Glacier, Flathead off to Wa-Griz for first flag football finale

Year one of high school flag football is wrapping up Saturday with teams from Flathead and Glacier joining Butte for the inaugural state championship at University of Montana’s Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Flathead earned the number one seed to secure a place in the championship game which leaves Butte and Glacier set to face off in the day's first action.

The three schools should have plenty of motivation to leave it all on the gridiron: The Atlanta Falcons sponsored all three programs to visit Seattle last weekend where they saw the Falcons practice early Saturday, a Washington Huskies game Saturday night and the Falcons take on the Seahawks Sunday.

“It was an amazing trip, the girls had an amazing time, a long bus ride, totally worth it,” Flathead coach Lisa Koehler said. “Got to interact with the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta was great, let them be in the practice facility, did autographs and pictures.Huskies-Stanford game, super fun… Seahawks-Falcons on Sunday was such a good, close game and they had a great time. Go, go, go.”

When it comes to the action on the field Saturday in Missoula, the three teams will be very familiar with one another after having met several times throughout the past six weeks.

Koehler knows this element is going to make for a game with zero margin for error.

“It is a matter of possessions, taking care of the ball, doing what you need to do to finish a game because everybody knows everybody,” she said.

"Hopefully it's good competition, if the girls are able to take care of their business and do what they do well we could see a crosstown matchup,” Glacier coach Mark Kessler said.

Flathead and Glacier played their first crosstown game under the lights Sept. 22 with Glacier winning 18-12. Earlier Flathead put on a speculator performance on Sept. 10, outscoring Butte and Glacier 60-0 in a jamboree-style tournament.

When the schools meet Saturday they’ll have a chance to earn the first ever flag football championship in Montana history. Akilah Kubi and Tali Miller are two names to watch for Flathead as they have been playmakers for the Bravettes all season.

Miller had a crucial interception and Kubi had a crucial touchdown in Flathead’s undefeated day at the Legends Stadium jamboree.

“Senior leadership from those two,” Koehler said. “You can’t ask for any better – patient with learning and pushing themselves to get better every time.”

For Glacier, Kai Johnson and Noah Fincher should play a key role in the Wolfpack’s game day plans. The tandem fueled the team’s crosstown win by combining for all three scores.

"Noah is a tremendous athlete… Kai has a knack of making big plays,” Kessler said.

Kessler added the duo has provided great leadership and that the team has formed a special bond throughout the season. He also gave credit to Emma Cook and sisters Karley and Zoey Allen for their growth on the field.