AA football semis: Billings West wallops Glacier
BILLINGS - A Glacier football season during which the Wolfpack won its first playoff game in the program's history came to an end Friday.
The No. 1 Billings West Golden Bears dispatched Glacier 45-16 in the Class AA semifinals at Wendy's Field at Daylis Stadium to earn a trip to the state championship game.
Billings West (11-1) will play the winner of today's game between Helena Capital and Helena High.
The Wolfpack managed to stay close in total offense, racking up 314 yards compared to 388 for the Golden Bears.
They out-gained West 170-114 on the ground.
But turnovers hampered Glacier throughout the game. The Wolfpack (9-3) were the victims of four interceptions and one lost fumble.
Billings West didn't let many chances go to waste.
The Golden Bears' 6-foot-7 quarterback Brady Gustafson connected on 19 of 26 pass attempts for two touchdowns. His teammate, running back Clay Compton, had 95 yards on 29 carries and scored four touchdowns.
For Glacier, Anthony Gugliuzza had 72 receiving, 61 rushing yards and one of the Wolfpack's two touchdowns.
Noah James led Glacier in rushing with 72 yards.
The Golden Bears jumped all over Glacier early. Compton scored on an eight-yard run with 5:54 left in the first quarter to put Billings West up 14-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Glacier's Andrew Nelson scored on a 90-yard kickoff return to bring the game within a score.
It wouldn't be close again.
West rattled off two more touchdowns before the Wolfpack's Kyle Griffith kicked a 34-yard field goal to make it 28-10.
But West converted a field goal of its own before the half and opened the third quarter with touchdown runs by Compton on back-to-back drives to put the game out of reach.
Gugliuzza scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to give the game its final score.
Billings West had advanced to the game by beating Flathead 39-7 last week. Glacier made it to the semifinals with a 24-10 win over Billings Senior at Legends Stadium.
Glacier 7 3 0 6 - 16
West 21 10 14 0 - 45
First quarter
West - Eric Rydquist 11 pass from Brady Gustafson (Bailey Lehenbauer kick), 7:52.
West - Clay Compton 8 run (Lehenbauer kick), 5:54
Glacier - Andrew Nelson 90 kickoff return (Kyle Griffith kick), 5:41.
West - Compton 1 run (Lehenbauer kick), 3:20.
Second quarter
West - Jayc Van Zee 22 pass from Gustafson (Lehenbauer kick), 10:31.
Glacier - Griffith 34 field goal, 9:04.
West - Lehenbauer 37 field goal, :45.2.
Third quarter
West - Compton 4 run (Lehenbauer kick), 9:46.
West - Compton 1 run (Lehenbauer kick), 6:41.
Fourth quarter
Glacier - Anthony Gugliuzza 1 run (pass failed), 5:47.
---
Gla West
First downs 15 26
Rushes-yards 30-170 42-114
Passing 10-27-4 1 9-26-0
Passing yards 144 274
Total yards 314 388
Penalties-yards 7-55 5-45
Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-2
Individual statistics
Rushing - Kalispell Glacier: Noah James 10-72, Anthony Gugliuzza 5-61, Kyle Griffith 3-39, Andrew Nelson 1-14, Aaron Mitchell 2-8, Kellyn Faraone 3-8, Taylor Hulslander 6-(-32). Billings West: Clay Compton 29-95, Logan Laird 7-34, Ryan Gallogly 1-1, Brady Gustafson 5-(-16).
Passing - Kalispell Glacier: Taylor Hulslander 10-27-4, 144 yards. Billings West: Brady Gustafson 19-26-0, 274 yards.
Receiving - Kalispell Glacier: Anthony Gugliuzza 3-72, Kyle Griffith 5-50, Kellyn Faraone 1-9, Noah James 1-3. Billings West: Jayc Van Zee 5-110, Clay Compton 9-104, Cody Mack 3-36, Eric Rydquist 2-22.