Glacier's Bennett to coach in Badlands Bowl
The postseason honors continue to roll in for the Glacier High School football program.
Coach Grady Bennett will coach the Montana squad in the annual Badlands Bowl against North Dakota on June 20 in Miles City.
That announcement was made Thursday.
Also Thursday, five Glacier players were selected to participate in the 69th annual Montana East-West Shrine Game to be held July 18 at Memorial Stadium in Great Falls. The Glacier players will be on the West squad.
The annual Badlands Bowl pits the top graduating senior all-stars from Montana against those from North Dakota. Players for that game have not been announced.
This will be the 22nd year the Badlands Bowl has been held. Montana has ruled the series to date, winning 15 times.
North Dakota, however, prevailed in last year’s meeting, 25-22.
Glacier won its first Class AA state championship on Nov. 21 at Legends Stadium, whipping Great Falls C.M. Russell 56-19. Bennett’s Wolfpack was ranked No. 1 the entire season and finished with a 13-0 record.
Glacier has advanced to the playoffs six times in the school’s eighth year. The Wolfpack has been in the semifinals the last four years and in the championship game for the last two.
Bennett’s coaching record at Glacier is 57-35.
The Wolfpack’s last losing campaign was in 2008, the school’s second year. Glacier has won at least nine games the last four seasons.
Coaching the Montana team with Bennett will be Glacier defensive coordinator Shannon Smith and head coaches Chad Ross of Whitefish, Travis Rauh of Townsend, John Smith of Columbus and Scott Friede of Chinook.
Ross led the Bulldogs to their first conference championship in 12 years this fall with a 4-0 mark. Whitefish (8-3) lost to Butte Central in the semifinal round of the Class A playoffs, 37-13.
The coaching staff for the North Dakota all-stars has not been announced.
Wolfpack selected for the East-West Shrine Game are defensive end Andrew Harris, inside linebacker Josh Hill, wide receiver Logan Jones, offensive guard Harrison Kauffman and quarterback Brady McChesney.