AA football: Wolfpack head to Great Falls riding road winning streak
After a rough start to the football season, Glacier needed to get away for a bit.
Losing two games at home to start the season, The Wolfpack (1-2) won its first game of the year at Helena Capital last weekend and is back on the road today to take on Great Falls High (2-1) with the chance to climb back to .500.
The road has been comfortable for Glacier, where it has won its last six contests, and so has Great Falls. The Wolfpack has won six straight at Memorial Stadium stretching over seven seasons, having won every trip to Great Falls since dropping a pair in its inaugural season in 2007. Glacier has also won six straight against the Bison, leading the all time series 6-2.
The win last week helped ease the tension of a 0-2 start.
“It’s kind of like the monkey off the kids’ back,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said.
“They realize we played two really good teams (to start the year). Still, coming off the state championship, the expectations (are there). Getting that win is big, it’s a relief. Now we’ve got that, we can focus on getting better and doing what we need to do to put ourselves in a position to win.”
The Bison enter the game on an opposite trajectory, having started the season 2-0 before hitting the skids last week against Flathead. The Braves ran for 350 yards in a 41-12 drubbing at Legends Stadium.
Glacier has leaned on its running game this year, and is looking to keep senior running back Thomas Trefney on a roll after carrying 32 times for 120 yards last week in Helena.
“(Trefney)’s still our guy, we’re going to give him the football and feature him,” Bennett said.
“Even though Capital was a good front and the average wasn’t huge, we felt like we did some good things and made some improvements. We want to continue to do that.”
While the run game is working, Glacier has struggled this season in the red zone. The Wolfpack has made frequent trips deep to the opponents’ end of the field, but has been inconsistent in converting those trips to touchdowns.
This week in practice, they’ve worked on different personnel and play calling to become more efficient near the goal line.
“We’ve been so successful the last couple of years and points have come in bunches so easily, you almost take that for granted,” Bennett said.
“Now we’re not going to be that big play type team as much. We’re going to have to drive the ball. Now we have to be able to finish (in the red zone).
“Those are the things season to season you have to work on to get better.”
Great Falls, led by quarterback Kaden Sukut and running back Walker Ferda, are not the same team that have been a conference doormat the last five seasons, winning only 10 games in that span. The Bison have talent across the field.
“They’ve improved a lot as a program,” Bennett said. “You can see the progress they’ve made the last few years.
“Sukut, their quarterback, is much more mature in the decisions he makes. They have a couple guys that can hurt you with the fly sweep on the edge. If Ferda’s there, he runs hard and runs angry.”
The team had to play without Ferda last week, sitting out with an ankle injury suffered in the team’s 41-21 win over Billings Skyview in Week 2. He is a game-time decision this week.
“If (Ferda’s) back he is very good. They’ll be a completely different team with him.”
The game will kick off at Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. and be broadcast locally on 103.9 FM.