Wolfpack no longer underdogs
Far different from its first seven seasons, Glacier football has a new look this fall.
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Expectations are high on the north side of town after three straight trips to the Class AA semifinals and a runner-up performance last season. The Wolfpack brings back double-digit starters from a team that fell 11 points shy of a championship last season and is being looked at as one of the best teams in the state this year.
Used to battling as the underdog, coach Grady Bennett said the perspective of this season is different, but the message is the same.
“We want to treat this year the same as we did last year,” Bennett said. “That team really wanted to be as good as the team before them. They were so motivated and I was so proud of them.
“It’s just a different challenge but we don’t want to act any different. Who cares if we’re ranked at the top [of Class AA] instead of the bottom? We still want to act the same have the same hunger, same mentality. We haven’t done anything yet.”
The newest team in Class AA, Glacier snuck up on its competition the last few years, first to prove its mettle, then to prove its run of success wasn’t a fluke. Despite two runs to the final four and a trend of fielding one of the best all-around teams in the state, the Wolfpack was ranked as the eighth or ninth best team of 14 entering last season.
That team turned its middling prospects into the best season in Kalispell football history.
This team is looking to match that drive with the lofty expectations of bringing the Northwest its first Class AA football championship since 1970.
“There’s a balance. You have to stay humble and know what got you there. Just the hard work, the daily persistence to do all the little things and take care of the details. You’ve got to stay grounded.
“At the same time, it’s an honor if somebody picks us up towards the top [of the state]. Let’s go play like it.
“Last year was a challenge to try to prove we’re not No. 9 [in Class AA]. Here’s another challenge. Let’s go out and prove we are one of those top teams.”
For that inspiration, Glacier can look its biggest opponent from last season. Bozeman was inches from a state championship in 2012, losing on a last-second field goal at Butte, before running the table as the favorite last season.
“Those kids [at Bozeman] were so motivated last year,” Bennett said.
“All we can do as coaches is hope that hunger and drive is there all offseason to want to get back to that place.
“I think the thing people don’t realize is how hard it is to be consistently successful, how hard it is to win championships. You learn to respect teams that do win it.”
The Wolfpack opens against another team that is looking at its season from a new perspective. Billings West,
a traditional power and perennial championship contender, went winless last season and will be considered an underdog for the first time in decades.
Against a team hungry to prove it’s still among the state’s elite, Glacier’s new position as top dog may not see a tougher test than in the opening week.
“West, there’s no doubt they want to right the ship, it’s going to be a great challenge,” Bennett said.
“I like our focus ... I’m really happy with the kids’ approach: their hunger, their motivation.
“It’s 2014, it’s a new year.”
New year, new look. And for the first time in school history, maybe a new result to finish the year.