AA football: Capital surges past Pack, 35-14
HELENA — The Glacier Wolfpack built a 14-0 lead Friday, and then the Capital Bruins literally blew them away.
Merek Mihelish threw three touchdown passes, ran for another score and Helena Capital scored on five straight possession to score a windy 35-14 Western AA football win at Vigilante Stadium.
It was the first loss of the season for Glacier (5-1 overall, 3-1 in Western AA games), who led 14-0 on two short touchdown runs by Kobe Dorcheus, the second one at 8:46 of the second quarter.
Capital (5-1, 4-0 in league) countered with a 10-yard scoring run by Mihelish with 1:00 left in the first half. Then disaster struck: Glacier quarterback Jackson Presley mishandled a shotgun snap and the Bruins recovered.
Mihelish then found Brit Linder on a screen play, and it went 16 yards for a TD with 21 seconds left in the half.
“It really was a story of momentum,” Wolfpack coach Grady Bennett said. “It’s AA football man, every Friday night you better bring your A game because anyone can beat anyone.”
Capital, of course, is not everyone — though the Bruins were thumped by a veteran Glacier team a year ago. Now they’re in first place.
“They’re a really veteran team, and a lot of guys were part of that 56-0 nothing drubbing we put them on them last year,” Bennett said. “Credit to them because we dominated for 22 minutes.”
Capital took the second-half kick and marched 80 yards. Mihelish found Daniel Larson with a 15-yard strike and the Bruins had the lead for good, 21-14. It was the only pass of the 12-play drive.
“We made them go against the wind in the third quarter and they came out and just pounded, and used six minutes,” Bennett noted.
Capital added another touchdown before the quarter ended: Glacier’s punter had trouble with a wind-blown snap, put a knee on the turf and it was Bruins ball at the Glacier 33. That set up Cole Graham’s 5-yard scoring run, making it 28-14.
Mihelish and Larson hooked up again midway through the fourth quarter.
Dorcheus gained 77 yards on 20 carries for the Wolfpack. Presley was 21 of 38 passing for 275 yards. Bridger Smith had a big game with 11 catches for 158 yards.
Mihelish was 9 of 12 passing for 118 yards, and ran for another 73.
“We are still a young team in terms of playing a lot of young guys,” said Bennett, who saw his team’s first drive end on downs at the Capital 11. “It just has to become the best thing for us. We need to respond and learn to be the best team we can be.
“This is just a high character group of guys. I love coaching this team. I can’t wait to see how they respond.”
Glacier 7 7 0 0 - 14
Capital 0 14 14 7 - 35
G — Kobe Dorcheus 1 run (Kyle Smith kick), 3:33-1Q
G — Dorcheus 2 run (Smith kick), 8:46-2Q
HC — Merek Mihelish 10 run (kick failed), 1:00-2Q
HC — Brit Linder 16 pass from Mihelish (Mihelish run), :21-2Q
HC — Daniel Larson 15 pass from Mihelish (run failed), 6:07-3Q
HC — Cole Graham 10 run (Mihelish run), :25-3Q
HC — Larson 23 pass from Mihelish (Jake Zeeman kick), 5:45-4Q
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Glacier (27-55) — Dorcheus 20-77, Carson Baker 1-10, Presley 5-minus 32, Team 1-0. Capital (43-185) — Graham 14-79, Mihelish 18-73, Drew Almquist 5-18, Linder 4-17, Team 2-minus 2.
PASSING: Glacier — Presley 21-38-1 for 275 yards. Capital — Mihelish 9-12-0 for 118 yards.
RECEIVING: Glacier — Bridger Smith 11-158, Cooper Pelc 4-55, Dorcheus 3-38, Easton Kauffman 2-22, Baker 1-2. Capital — Almquist 3-45, Larson 2-46, Linder 1-16, Walker DesRosier 1-13, Graham 1-minus 1, Conor Toivonen 1-minus 1.