Glacier kicks off football playoff games

The State AA, A and B football playoffs have a plenty of local flavor, along with a bit of mystery.

Will Danny Sirmon take most of the snaps for Missoula Sentinel? Is Luke Oxarart ready to go at quarterback for Boulder? 

Can Columbia Falls jump ahead of the wing-T Billings Central Rams, a program the Wildcats have faced once in 10 seasons?

The Glacier Wolfpack start things off Friday at Legends Stadium with a 7 p.m. kickoff against Sentinel. Columbia Falls plays at Billings Central at 1 p.m. Saturday, the same time that Eureka takes on visiting Boulder.

Sentinel (7-3) at Glacier (8-1)

Glacier coach Grady Bennett has seen plenty of playoff rematches in his long coaching career, but this is a first: The Wolfpack’s last game was against Sentinel, a 27-17 win that didn’t come easy.

The Wolfpack earned a bye through the play-in round while Sentinel had to go to Great Falls and win 28-7. That’s where things got interesting: Bennett noted the Spartans went with more of a wing-T look with Sirmon at QB.

“Once they put him in that play-in game, Great Falls couldn’t stop him,” Bennett said. “They ran a little of that [wing-T] against us, but they didn’t really run him like they did at Great Falls High. We’ll have to be focused on stopping that. If we can’t, it’s going to be a pretty long night.”

Sirmon’s short touchdown run had the Spartans up 17-7 on the Wolfpack on Oct. 19, before quarterback Jackson Presley threw three touchdown passes in quick succession. In that game Rudy Hess started at quarterback and was slippery and poised in a game in which the Spartans pulled out every stop, including an onside kick.

Now comes another wrinkle.

“He’s a big kid, man,” Bennett said of Sirmon, listed at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds. “He gets going downhill and he’s tough to stop.”

Presley, another poised sophomore, has thrown for 23 touchdowns against just two interceptions. He did fumble last time against Sentinel, one of four turnovers by Glacier before Cohen Kastelitz sandwiched two TD catches around another by Bridger Smith.

“We obviously know ball security is key,” Bennett said. “We need to take care of the ball and have a good start, and play from in front as we have all year long — until that last game.”

Columbia Falls (7-2) at Billings Central (9-0)

Speaking of the wing-T, nobody has done it better than Coach Jim Stanton’s Rams, who average 7.1 yards a carry behind sophomore fullback Ayden Salter (523 yards, five touchdowns rushing) and senior quarterback Adam Balkenbush (540, 7).

Additionally Balkenbush has thrown for 675 yards and seven scores against run-conscious opponents, and 345 of those yards have gone to Brayden Flores on 24 catches.

“They’re good everywhere,” Columbia Falls coach Jaxon Schweikert said. “Their fullback is a really tough-nosed player, and their tight end is good. 

“They still run their wing-T plays, but they’ll break up their formations and it’s tough, and they have very good receivers. They’re athletic and they’re fast.”

The Wildcats are sort of the anti-Rams: With senior Cody Schweikert at the controls, they throw the ball a ton and try to expose matchup problems for receivers Jace Hill (675 yards, 8 TDs), Mark Robison, Lane Hoerner, Chance Miller and Alihn Anderson to take advantage.

It sounds like a tall order to travel seven hours and win, and Columbia Falls lost road playoff games to the Rams in 2020 (35-8) and 2013 (33-21). 

But the Wildcats intend to leave Rocky Mountain College’s Klindt Field victorious.

“They’re not going to beat themselves, that’s for sure,” Coach Schweikert said. “And that’s been our thing — when we’ve gotten in trouble it’s usually been self-inflicted pain. We’re very talented, but they’re not going to beat themselves.

“We can win this game as long as we don’t have self-inflicted pain.”

Boulder (6-4) at Eureka (9-1)

Eureka coach Trevor Utter noted that the Panthers, with Oxarart in place for his junior season, were a pick to be among the best in Class B. 

They started with a 27-0 loss to two-time champion Florence, then were 4-1 before Oxarart was injured in a 22-7 loss to Three Forks. 

Freshman quarterback Tyzer Zody took over and threw for 610 yards and seven scores.

“That freshman kid they put in has gotten better and better every week,” Utter said. “He’s behind a huge offensive line, and has good running backs and receivers.”

Parker Wagner is the top receiver and Jack Johnson the top rusher — if Oxarart isn’t in there and running out of the Panthers’ multiple-formation offense.

“He’s been week-to-week,” Utter said of the QB. “And we’re anticipating this might be the week.”

Eureka receiver Tristan Butts is getting dangerously close to a 1,000-yard season: The senior has 898. Caden Pecora has rushed for 765 yards and 13 TDs; quarterback AJ Truman has passed for 25 touchdowns and run for six.

“I feel great about our team,” Utter said. “Jefferson (Boulder) is going to be a heck of a test, but I feel good about our team, feel good about our preparation and I feel good about the health of our team. I feel the kids are pretty dialed in.”