Wall of Fame Induction to Kick Off Kalispell Crosstown Football Rivalry
Braves and Griz alum Dylan McFarland will be inducted into the Legends Wall of Fame during the crosstown clash between the Wolfpack and Braves football squads on Thursday night
By Lauren Frick
Dylan McFarland, a 1999 graduate of Flathead High School, will be the latest Brave enshrined in the Legends Wall of Fame following a storied football career spanning Kalispell, Missoula, Buffalo, N.Y., and Hamburg, Germany.
McFarland will be honored on Thursday, Oct. 15, during the annual crosstown rivalry matchup between the Braves and the Glacier High School Wolfpack. The game is scheduled to kick off at Legends Stadium at 7 p.m.
During his time in Kalispell in the late ‘90s, McFarland was a starter both his junior and senior years as offensive and defensive tackle for the Braves, culminating in a Class AA first-team All-State selection as a junior and second-team selection as a senior, despite missing six games with a broken foot. A team captain his senior year, McFarland played in the 2000 Montana/Dakota All Star Game and in the 2000 Montana Shrine Game.
A multi-sport and well-rounded student athlete, McFarland was a two-year starter for Braves basketball, earning a second-team All-State nod as a senior as the state’s leading rebounder. He also graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA, was chosen as class valedictorian, and participated in concert choir and Glacier Orchestra & Chorale.
McFarland closed out his successful high school career on the radar of multiple university football programs — including Northwestern, Harvard, Purdue, Oregon State and Montana State University — ultimately deciding to stay close to the Flathead Valley and represent the University of Montana.
A standout for the Griz, McFarland was a four-year starter at left tackle in Missoula, garnering All-American status in 2002 and 2003 and capturing the Griz’s captain title in 2003. He played in two FCS national championship games with the Griz, winning the FCS National Championship in 2001, and was inducted into the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
McFarland was a four-time Academic All-Big Sky selection, a 2003 semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy — known as the nation’s Academic Heisman — and was a two-time member of the FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team.
McFarland was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft after wrapping up his stellar college career at UM. For the next three years, the offensive tackle bounced around on the Bills’ practice squads, sometimes making the game roster, and even did a stint for NFL Europe’s Hamburg Sea Devils in 2006. His football career came to a close after his time in Europe following a series of knee surgeries.
Having earned his law degree at the University of Montana, McFarland now practices law in Missoula and is active in the community with the GrizKidz program as chairman of the Missoula YMCA board.
Thursday night will also mark another installment in the Wolfpack and Braves crosstown rivalry at Legends Stadium.
The defending Class AA state champion Wolfpack squad enters the bout at 6-1 overall, including 5-0 in Western AA conference play. After opening the season with a 6-3 loss to the Billings West Golden Bears in a rematch of last season’s state title game, Glacier has continued at an explosive clip, outscoring opponents 271-23.
The Wolfpack started the season with a 7.5-game streak without allowing a touchdown — a stretch finally broken by Missoula Sentinel earlier this month. Since then, Glacier has only allowed the opposing team to find the end zone three times this whole season.
Flathead enters Thursday’s crosstown game looking to salvage playoff hopes, sitting toward the bottom of the Western AA conference standings with a 1-4 record (3-4 overall). The 2026 campaign started in historic fashion when the Braves jumped to 3-0, outscoring opponents 124-59 in the process.
Now, the Braves are looking to pull the emergency brake on a four-game skid. Two of those losses were by a combined four points, but two – including last week’s matchup with the Butte High Bulldogs – were blowouts, losing each game by an average of 20 points.