Special teams pull through for Wolfpack

Glacier scored two defensive touchdowns in the fourth quarter of its 21-13 Class AA playoff victory over Helena Capital Friday at Legends Stadium, and while that effort stole the headlines, it was the Glacier special teams that kept the Wolfpack in the game.

Capital broke a 7-7 tie early in the third quarter when Capital running back Gunnar Brekke ran 34 yards for a touchdown, but Glacier deflected the extra-point attempt to keep its deficit at six points.

That loomed large later in the game when Brayden Nicholson recovered a fumble in the end zone for a Glacier touchdown and Kyle Griffith kicked the extra point to put the Wolfpack ahead 14-13.

“Special teams wins games, and that really showed tonight,” said Griffith, who serves as the team’s kicker, punt returner and occasional punter.

Glacier’s biggest special teams play came just before Nicholson’s touchdown. Facing a fourth and 10 from the Capital 44-yard line, Glacier’s Kyle Griffith booted a high punt toward the front-right corner of the end zone. The Capital punt returner elected to let the ball bounce toward the end zone, but Glacier’s Evan Epperly got there first to down the ball at the 1-yard line.

“We have really fast gunners and they get down there fast,” Griffith said. “I just try to put it close, but you don’t really expect to down it at the one.”

Glacier coach Grady Bennett said special teams had a huge impact throughout the game.

“We had some really big special teams plays that ended up giving us that game,” Bennett said. “We work hard at it. Our kids really buy into it and believe in it, and that’s a really neat thing.”

To motivate his players to work hard on special teams, Bennett keeps track of what he calls “hidden yards,” the starting field position on special teams exchanges.

“In all but one game, we’ve not only won the hidden yards battle, we’ve dominated it,” Bennett said.

The only time Glacier didn’t dominate hidden yards was in its week 2 loss to Great Falls C.M. Russell, Bennett said.

While Glacier had the big special teams plays at the end of Friday’s game against Capital, the Bruins had the upper hand early. Capital blocked a punt in the first quarter and returned it for a touchdown. Then, after stopping Glacier at its own 35-yard line on the ensuing possession, Capital returned a punt to the Glacier 45.

“Those are the two plays are going to haunt me,” Bennett said.

Glacier answered in the second quarter when Griffith returned a short Capital punt 22 yards to the Capital 15-yard line, setting up a touchdown pass from quarterback Taylor Hulslander to Griffith one play later.

“They had us pinned a lot in the second half and we couldn’t get out of the shadow of our own end zone,” Bennett said. “We finally flipped it at the end with that huge play.”