Crosstown football: Glacier drills Flathead in turnover filled rivalry game

In a game marred by mistakes from both sides, Glacier ran away with a crosstown football matchup with Flathead by making fewer errors in the second half, winning 41-26 in a Class AA game on Friday night at Legends Stadium.

The teams slogged through the first half, trading turnovers on nearly every possession.

Glacier (7-2) opened its first drive with a fumble shortly after a long catch over the middle. Flathead (5-4) gave the ball back three plays later with an interception by Glacier’s Sam Barber. On the next play, Flathead got the ball back with an interception by Nate Sommers.

The Braves would punt on the ensuing drive, but didn’t take long to score. With the Wolfpack driving into Flathead territory on the next drive, Glacier quarterback Leif Ericksen put a little too much heat on a bubble screen to the flat, with the ball bouncing off his intended receiver into the hands of Braves cornerback Trae Vasquez, who took the gift 68 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Flathead lead.

Glacier turned the ball over on downs on its next drive, failing to convert a fake punt. However, the Wolfpack got the ball back on the next play with an interception.

The first quarter ended without any more turnovers and Glacier would even the score early in the second on a 1-yard run from Thomas Trefney.

Flathead punted on the ensuing drive, but quickly got the ball back on a short field, intercepting Glacier for the third time in the first half on a diving play by CJ Dugan. On fourth down from the 25-yard line, Bridger Johnson delivered a strike to Keaton Krantz on a post to give the Braves a 13-7 halftime lead.

With both teams given the chance to breathe at the break, it was Glacier that turned the tide in the third quarter.

Wolfpack safety John Learn gave his team a lead early in the half when he jumped a post route on Flathead’s first pass of the second half, hauling in the catch and running 30 yards for a touchdown to give Glacier a one-point edge after the extra point.

“It was huge,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. “That’s sometimes what you need is a big play to turn the momentum.

“They realized, just relax and play every play. That particularly allowed us to settle in and allowed us to do that.”

Glacier would ride Trefney on its next possession, the senior back plowing 14 yards for a touchdown and a 21-13 lead.

Flathead wasn’t going away quietly. Josh McCracken broke loose against the Glacier defense on the next drive, taking his first attempt 74 yards to the Glacier 1-yard line, then pounding in a touchdown on the next play.

Glacier kick returner Jackson Pepe nearly broke the ensuing kickoff, taking the ball back inside the Flathead 10-yard line, where Ericksen kept it himself for a touchdown and a 28-20 lead.

The Braves, trying to stem the momentum, drove into Glacier territory on their next drive, but stalled near at the 38, opting to punt. On fourth down, the Braves’ punter bobbled the long snap and attempted to run for the first before unleashing a desperation kick. The attempt was blocked by the Wolfpack, with Seth Anderson returning the ball back to the 5, only for Trefney to score again and spread the Glacier advantage to two scores.

Having to drive from deep in its own territory on its next possession, Glacier leaned on the Flathead defense with a retooled offensive line, handing the ball off nine times, riding Trefney to his fourth score of the night to take a 41-20 lead.

“That’s what we want to do, keep our tempo going and hope that late in the third, fourth quarters that’s when it will start to have its effect,” Bennett said.

Flathead scored on the next drive, however, with only two minutes to play, Glacier was able to run the clock down to nearly nothing before giving the ball back to the Braves. Wolfpack defensive lineman Gary Kenfield ended the game with his second sack of the night to send Glacier to its seventh-straight win in the series.

Trefney finished with 32 rushes for 112 yards and Ericksen was 10 for 21 for 135 yards for Glacier. Noah Lindsay had a game-high four catches for 59 yards.

McCracken led Flathead with 104 yards on 19 carries. Johnson was 8 for 20 for 129 yards and Keaton Krantz had a pair of catches for 54 yards.

“We still have a lot to play for,” Flathead coach Kyle Samson said.

“We have senior night, we still have a chance to be 6-4 and get in the playoffs. That’s what I told them. We have a lot to play for. We have to fight back. It’s going to be a big challenge. I believe our kids will do it.”

Flathead 7 6 7 6 — 26

Glacier 0 7 28 6 — 41

First Quarter

F—Trae Vasquez 68 interception return (Justin Gardner kick), 5:43

Second Quarter

G—Thomas Trefney 1 run (Cameron Anderson kick), 9:54

F—Keaton Krantz 26 pass from Bridger Johnson (kick failed), 5:42

Third Quarter

G—John Learn 30 interception return (Anderson kick), 10:40

G—Trefney 14 run (Anderson kick), 4:43

F—Josh McCracken 1 run (Gardner kick), 4:01

G—Ericksen 9 run (Anderson kick), 2:53

G—Trefney 1 run (Anderson kick), 0:36

Fourth Quarter

G—Trefney 2 run (kick failed), 5:47

F—McCracken 2 run (kick failed), 2:03

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Flathead Glacier

First downs 10 15

Total Yards 282 283

Rushes-yards 36-153 44-148

Passing yards 129 135

Punt Returns 1-(-4) 2-67

Kickoff Returns 6-89 5-131

Interceptions Ret. 3-78 3-72

Comp-Att-Int 8-21-3 10-21-3

Sacked-Yards Lost 2-8 3-18

Punts 7-30 3-38

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards 7-51 7-45

Time of Possession 24:03 18:08

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Flathead, Josh McCracken 19-104, Bridger Johnson 11-22, Seth Adolph 2-13, Ryan Skramovsky 3-11, Payton Boyce 1-3. Glacier, Thomas Trefney 32-112, Leif Ericksen 6-14, Caleb Jones 3-13, Noah Lindsay 1-12, Patrick O’Connell 1-0, John Learn 1-(minus 3).

PASSING—Flathead, Bridger Johnson 8-20-3-129, Josh McCracken 0-1-0-0. Glacier, Leif Ericksen 10-21-3-135.

RECEIVING—Flathead, Keaton Krantz 2-54, Seth Adolph 2-36, James Flannigan 2-30, Josh McCracken 2-9. Glacier, Noah Lindsay 4-59, Caleb Jones 3-39, Drake Dulin 2-26, Scout Willcut 1-11..