Weather delay, Rustlers fail to stop Wolfpack in 20-14 football thriller
It took nearly six hours but Glacier walked out of Memorial Stadium in Great Falls with a hard-earned 20-14 win over Great Falls C.M. Russell early Saturday morning.
The game was stalled until deep into the night on Friday after lightning storms struck the region. The game was delayed with 58 seconds left in the third quarter, following a game-tying touchdown from CMR.
As the delay crept past midnight, a CMR parent handed out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the teams did what they could to stay energized during the break. Through all of that, there was little thought of calling the game or postponing it until the morning.
“We debated back and forth,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said.
“After (the delay) got to two hours, we started discussing playing in the morning. That involved getting hotel rooms and it could get expensive. We kept looking at the weather and it seemed like it was going to clear up. We just needed to wait it out. So, we agreed to keep waiting.”
The teams retook the field after three hours in the locker rooms to a soggy field that was drenched by rain and the field’s automated sprinkler system that went off at its scheduled time, typically well after teams have left the stadium.
The break came at an opportune time for the Wolfpack, who had given up 14 unanswered points to CMR. Glacier’s coaches took advantage during the break, scripting a series that was effective right out of the gates.
Evan Epperly caught his only pass of the night for a 39-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give Glacier a 20-14 lead. The extra point was blocked but the Wolfpack defense was able to hold on despite a few long drives by the Rustlers.
The last drive of the game saw CMR get to the Glacier 14-yard line, only for the ’Pack defense to hold on four straight plays to get the ball back and kneel out the clock.
“I was really proud of our kids and our coaches,” Bennett said.
“(CMR) had all the momentum. But I liked how we regrouped. The coaches did a good job getting the kids to relax a little bit. I felt like our guys were excited and ready (coming out of lockerrroom). I felt really good about our chances.”
Glacier was fantastic to start the contest. The team roared out to a 14-0 lead on the legs of senior running back Noah James, who finished with 17 carries for 120 yards.
“Noah James was a man on a mission,” Bennett said. “He ran so tough. He had 120 yards, probably 110 were yards after contact. He would not be denied. I’m so proud of his heart last night. He is fun to watch.”
Quarterback Brady McChesney cleaned up his passing from his first start, finishing 11 of 24 for 172 yards and no interceptions. The numbers were there despite a handful of dropped passes in a wet game and a penalty problem that has set the Wolfpack back on promising drives.
Glacier had 10 penalties for 83 yards.
“It was tough,” Bennett said. “It seemed like we had a holding call on every drive, sometimes two. It got really hard. There’s only so much you can do on second-and-18 over and over again.
“There’s no way we can move the chains when we’re constantly at second-and-20, third-and-18. No way we can keep doing that. It’s definitely a focus point and we’re going to keep working on it.”
The Wolfpack has another tough test in front of it, traveling to Bozeman on Friday. The Hawks beat Missoula Sentinel 34-0 on Friday and have outscored opponents 82-19 this season. Glacier will have to bring its best if it hopes to come out with a win against the state runners-up from a year ago.
“I really like how the kids have attacked (this season),” Bennett said. “I couldn’t be happier with what these guys have done so far.”
Glacier 7 7 0 6 — 20
CMR 0 7 7 0 0 — 14
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
GLA — Noah James 29 run (Brandon Purdy kick)
Second Quarter
GLA — James 4 run (Purdy kick)
CMR — Andrew Grinde 10 run (Dylan Sandefur kick)
Third Quarter
CMR — Jayse McLean 1 run (Sandefur kick)
Fourth Quarter
GLA — Evan Epperly 39 pass from Brady McChesney (kick blocked)
Team Statistics
Glacier CMR
First Downs 20 14
Rush attempts-yards 34-135 37-56
Pass yards 172 159
Pass attempts-comps-INTs 11-24-0 11-28-1
Total yards 307 215
Penalties-yards 10-83 10-88
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Individual Statistics
Rushing: CMR—Torrey Hudspeth 6-13; Jimmy Grinde 13-29; Eric Dawson 4-10; Justin Pfennigs 1-17. Glacier—Noah James 17-120; Logan Jones 6-17; Evan Epperly 2-4.
Passing: CMR—Jayse McLean 11-28-1-159. Glacier—Brady McChesney 11-24-0-172.
Receiving: CMR—Eric Dawson 2-23; Daekwon Carter 1-5; Torrey Hudspeth 2-18; Justin Pfennigs 2-30; Bryce Cuchine 1-42; Matt Kangas 1-5. Glacier—Logan Jones 5-143; Todd Ogden 1-4; Kevin Malloy 1-2; Sam McCamley 3-21.