year. I’m not surprised one bit.”

The performance of Cole Graham shouldn’t come as a surprise either.

Class AA’s best pass rusher harassed Jackson Presley all night to the tune of 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss, eight stops and who knows how many hurries.

Graham sacked the Boise State commit on a key fourth down in the first half, as well as early in the third quarter to force a punt. The state wrestling and legion baseball champion also carried the ball 13 times for 48 yards and a touchdown.

“You have to earn the right to pass rush,” Graham said. “And when you earn the right to pass rush, you have to take advantage of it, especially against a guy like that.”

Capital finished the game with 362 yards but just 71 on the ground. Glacier wound up with 354 but got 219 rushing yards thanks to a 23-carry, 188-yard effort from Dorcheus. Presley completed 11-of-29 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown compared to one interception. Bridger Smith caught four passes for 41 yards and had the only receiving touchdown for Glacier.

“Our guys fought hard,” Bennett said. “We just didn’t play particularly well. A lot of penalties. It was just so out of character. I said several times on the sidelines: We were not being who we are; a lot of penalties, a lot of dropped passes.

“(Merek) Mihelish was outstanding again. Congratulations to Capital. How cool for a father and son to win it like that? That’s neat. Kyle’s a great coach. They played well.”

Mihelish’s 293 passing yards were spread among four receivers. Larson had four receptions for 88 yards. Conor Toivonen managed three for 76, including a 36-yard reception on the opening drive to set up the first score — a Graham rushing touchdown — and Drew Almquist had 21 receiving yards on three receptions.

Capital (11-1) finished on an 11-game winning streak and while the season wasn’t perfect, you won’t find any Bruins complaining.

“It feels great,” Graham said. “It’s bittersweet. It’s the last high school game I’ll play as a Bruin and it will be the last time with my boys. But it’s awesome. It’s a great feeling.”

Chris Peterson is the sports editor for Independent Record and Montana Standard.