Wolfpack gridders visit Helena High

GREG SCHINDLER/The Daily Inter Lake

In football, things seldom are as good or as bad as they first seem.

The Glacier Wolfpack visits Helena High today following last week's 63-0 home drubbing against defending Class AA state champion Helena Capital.

The 2 p.m. game will be another epic challenge for the young, injury-ravaged Wolfpack (0-6), but Monday's team film session revealed moments of promise and snippets of success.

"We have some individuals that are just playing so well," Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. "What you start to see is little techniques getting better, guys getting more consistent, doing things right.

"Now I just challenged them all week to continue that and see it get better."

Bennett said Glacier's players ran crisp routes against Capital, improved their hand placement and generally lined up correctly, despite their relative inexperience and injury woes.

Glacier must continue such improvements for sustained success today. Coached by Tony Arntson, the Bengals (4-2) boast a complex offense averaging 27.2 points per game, thanks largely to quarterback Matt Upham, running back Nick Trapp and receiver Reil Cornelius.

Glacier's Connor Fuller and Jacob Criner were defensive stalwarts last week, but the Wolfpack is without injured linebackers Pat King, Garrett Conners and BJ Corpron and safety George Werk.

The Wolfpack's "healthy" linebackers have been nursing pains and sprains through both sophomore and varsity contests.

The Bengals have allowed 18.5 points per game, but their high-pressure odd front will test Glacier's short passing game, led by quarterback Shay Smithwick-Hann (four total touchdowns), wide receiver Fuller (29 catches, 183 yards) and running back Wiley Fusaro (26 catches, 218 yards), who leads the team in rushing.

"They've always been really aggressive," Bennett said of the Bengals. "They're going to be of the mindset, 'We're going to bring people and we're going to get to you before you get the ball off.'"

The Wolfpack visited CMR (5-1) and Great Falls (4-2) before facing Capital (5-1). It battles Flathead (4-2) in a cross-town rumble next week before finishing with Missoula Sentinel (0-6) and Missoula Big Sky (2-4).

"I feel like we're getting out of the thick woods," Bennett said.