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AA playoffs: Hawks outlast Wolfpack 31-23

by Daily Inter Lake
| November 4, 2022 11:29 PM

BOZEMAN — The Glacier Wolfpack had more than a few quick starts this football season, but on Friday it was the Bozeman Hawks that made hay early.

Scoring off their first three possessions — off three Glacier turnovers — the Hawks built leads of 21-0 and 31-7 and beat the Wolfpack 31-23 in a Class AA quarterfinal at Van Winkle Stadium.

Jake Casagrande threw four touchdown passes for the Hawks (8-2), who will play crosstown rival Gallatin in the semifinals. The Raptors upset Helena Friday afternoon, 24-21.

Glacier put together a frenetic fourth quarter, came up empty on two onside kicks and ended up 7-4. The last chance came with 18 seconds left, after Kash Goicoechea scored on a 2-yard run; the Wolfpack had a chance before the kick tumbled out of bounds. Bozeman then kneeled out the clock.

“We are a crazy bounce off one of their players from getting an onside kick there,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. “You end up losing by eight, and almost make it interesting, and then you revisit the first half and how many things you did wrong. You get that sick feeling in your stomach; it shouldn’t be this way.

“That’s football, too. That happens sometimes. So I’m still just so proud. It was 31-7 to start the fourth quarter and man, our kids made it interesting.”

Glacier got off to a less than stellar start, fumbling on its first possession and then throwing two interceptions.

Casagranda capitalized, hitting Luke Smith, Rocky Lencioni and Avery Allen with TD passes for a 21-0 lead at 6:21 of the second quarter.

Glacier responded with a 60-yard drive, ending with Jackson Hensley’s 1-yard touchdown run.

It was 21-7 at halftime, and then Bozeman got a 57-yard return from Allen to open the third quarter.

That set up Lencioni’s second touchdown catch, and it was 28-7. The gap grew to 31-7 on Lencioni’s chip shot field goal at 4:17 of the third.

Glacier’s Gage Sliter fired his 36th touchdown pass of the season midway through the fourth quarter, taking a big hit on a throw that went 20 yards to Alex Hausmann. Sliter then caught a PAT pass from Rhett Measure to cut the gap to 31-15.

Bozeman punted the ball back with 3:56 left and the Wolfpack marched 93 yards. Goicoechea scored on his only carry of the game, and then Cohen Kastelitz completed the two-point PAT pass to Isaac Keim.

The Hawks, who play Allen and others on offense and defense, might have been wearing down. Glacier was out of time.

“It’s just hard when you feel like you didn’t play your best,” Bennett said. “But I’m so proud of how they fought until the end. We got together at the end of the third quarter and I asked them to give it their all until the final gun. And all of a sudden it got interesting.”

Sliter completed 17 of 30 passes for 220 yards in his final high school game. He also ran for 51 yards. Kaid Buls caught four passes for 79 yards. Hensley ran for 53 yards on 12 carries, and caught three passes.

Defensively, Hausmann forced and recovered a fumble, while Evan Barnes had eight tackles and Dylan Whitten, six. Cameron Shaw had a sack.

Whitten and Shaw are seniors, as are Hensley and Buls.

“And then you saw goodbye to a great group of seniors,” Bennett said. “Smallest class we’ve ever had at Glacier— 12 of them. Some of them didn’t get a lot of time but they stuck it out and they were a special group. I think they were 1-8 as freshmen.”

Allen was a force for Bozeman, making seven tackles, three for losses, and recovering a fumble.

“Credit Bozeman,” Bennett said. “As many kids as they play both ways, you have to give them a lot of credit.”

Glacier 0 7 0 16 - 23

Bozeman 14 7 10 0 - 31

B — Luke Smith 15 pass from Jake Casagranda (Rocky Lencioni kick), 10:14-1Q

B — Lencioni 5 pass from J.Casagranda (Lencioni kick), 4:47-2Q

B — Avery Allen 9 pass from J.Casagranda (Lencioni kick), 6:21-2Q

G — Jackson Hensley 1 run (Rhett Measure kick), 3:15-2Q

B — Lencioni 15 pass from J.Casagranda (Lencioni kick), 10:02-3Q

B — Lencioni 24 FG, 4:17-3Q

G — Alex Huasmann 20 pass from Gage Slider (Gage Sliter pass from Measure), 5:17-4Q

G — Kash Goicoechea 2 run (Isaac Keim pass from Cohen Kastelitz), :20-4Q

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Glacier (24-126) — Hensley 12-53, Sliter 8-51, Evan Barnes 1-18, Kobe Dorcheus 2-2, Goicoechea 1-2. Bozeman (36-117) — Connor Nye 9-44, J.Casagranda 12-38, Brady Casagranda 13-29, Allen 1-6, Team 1-0.

PASSING: Glacier — Sliter 17-30-2 for 220 yards; Bridger Smith 1-1-0 for minus-9 yards. Bozeman — J.Casagranda 19-24-0 for 221 yards.

RECEIVING: Glacier — Kaid Buls 4-79, Kastelitz 4-48, Hensley 3-26, Alex Hausmann 2-40, Smith 1-11, Keim 1-8, Goicoechea 1-5, Barns 1-3, Sliter 1-minus 9. Bozeman — Allen 6-55, Lencioni 4-47, Smith 3-51, Cordell Holzer 2-20, Harley Bianchini 2-22, Kellen Harrison 1-22, B.Casagranda 1-15.