Page 69 - Flathead Beacon // 8.26.15

NEW SEASON BRINGS FRESH GOALS FOR GLACIER
FOLLOWING HISTORIC CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON, WOLFPACK SEEKING NEW PLAYERS TO FILL IN KEY ROLES
H ow does a team follow-up the best season in program
history?
That is the daunting task fac-
ing this year’s Glacier Wolfpack. Head coach Grady Bennett has more than a few fresh faces taking over the top roster
spots for the high-powered Wolfpack. Glacier has the challenge of trying to reload after a historic season and qualify for the Class AA playoffs for the seventh consec-
utive year.
There won’t be a lot of time to iron out the
kinks as Glacier opens the season Aug. 28 at Legends Stadium against one of the top teams in the state, Helena. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Competition will be stiff as always in Class AA. Great Falls C.M. Russell returns the top running back in Montana, Andrew Grinde, who committed to play at Yale in the offsea- son, and Billings Senior and Helena promise to be title contenders as well.
Last season’s Wolfpack scored an incred- ible 645 points — 49.6 per game on average — while the defense held opponents to 12.6 points per game on average en route to a per- fect 13-0 state championship season.
The first championship in school history is worthy of long-lasting celebration, but instead of fixating on the past, Bennett is focusing on helping this latest squad forge its own identity and establish its own memora- ble legacy.
“We can’t measure ourselves against the past – the past is the past and that’s over,” he said. “We need to show up everyday and be the best that we can be and make it count.”
Glacier will have a new signal caller in Leif Ericksen, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound senior who backed up Brady McChesney a year ago.
“I really believe he’s one of the most improved football players in our program,” Bennett said. “I’m excited to watch him con- tinue to develop.”
Bennett said Tadan Gilman, a 6-0,
180-pound junior, could fill in at times as a versatile second option at QB.
“He’s such a good athlete, we could use him in some packages and in a lot of different ways,” Bennett said.
Bennett also has a tried-and-true running back in Thomas Trefney, a 6-0, 190-pound senior. Last season Trefney rushed for 1,132 yards and 29 touchdowns.
Trefney is the top offensive weapon back for Glacier, which graduated all eight of its first-team all-state players.
“This group sat in the wings and watched those guys do great things, and now it’s their turn,” Bennett said. “They want to make their mark and they want to take advantage of their shot and their opportunity.” ■
“WE CAN’T MEASURE OURSELVES AGAINST THE PAST – THE PAST IS THE PAST AND THAT’S OVER,
WE NEED TO SHOW UP EVERYDAY AND BE THE BEST THAT WE CAN BE AND MAKE IT COUNT.”
- GRADY BENNETT, WOLFPACK HEAD COACH
Head coach Grady Bennett lifts Thomas Trefney into the air in the Class AA state championship in 2014. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
2015 SCHEDULE
GLACIER
AUG. 28 SEPT. 4 SEPT. 11 SEPT. 18 SEPT.25 OCT. 2 OCT. 9 OCT. 15 OCT. 23 OCT. 30
7P.M. 7 P.M. 7 P.M. 7 P.M. 7P.M. 7P.M. 7 P.M. 7 P.M. 7P.M. 7 P.M.
WOLFPACK
HELENA
BOZEMAN
AT HELENA CAPITAL AT GREAT FALLS MISSOULA HELLGATE* MISSOULA SENTINEL AT GREAT FALLS CMR AT BUTTE
FLATHEAD
AT MISSOULA BIG SKY
*HOMECOMING
HEAD COACH
Grady Bennett (9th season, 57-35)
2014 SEASON
13-0 (Won Class AA state championship over Great Falls CMR, 56-19)
RETURNING STANDOUTS
Thomas Trefney, Sr., RB; Caleb Jones, Sr., WR/ DB; Jacob Willich, Sr., DB; Andrew Klamecki, Sr., OL; Jaxen Hashley, Jr., TE/DL; Tadan Gilman, Jr., QB/DB
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AUGUST 26, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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