Bulldogs spoil Wolfpack debut

The Daily Inter Lake

The Wolfpack finally got its paws wet. It also learned a few things about fighting back, and running with the big dogs.

The Glacier High School football team played its first game Friday night, losing a 40-7 Class AA contest to Butte High at Legends Stadium.

And while the first half was as lopsided as one might expect from Glacier's squad of underclassmen, the Wolfpack took several steps in the right direction, blazing a historic trail along the way.

The Bulldogs scored on five of their first six possessions and rolled into halftime with a 40-0 lead.

Running back Michael Ueland scored three touchdowns, while quarterback Michael Hawbaker connected with wide receiver Brandon Boltz for two more. Backup quarterback Tyler Paffhausen capped the damage with an 8-yard strike to Blake Cohlhepp in the waning seconds of the second quarter.

But the Wolfpack eventually found its legs, keeping Butte out of the end zone while establishing an offensive rhythm in the second half.

"I knew that this first half especially, the kids were just going to have to see what AA football is all about," said Glacier coach Grady Bennett. "There was no way we could really describe it to them. There's just no way you can explain it to kids. It's a man's game, it's a seniors game - guys that have been in the weight room for three years.

"I was really happy with how they responded in that second half."

Sophomore quarterback Shay Smithwick-Hann scored the first points in Glacier history, scampering 6 yards around left end before crashing through a wall of defenders with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter.

"It hurt, actually," Smithwick-Hann said. "I got hit pretty good, but it's fun to be part of history. There was a lot of history made tonight."

Junior defensive back Taylor Graham made the first tackle in Wolfpack history, while sophomore middle linebacker Garrett Conners snagged the first interception. Junior nose tackle Tim Dick knifed his way through Butte's massive offensive line for the program's first sack.

Glacier's first offensive play was a 15-yard completion from Smithwick-Hann to Graham.

Though Butte returned just five starters from last fall's playoff squad, Smithwick-Hann was the only Glacier athlete with varsity experience prior to Friday night.

"We're rebuilding, too," said sixth-year Butte coach Greg Salo. "The only thing is … the kids we're putting in there have been in the program for two or three years.

"(Bennett's) kids - that's a first-year program. And we've got seniors. That makes a difference. They're a very young team, and we have 23 seniors that are here."

Ueland led Butte with 93 yards rushing on just nine attempts.

Hawbaker was nearly perfect, completing seven of eight passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns.

Boltz totaled 74 yards on three receptions.

Smithwick-Hann completed 13 of 22 passes for 146 yards and no interceptions.

Graham led Glacier's receivers with three receptions for 56 yards, followed by sophomore running back Wiley Fusaro with three catches for 43 yards.

"(The Bulldogs) got after us a little bit, but after tonight we've got more than 22 guys with experience, and we're just going to build on that and keep going and keep rolling," Smithwick-Hann said.

"Everybody knows the speed of the game now. Everybody knows how hard they have to prepare and how hard they're going to have to work in the week just to get ready for that game on Friday night."

Glacier gets its first taste of life on the road next Friday as it travels to Bozeman to face the Hawks.

"Obviously, Rome wasn't built in a day, and these kids have to understand that we are building something, and it's going to take a lot of hard work," Bennett said.

"Right now, at 40-7, it sounds kind of funny to think about how excited I am. But when you think about what we're building, the project that we're starting, it's pretty exciting. You're looking at 40 sophomores, going, 'Wow, this is a good group of kids.'"

Butte 19 21 0 0 - 40

Glacier 0 0 7 0 - 7

First Quarter

Butte - Michael Ueland 20 run (D.C. Luckey kick), 9:39

Butte - Ueland 19 run (kick failed), 4:06

Butte - Brandon Boltz 48 pass from Michael Hawbaker (kick failed), :56

Second Quarter

Butte - Ueland 1 run (Luckey kick), 10:05

Butte - Boltz 11 pass from Hawbaker (Luckey kick), 4:27

Butte - Blake Cohlhepp 8 pass from Tyler Paffhausen (Luckey kick), :14

Third Quarter

Glacier - Shay Smithwick-Hann 6 run (Taylor Graham kick), 2:25

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Butte Glacier

First downs 9 10

Rushes-yards 37-198 29-52

Passing yards 176 146

Return yards 127 96

Comp-Att 8-12-1 13-22-0

Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-2

Penalties 6-26 4-25

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Butte, Ueland 9-93, Hawbaker 3-(-1), Cole Conway 1-7, Marcus McCaughey 1-8, Zach Fellows 7-23, Cohlhepp 7-34, Paffhausen 3-7, James Richards 6-27. Glacier, Smithwick-Hann 12-4, Wiley Fusaro 14-31, BJ Corpron 1-10, Tim Dick 2-7.

PASSING-Butte, Hawbaker 7-8-0 168, Paffhausen 1-4-1 8. Glacier, Smithwick-Hann 13-22-0 146.

RECEIVING-Butte, Conway 3-59, Boltz 3-74, Calvin Penrose 1-35, Cohlhepp 1-8. Glacier, Fusaro 3-43, Conner Fuller 4-24, Graham 3-56, Josh Doty 1-2, Matt Cope 1-12, Kyle Montini 1-9.