Football Preview: Glacier looks to add on

It would be impossible to replicate the type of success Glacier had last football season.

Averaging nearly 50 points a game, the Wolfpack was rarely tested in a 13-0 campaign to its first Class AA state championship, beating Great Falls C.M. Russell 56-19 in the title game. Dominating on offense and defense, the Wolfpack featured 10 future college players, five that went on to NCAA Division I FCS schools.

With that in mind, Glacier isn’t trying to repeat last season. It’s trying to add to it.

Leading the charge for the Wolfpack is senior running back Thomas Trefney, who quietly had one of the most prolific seasons in state history a year ago.

Trefney was often overshadowed last season. Then-senior quarterback Brady McChesney and receivers Logan Jones, Sam McCamley and Devin Cochran took the brunt of the spotlight, dazzling with a high-flying passing offense that tended to strike fast for big points.

However, even as the others got the attention, it was often Trefney who put the games out of reach.

Listed at 6-foot, 185-pounds, Trefney ran for a state-record 29 touchdowns last season and a school-record 1,132 yards on 191 carries. He accounted for 32 total touchdowns, capping last season by running for a school-record 201 yards and four touchdowns in the state championship game.

“Last year he might have ended up being our MVP, yet, he was surrounded by so much talent that he was kind of the forgotten guy,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said.

“When you look at down the stretch, and especially in the state championship game, he was awesome.”

This year, with one returning lineman in senior Andrew Klamecki and most of the skill positions working into their starting roles for the Wolfpack, Glacier will lean on Trefney to carry the load, especially early in the season. The Wolfpack opens the season today against state title contender Helena High and will play perennial favorites Bozeman and Helena Capital in the following weeks.

“Last year we knew what we had in Brady McChesney,” Bennett said. “We were going to ride him and let it be his show.

“This year it’s Thomas. We’re going to ride him. He’s going to get the bulk of the load and a ton of carries. He’s gonna be a workhorse for us. It’s gonna be more his show.”

Senior Leif Ericksen is expected to take over at quarterback after sitting the last two seasons behind record-setting performances from McChesney.

Despite being hobbled by a leg injury over the summer, Bennett said he has a lot of confidence in Ericksen’s abilities.

“I thought last year as a junior he was our most improved football player,” Bennett said.

“I’m excited this year to watch. I told him if he continues to make the same progress he did last year, and continues on that upward trend of improving as a quarterback, he’s going to be really special at the end of the year.

“It’s going to be good that he can rely on a good running back. A running game is a quarterback’s best friend. I’ve told him to just be himself and manage the offense, because we have a good offense that puts a lot of pressure on the defense.”

All-conference honorable mention defenders Taden Gilman, Jake Willich, Caleb Jones and Jaxen Hashley lead a unit that should contend among the best in the state again this season.

“We have a good group,” Bennett said. “I like how they’ve flown around.”

Hashley, who had a team-high 7 ½ sacks as a sophomore last season, will need to be accounted for along the defensive line.

“He’s such a beast, he’s a force on the defensive side,” Bennett said.

“You almost have to do something special on offense (with him). You have to think about double him or committing a few guys to him. He’s just such a destructive force.

“He’s going to be tough for people to deal with. Something they’re going to have to game plan around.”

Tonight’s opponent, Helena High, is the only team in Class AA that Glacier hasn’t beaten. The Wolfpack hasn’t played the Bengals the last two seasons.

The game is expected to kick off at 7 p.m. at Legends Stadium, but could be delayed because of air quality. School officials don’t plan on delaying the game unless air quality dips into the “very unhealthy” region as defined by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

When the air quality reaches that level, the DEQ advises that, “Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid all outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit outdoor exertion.”

Glacier Schedule

Aug. 28 — Helena High, 7 p.m.

Sept. 4 — Bozeman, 7 p.m.

Sept. 11 — at Helena Capital, 7 p.m.

Sept. 18 — at Great Falls, 7 p.m.

Sept. 25 — Missoula Hellgate, 7 p.m.

Oct. 2 — Missoula Sentinel, 7 p.m.

Oct. 9 — at Great Falls C.M. Russell, 7 p.m.

Oct. 15 — at Butte, 7 p.m.

Oct. 23 — Flathead, 7 p.m.

Oct. 30 — at Missoula Big Sky