AA football playoffs: Glacier survives Butte

Glacier weathered a record-setting performance by Butte, forcing a few late stops to win a shootout 62-55 in the first round of the Class AA football playoffs Friday at Legends Stadium.

Leading by only a touchdown and struggling to stop Bulldogs’ standout quarterback Dallas Cook all night, Glacier forced a punt with 4:25 to play and intercepted Cook on the next possession, returning it for a touchdown. The 14-point lead was just enough to weather a storm of yards and points that rained on both sides of the field.

“People don’t understand why coaches lose their hair, go bald and turn gray,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. “I still don’t think I’ve exhaled.

“Nobody’s happy giving up 55. That’s just Dallas Cook. Very seldom do you play against that type of athlete. They’re gonna get theirs. You have to keep battling and try to get more. Our guys did that.”

It was the highest scoring game in Class AA this season, the two teams combining for 117 points and 1068 yards. But, it was a defensive play that made the difference.

Backed up to its own 16-yard line with 2:30 to play, Butte dropped back for a pass on second-and-6. Glacier brought pressure and three players were able to get to Cook, who — listed at 6-foot-5, 235 pounds — was able to muscle through the defense to get off a pass.

Waiting for him, however, was junior cornerback Logan Jones, who capped a monster night with an interception, returning it 15 yards for a touchdown to give Glacier a 62-48 lead with 2:12 to play.

“When (Cook) was coming towards me I (played off) to try to bait him,” Jones said. “I knew he was going to throw it so I backed up into it and I got it. Then I just had to get there (for a touchdown).”

Jones gave Glacier the lead just minutes earlier, spinning out of a pair of tackles to break free for a 30-yard touchdown run. The score broke a 48-48 tie and stopped all the momentum Butte had built in the second half.

Jones, who split most of the night between running back and receiver after starting back Noah James left the game with an injury in the first quarter, finished with 116 rushing yards, 143 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

“He just was not going to be denied,” Bennett said. “What do you say about that kid? Wow. Unbelievable.”

Glacier’s late lead wasn’t the end of the shootout. Butte drove for a touchdown with a minute left in the game, but wasn’t able to recover an onside kick. With four reserves playing on the hands team due to injuries, it was senior receiver Evan Epperly who recovered the attempt, allowing Glacier to salt away the final minute of the game.

“You’re praying (they don’t recover),” Bennett said. “Then, with five sophomores on the field they kicked it to one of our best football players.”

For as exciting as the final minutes were, the shootout started much earlier.

Glacier stalled on two early drives, settling for field goals. Butte answered quickly, scoring a 70-yard touchdown on a jet sweep to tight end Tyler Earles, tying the score in one play.

Glacier was able to build a 27-13 lead 43 seconds into the second quarter, only for Butte to answer with a touchdown 24 seconds later. In return, the Wolfpack scored two plays after that, Epperly scoring his second touchdown in as many minutes to return the Glacier lead to two touchdowns.

A score just before half gave Butte a glimmer of hope, and the Bulldogs tied the game on their first possession of the second half. The teams again traded touchdowns in the span of two minutes, and traded touchdowns on long drives in the fourth before Glacier was finally able to get a stop.

“It took everybody,” Jones said. “The whole team. This was a team effort. If we didn’t have a single one of those guys, all the guys who got hurt, it was heart. It took everybody for this game. It feels great.”

Cook broke his own single-season state records for passing yardage, completions, passing touchdowns and per game passing average in the game, breaking the marks in two fewer games than last season. He closed his senior season 296 for 460 for 4,118 yards passing and 40 touchdowns, complemented by 858 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns in 11 games. He averaged 374.4 passing yards per game this season, breaking his previous record by more than 78 yards.

He is the first quarterback in state history to surpass 4,000 yards passing in a season and the only one to throw for at least 3,200 twice. He had 7,968 passing yards and 79 passing touchdowns in the last two seasons, walking away with the state championship last year.

“You watch Butte film over the last few years and it’s just crazy,” Bennett said. “They know they’re never out of it. They look up and see four seconds and they know they have a chance. It’s just incredible.

“For our kids, two games now this season, to beat that team and that player. It’s pretty incredible.”

Glacier will host the winner of today’s game between Helena Capital and Great Falls C.M. Russell in the semifinals next week. This is the third straight year Glacier has reached the penultimate week of the season.

Butte 13 14 14 14 — 55

Glacier 20 14 7 21 — 62

First quarter

G — Brandon Purdy 40 field goal, 10:28

G — Purdy 26 field goal, 7:41

B — Tyler Earles 65 run (kick failed), 7:20

G — Brady McChesney 10 run (Purdy kick), 3:51

B — Dallas Cook 1 run (Sean Staples kick), 0:31

G — Logan Jones 50 pass from Brady McChesney (Purdy kick), 0:09

Second quarter

G — Evan Epperly 4 pass from McChesney (Purdy kick), 11:17

B — Dalton Daum 70 pass from Cook (Staples kick), 10:53

G — Epperly 64 pass from McChesney (Purdy kick), 10:00

B — Cook 1 run (Staples kick), 0:14

Third quarter

B — Cook 3 run (Staples kick), 7:28

G — Jones 50 pass from McChesney (Purdy kick), 6:24

B — Cook 3 run (Staples kick), 5:26

Fourth quarter

G — Todd Ogden 1 run (Purdy kick), 11:43

B — Cook 1 run (Staples kick), 7:04

G — Jones 30 run (Purdy kick), 5:35

G — Jones 15 interception return (Purdy kick), 2:12

B — Cook 1 run (Staples kick), 1:03

————

Butte Glacier

First downs 21 18

Rushes-yards 43-274 36-194

Passing yards 297 303

Comp-Att-Int 25-50-3 17-34-0

Total Yards 571 497

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0

Penalties-yards 9-94 10-110

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NDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING — Butte, Dallas Cook 29-149, Jake Eisenbarth 11-56, Tyler Earles 1-65. Glacier, Brady McChesney 10-54, Todd Ogden 3-2, Noah James 1-11, Logan Jones 16-116, Casey Kostecki 4-9, Tucker Rauthe 2-2.

PASSING — Butte, Cook 25-50-297-3. Glacier, McChesney 17-34-303-0

RECEIVING — Butte, Eisenbarth 3-32, Paul Campbell 7-44, Peter Granger 3-25, Zach Johnson 1-18, Sean Doyle 2-6, Dalton Daum 3-84, Brody Hart 5-45, Cory Farstveet 1-43. Glacier, Jones 7-143, Evan Epperly 4-75, Kaden Schoenthal 2-28, Devin Cochran 1-14, Sam McCamley 2-37, Kevin Malloy 1-6.