AA football: Glacier wins shootout at Butte
BUTTE — Glacier (4-1) got a record-breaking running performance and a lot of help from its defense in a 58-41 shootout win over defending state champion Butte (3-2) in a Class AA football game at Naranche Stadium Friday night.
Glacier senior running back Noah James ran for a school record 201 yards and added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to ice the game for the Wolfpack.
“Gosh, what a shootout,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said.
“At the end, (Butte) scored to cut the lead to 11 and we got the ball with five minutes to go and our offense put a beautiful four-minute drive together.
“Credit to the offensive line. (Butte) packs the box and tries to bring a lot of heat. The offensive line did a great job of picking that stuff up and Noah ran so tough.”
The Glacier defense was opportunistic as well, returning three interceptions for touchdowns and forcing six turnovers. Butte quarterback Dallas Cook was dynamic — throwing for 530 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 76 yards and another score — but the Wolfpack got its bites, picking the offensive player of the year off five times.
“They can score so fast and so many points in a hurry,” Bennett said. “We knew we needed to keep battling. Our kids really did that. They focused in and kept battling for all 48 minutes.”
Glacier quarterback Brady McChesney was 16 for 28 passing for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Logan Jones pulled in two long touchdowns, one for 45 yards and another for 80, to account for 133 receiving yards on six catches.
The win ends a five-week stretch for Glacier with three road games against top competition and marks the first landmark win of the season.
“This place is so much fun,” Bennett said of the rowdy crowd at Naranche Stadium in Butte. “What a great atmosphere — a packed house, great crowd ... It was one of the best evenings (of football). This is why you do it for nights like this. I’m really proud of the kids.”
Glacier hosts Missoula Big Sky (0-5) next week.
Glacier 14 10 14 20 — 58
Butte 7 7 13 14 — 41
1st Quarter
B - Peter Granger 63-yard pass from Dallas Cook (Sean Staples kick) 10:29
G - Sam McCamley 17-yard pass from Brady McChesney (Brandon Purdy kick) 7:37
G - Logan Jones 45-yard pass from McChesney (Purdy kick) 2:44
2nd Quarter
G - Garrett Cebulla 50-yard interception return (Purdy kick) 10:59
G - Purdy 29-yard field goal, 3:09
B - Cook 32-yard run (Staples kick) :54.4
3rd Quarter
G - Jones 80-yard pass from McChesney (Purdy kick) 9:20
B - Jake Eisenbarth 16-yard pass from Cook (kick failed) 8:23
G - Cain Boschee 69-yard interception return (Purdy kick) 3:16
B - Eisenbarth 29-yard pass from Cook (Staples kick) :39.8
4th Quarter
G - Evan Epperly 50-yard interception return (Purdy kick) 10:19
B - Daum 21-yard pass from Cook (Staples kick) 9:15
G - Noah James 38-yard run (run failed) 7:10
B - Daum 41-yard pass from Cook (Staples kick) 5:36
G - James 1-yard run (Purdy kick) 1:38
———
Glacier Butte
First Downs 21 32
Pass Yards 287 530
Rushes/Yds 35-271 31-134
Total Yds 558 664
Fumble/Lost 0/0 1/1
Penalty/Yds 7-133 4-25
Individual Stats
RUSHING: Glacier — Noah James 25-201, Brady McChesney 8-61, Sam Camley 1-8, Evan Epperly 2-1; Butte — Dallas Cook 16-76, Jake Eisenbarth 14-53, Dalton Daum 1-5.
PASSING: Glacier — McChesney 16-28-3-287; Butte — Cook 38-61-5-530.
RECEIVING: Glacier — Logan Jones 6-133, Evan Epperly 4-23, Kevin Malloy 3-89, Sam McCamley 3-38; Butte — Dalton Daum 20-286, Paul Campbell 6-98, Peter Granger 5-85, Jake Eisenbarth 3-45, Zach Johnson 3-10, Hart 1-7.