Wolfpack hoping for home victory on homecoming

Some coaches say their team has one goal and one goal only - winning the state championship. But Glacier head football coach Grady Bennett is a little more practical when it comes to setting goals for his second-year team.

For starters, there was getting that historical first win last month, on the road in the copper kingdom of Butte no less. Bennett described the milestone as proof that his guys were starting to believe in themselves and buy into the team's benchmarks.

Tonight at 7 against Great Falls High, the Wolfpack are chasing their next goal - winning for the first time at Legends Stadium.

And what better time than now - homecoming week.

"To be able to celebrate in our own locker room and on our own field in front of our fans would be sweet," Bennett said.

He said the preparation for this week's matchup is unique because of the potential distractions his team faces. The coach wants his team to enjoy the homecoming festivities, but when practice started, it was all-and-only football.

"It's easy for kids to lose focus during times like homecoming," he said. "This week, I just told the guys we need quality practices, and to come focused everyday. And our guys responded to that, I think."

A new advantage Bennett has this year that can't be found in playbooks is senior leadership. This year's team has 21 seniors who take the coach's speeches and turn them into gospel. Two seniors in particular came to mind this week - team captain and defensive back Kramer Wilson and defensive lineman Michael Shockley.

"(Kramer) and (Shockley) are fantastic. They really understand what it means to be a team," Bennett said.

Bennett said the seniors keep an eye on the underclassmen throughout the week, either in study sessions or at practice. Freshmen and sophomores are no longer pushed around by upper classmen, in fact just the opposite happens, and as a result the team has become "united."

And not a second too soon. It's going to take a coordinated effort to beat a team like Great Falls.

The Wolfpack (2-2) face the toughest defense in AA with the Great Falls Bison (3-1). The Bison have held teams to an average of 139 yards total offense per game. Glacier's total offense currently ranks in the middle of the pack, averaging roughly 288 yards per game. The Bison sit in third offensively, averaging 383.

The Glacier running game, led by Wiley Fusaro, had a tough go last week and was held to minimal yards. This week, the going will get a little tougher. It wouldn't be totally accurate to call the Great Falls defensive line the Great Wall, but the Great Barrier might do.

However, Great Falls doesn't get all the defensive accolades. Bennett was asked which play or series stood out the most from last week's game. He paused momentarily, thinking out loud about a number of positive signs his team showed. But one series stood out from the others, and it was on defense.

"We had a defensive goal-line stand (against CMR) and all of a sudden our guys saw the offense and made a tremendous adjustment," Bennett said. "Our 'D' shut them down and kept them from scoring and that was huge."

Overall, he came away from last week's 30-13 loss to Great Falls CMR optimistic.

"Last week our guys saw that they could compete with teams like CMR," Bennett said. "We're tied at half and I'm looking around and could see the guys realizing it."

Small mistakes, like mounting penalties and unfinished scoring drives, ended up chipping away at the strong start Glacier put together.

By the fourth quarter, CMR looked like the AA fifth-ranked team that it was, and ran away with the win.

But compared to this time last year, the Wolfpack have made perceptible growth, whether it's seen in a red-zone stop or a deep downfield pass like the one Shay Smithwick-Hann threw for 57 yards last week.

"The little things matter," Bennett said.

And in the case of the Glacier Wolfpack, the same is said for small goals.