Glacier's football playoff run starts in Billings

The Glacier Wolfpack football team is headed back to where it all started.

Before achieving the success of a 7-3 season and clinching the first playoff berth in program history, before toppling ranked opponents and building a standard of success from the ground up, the Wolfpack was a hearty group battling to prove itself at summer football camp in Billings.

They did it then, and they're back to do it again.

Today the fifth-ranked Wolfpack will meet the fourth-ranked Billings Skyview Falcons (7-3) at 7 p.m. at Wendy's Field at Daylis Stadium in the first round of the playoffs. The game is scheduled to be aired on 103.9 FM The Monster.

It's the first official meeting between the two teams, even though they've become familiar foes the past three summers at the AA football camp in June.

Last summer, Glacier bucked Skyview and the rest of the league in both the team and passing scrimmages, essentially winning the camp.

The success grew from there. At regular season's end, the Wolfpack had defeated three teams currently in the playoffs - all on the road no less - and had established the fourth-ranked offense and fifth-ranked rush defense. All this while ascribing to what Glacier head coach Grady Bennett calls the 'Wolfpack Way.'

"Yeah it's a big game (on Friday), it's a playoff game but we still want to play the same way and approach it the same way we do every single game," Bennett said. "We have a standard for how we play and that's what you have to focus on. I've tried to teach them that from day one, that again it doesn't matter who we play, it doesn't matter what the situation is, you're expected to play to this standard. We call it the 'Wolfpack Way.'"

There's been quite the group leading that standard. Quarterback Shay Smithwick-Hann is currently one of only two players in the league to rush for over 500 yards and throw for over 1,500 yards (the other is Bozeman junior Tanner Roderick). The 6-foot-4 senior standout has 670 yards on the ground and 1,783 in the air and will graduate with passing records that would stand near the top at most high schools across the state.

Then there's senior running backs Taylor Hart and Wiley Fusaro, who have been the big and quick tandem on the ground. They've combined for 1,021 yards and 20 touchdowns.

"We're really balanced, so I hope that's what sticks out offensively," Bennett said.

"If you try to take one part away, we're going to do the other."

On defense, senior Connor Fuller has amassed 103 tackles and three sacks while senior Garrett Conners leads with seven sacks, followed by Joe Osborne with five.

Glacier and Skyview, who both finished tied for third place along with Helena, matchup closely with each other. Skyview has a running back out of the same fullback-minded mold - and last name- as of one of Kalispell's favorite sons, current Miami Dolphin Lex Hilliard. The 5-9, 200-pound senior Carson Hilliard is seventh in the league in rushing with 882 yards and will be the focus of Glacier's strong run defense.

"Looking at the statistics for both teams, it's really even," Bennett said. "I think both teams are pretty evenly matched ball clubs, so it has the makings of being a really good football game."

Both teams are riding win streaks into the playoffs.

The Falcons have won their last three games, including a 22-6 victory over Helena and a 19-14 win at Bozeman last week.

Glacier meanwhile has a two-game win streak and also has a four-game streak of scoring 34-points-or-more.

A large portion of that success can be traced back to a burly group of linemen who have been a foundation of Glacier's success this season.

"Ultimately the game of football is won or lost in the trenches, and fortunately for us we have good linemen on both sides," Bennett said.

So, what else does Skyview's scouting report reveal about Glacier?

Well, don't rely on the 460-mile journey across the state to trip up the Wolfpack. On the road this season, Glacier is 3-2.

Then there's something else to consider.

"We play hard," Bennett said.

"I hope that stands out. This is a group that plays hard and they're never going to quit. They're always going to bring it."

Class AA Playoffs

First Round

Today

All Games 7 p.m.

Glacier at Billings Skyview

Missoula Big Sky at Helena Capital

Missoula Sentinel at Helena High

Bozeman at C.M. Russell (Great Falls)