Glacier wins classic crosstown
<p>Flathead senior wide receiver George Sherwood (11) points to the crowd after scoring a touchdown Friday night.</p>
<p>Glacier junior wide receiver Kyle Griffith (3) sneaks past Flathead’s Evan Eickert (9) to score the Wolfpack’s first touchdown during the first quarter Friday night at a packed Legends Stadium.</p>
<p>Glacier’s Aaron Mitchell (28) hauls in a two-point conversion pass after a touchdown in Friday night’s crosstown football game at Legends Stadium.</p>
They'll be talking about this one for a long, long time around here.
The Glacier Wolfpack survived a huge Flathead rally and came away with a 56-44 crosstown football victory on Friday night at Legends Stadium.
Glacier improves to 5-1 while the Braves fall to 3-3.
Between them, the Flathead Braves (510) and the Glacier Wolfpack (468) racked up 978 total yards and scored 13 touchdowns, two fields and three 2-point conversions.
There were three touchdowns scored in the final 51 seconds of the first half.
There were a ton of big plays on both sides - to name a few, Glacier's Ben Ogden returned an interception for a touchdown, Flathead's Matt Tokarz had an 89-yard touchdown run, Glacier's Anthony Gugliuzza had a 44-yard touchdown reception and Flathead's George Sherwood had a 79-yard touchdown catch.
But none was more important that Tyson Hubbard's fumble recovery on the Glacier 12-yard line.
With just over two minutes left in the game, Glacier led the Braves 49-44.
But Flathead was on the move - the Braves had bounced back from a 49-22 deficit and were banging on the door again. They were on the Wolfpack 16-yard line with all the momentum and the fervor of the Flathead fans driving them.
Until ... the Wolfpack defensive line knocked the ball loose. Hubbard scooped it up and returned it all the way to the Flathead 20.
Three plays later, Glacier's Aaron Mitchell put the finishing score on the Wolfpack victory.
"All I can say is ... exhale," said Glacier coach Grady Bennett.
"All the fans came to see a great football game and they got it," he said.
"Credit Flathead for never giving up and never thinking it was over, no matter how many ticks were on the clock. They just kept coming," he said of the Braves.
"It worked out for us. But we've got to learn how to put the hammer down and finish the deal," he said.
"We've done this same thing two years in a row (in the crosstown). We got up big, and then ... I don't know, just thought we had it.
"But when all is said and done, we're 5-1. It's been a long time since a Kalispell team has been 5-1," Bennett said.
In his recollection, the last team to start that well may have been in the late 1990s.
The Wolfpack will be looking at penalties again next week. It was flagged 14 times for 125 yards.
"We work so hard. We're so disciplined. We stress it so much. I don't know why it doesn't carry over to games," Bennett said.
"That's even the reason why (the game) was close enough to allow (the Braves) back in. There were a few drives there, without penalties, it might have been over," he said.
"They took it to us offensively and we struggled a little bit on special teams with our substitutions - and that bothered me a little bit," said Flathead coach Russell McCarvel.
"And obviously we had too many turnovers."
Turnovers were a huge problem for the Braves - three interceptions and two lost fumbles.
Three of those led to Glacier touchdowns. The two fumbles came as the Braves were getting ready to score - and both led to Glacier touchdowns.
Flathead took the second half kickoff and drove to the Glacier 11-yard line. Glacier's Austin Foucher recovered a fumble there and returned it all the way to Flathead's 15.
"We've got to regroup. There are still four games left," McCarvel said.
"We have to find a way to put some wins together and get into the playoffs," he said.
Sherwood and Tokarz were phenomenal for Flathead. Sherwood had seven catches for 182 yards and scored three touchdowns. Tokarz was 17-for-37 for 272 yards and threw four touchdowns. He also ran for 133 yards and two scores.
For Glacier, Taylor Hulslander was calm, collected and 22-for-41 for 384 yards and five touchdowns. Kyle Griffith caught 13 of those passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns. Anthony Gugliuzza had six catches for 132 yards.
Glacier 14 18 17 7 - 56
Flathead 8 14 0 22 - 44
First Quarter
G - Kyle Griffith 20 pass from Taylor Hulslander (Kyle Griffith kick), 7:34
G - Ben Ogden 20 Int return (Griffith kick), 3:09.
F - George Sherwood 20 pass from Matt Tokarz (Matt McLean run), :43.
Second Quarter
F - Sherwood 33 pass from Tokarz (Dillon Torgerson kick), 7:26.
G - Griffith 33 field goal, 5:30
G - Griffith 19 pass from Hulslander (Aaron Mitchell pass from Hulslander), :51
F - Tokarz 81 run (Torgerson kick), :32.
G - Andrew Nelson 28 pass from Hulslander (Griffith kick), :09
Third Quarter
G - Griffith 21 pass from Hulslander (Griffith kick), 7:25.
G - Anthony Gugliuzza 44 pass from Hulslander (Griffith kick), 6:40.
G - Griffith 25 field goal, 3:43
Fourth Quarter
F - Kevin Grosweiler 38 pass from Tokarz (Tokarz run), 11:29.
F - Sherwood 79 pass from Tokarz (Torgerson kick), 9:24.
F - Tokarz 7 run (Torgerson kick), 4:38.
G - Mitchell 6 run (Griffith kick), 1:38.
Glacier Flathead
First downs 19 19
Total yards 468 510
Rushing yards 84 238
Passing 384 272
Punt Returns 3-20 1-3
Kickoff returns 5-60 6-114
Comp-Att-Int 22-42-1 17-37-3
Punts 4-35.5 5-34.2
Fumbles lost 1-0 3-2
Penalties 14-125 9-80
Individual statistics
RUSHING - Glacier, Taylor Hulslander 5-minus 10, Dawson Day, 2-minus 1, Aaron Mitchell 4-13,Noah James 8-45, Kyle Griffith 1-minus 1, Anthony Gugliuzza 3-16,Kellyn Faraone 2-8, Andrew Nelson 3-14; Flathead, Matthew Tokarz 21-133, Matt McLean 1-11, Michael Managhan 8-34, John Collins 14-56, Austin Root 2-4.
PASSING - Glacier,Taylor Hulslander 22-41-384-5, Dawson Day 0-1-0-0; Flathead, Matt Tokarz 17-37-272-4.
RECEIVING - Glacier, Aaron Mitchell 1-18, Kyle Griffith 13-162,Anthony Gugliuzza 6-132, Andrew Nelson 2-58; Flathead, George Sherwood 7-182, Matt McLean 5-33, Drew Crosby 2-11, Kevin Grosweiler 1-38, Louis Fredenburg 1-4,Shea Schroeder 1-4.