Prep Football: Glacier welcomes Butte after disappointing 2023 loss
The Wolfpack have a score to settle.
Glacier welcomes Butte into Legends Stadium Friday a year after the Bulldogs pulled off a miraculous 21-point comeback at Naranche Stadium in 2023. The Wolfpack led 21-0 heading into the fourth quarter and went back to Kalispell with a 28-27 loss.
“We talk so much about not focusing on the past and not worrying about the future,” coach Grady Bennett said about his team's mindset for the matchup. “Learn the lessons and apply the lessons that you got from that game, you got to play four quarters.”
The Wolfpack are coming off a 49-6 victory over Billings Senior where the team ran for 285 yards — including 221 from Kobe Dorcheus. Offensively, it was an off-night throwing for quarterback Jackson Presley, who was 8-for-16 with a touchdown through the air and rushed for two more scores.
Bennett praised his young quarterback for his poise on a rough evening, noting he never got upset and was cheering his team on when he wasn't on the field.
“A great lesson that it may not be pretty, but it doesn't matter as long as the Wolfpack get the win,” Bennett said.
The Bulldogs come into town 0-2 on the season, but that record doesn’t show the whole story for Butte. Loss one on the season was a one-point game to Billings West, while loss two came at the hands of defending state champions Bozeman.
“They are Butte tough man, those kids just play hard, they battle, they are just tough suckers,” Bennet said. “They love to make games a rock fight.”
Bennett pointed out a pair to watch for the Bulldogs, starting at tight end with Hudson Luedtke — who Bennett called one of in not the best basketball player in the state. Luedtke has a trio of touchdown grabs so far this season.
Out wide Butte features Tocher Lee, who has seven catches on the season — including a 66-yard grab. Lee also is a dynamic punt returner averaging 35.7 yards per return with one touchdown.
“They are kids that are winners on the basketball floor, and they bring it to the football field,” Bennett said.
Bennett said he hopes to see a full crowd at Legends Stadium for Friday’s 6 p.m. kick.