Glacier falls in football finale to Missoula Big Sky
The Wolfpack's post-game meeting was brief.
There were no tearful goodbyes or lamentations of what might have been - just a locker room full of athletes and coaches eagerly awaiting the future of their young program.
The Glacier High School football team closed its inaugural season Friday with a 52-10 Class AA loss to Missoula Big Sky at Legends Stadium.
And while the playoff-bound Eagles (5-5) dished out plenty of punishment, the Wolfpack (0-10) couldn't help but beam about what it went through this fall - lopsided losses and all.
"You can tell that everybody's excited, and I just challenged them to really embrace the process over the next week or two," Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. "It's going to be important for us to evaluate. I want the kids to evaluate themselves. I want them to evaluate us as coaches, evaluate our program."
Big Sky raced to a 35-0 first-quarter lead and 49-10 halftime advantage, thanks largely to fullback Beau Donaldson. Class AA's leading rusher, the 6-foot-2, 223-pound senior rumbled for 201 yards and four touchdowns on 14 first-half carries, boosting his regular season rushing totals to 1,518 yards and 20 touchdowns.
"You can tell your kids how big Beau Donaldson is and how big and physical Big Sky is, but … it was just kind of shell-shock," Bennett said. "We've played some good backs, but nobody that physically imposing.
"He's going to have a shot at being the next H-back, lead blocker for Montana. He's that good."
Taylor Graham put the Wolfpack on the board with a 23-yard field goal before scoring his third touchdown of the season on a 29-yard reception from Shay Smithwick-Hann. Graham's kick was Glacier's first successful field goal, and the Wolfpack's 10 first-half points were a season high.
Graham was productive all season, but he exploded with three receptions for 122 yards, along with five kickoff returns for 102 yards. He said he is proud that the Wolfpack stayed positive through setback after setback.
"I think we did a great job," he said. "Our coaches never want us to be satisfied with losing, but they always kept (our focus) off of the scoreboard. We have a great group of guys, and we help each other out."
Eagles coach Gary Ekegren was pleased with Big Sky's crisp execution, particularly in the first half. He also was impressed with Big Sky's newest opponent.
"I'm really impressed with what Grady and his staff is doing with these kids," he said. "They're doing it the right way. Their kids are disciplined and they're executing."
Smithwick-Hann completed 11 of 32 attempts for 220 yards. Five of his passes went for more than 20 yards, but Bennett was just as satisfield with some of the incompletions.
"Shay really settled in tonight under intense pressure," Bennett said. "(The Eagles) are bringing six, seven guys every time, but … he's done a great job this year in the face of pressure, just getting rid of the ball.
"Early on he held on to it a couple times, and I just challenged him, 'Get it out of there,' and he started doing that. I thought Shay played a really good game tonight, and the receivers got open and helped each other."
Connor Fuller added five receptions for 77 yards, giving him a team-high 50 catches for 425 yards on the season. Wiley Fusaro had 18 yards rushing as well as two catches.
Big Sky quarterback Heath Eustance went 5-for-9 for 69 yards and a touchdown, while fellow senior Justin Montelius rushed for 81 yards and a score.
The Wolfpack's lack of seniors led to myriad frustrating moments this season. It also means Glacier should return in tact next fall with plenty of valuable experience.
"By the time they get to be seniors, nothing's going to be able to faze them," Bennett said of Glacier's players. "They're just going to believe that they can beat anybody, and that's what's pretty cool."
Big Sky 35 14 0 3 - 52
Glacier 0 10 0 0 - 10
First Quarter
BS - Justin Montelius 42 run (Heath Eustance kick), 10:55
BS - Jordan Tripp 32 interception return (Eustance kick), 9:26
BS - Beau Donaldson 20 run (Eustance kick), 7:17
BS - Donaldson 25 run (Eustance kick), 5:00
BS - Mike Devlin 33 pass from Eustance (Eustance kick), :06
Second Quarter
Gla - FG Taylor Graham 23, 7:32
BS - Donaldson 1 run (Eustance kick), 3:47
BS - Donaldson 40 run (Eustance kick), 1:07
Gla - Graham 29 pass from Shay Smithwick-Hann (Graham kick), :39
Fourth Quarter
BS - FG Eustance 24, 10:23
BS Gla
First downs 16 7
Rushes-yards 40-378 16-9
Passing yards 80 220
Return yards 25 124
Comp-Att-Int 6-10-0 11-32-2 Punts-yards 1-41 5-116
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 7-30 5-26
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Big Sky, Donaldson 14-201, Eustance 1-0, Montelius 8-81, Tripp 9-53, Pete Alsbury 2-12, Billy Peltier 5-27, NA 1-4. Glacier, Wiley Fusaro 9-18, Smithwick-Hann 7-(-9).
PASSING-Big Sky, Eustance 5-9-0-69, Peritz 1-1-0-11. Glacier, Smithwick-Hann 11-32-2-220.
RECEIVING-Big Sky, Mike LaValley 1-14, Devlin 2-44, Montelius 2-11, Kevin McHugh 1-11. Glacier, Graham 3-122, Connor Fuller 5-77, Fusaro 2-8, Kyle Montini 1-13.