Glacier has played at some of the best venues in the state this season, making trips to Great Falls, Bozeman and Butte. This week’s trip may top them all as the Wolfpack get ready to play Missoula Sentinel at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on the campus of the University of Montana.

“It’s a dream,” Glacier running back Noah James said. “Obviously, everybody dreams about playing there on Saturdays. Granted, it’s a Friday night, but it will be fun to play under the lights there.”

The No. 3 Wolfpack (5-1) are on a roll the past few weeks, but get a dangerous Sentinel team (4-2) hosting homecoming on the biggest stage in town. Sentinel is on a two-game winning streak and is in the hunt for its first playoff appearance since 2009.

“They’re winning some big games and they’re starting to believe,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. “They believe they can play with anybody and beat anybody. They’re really sniffing at the playoffs. They haven’t had too many years like that. We know we’re walking into a hungry group.”

Led by quarterback Kade Paffhausen, the Spartans have the fourth-best passing offense in the state, but are starting to find their game on the ground.

“Sentinel has thrown the ball well for probably six or seven years,” Bennett said.

“They’ve had some good quarterbacks and they’ve thrown it really well. This year they have a very good running game to go with it.

“They’ve got big running backs and good offensive linemen. We know they can throw it, but we’ve got to stop the run first.”

Glacier’s running game has also been strong, with James starting to get his legs under him in his senior season. His strength on the ground has opened up the passing game, both down the field and in screens and quick passes, for big plays.

“What’s good about our gameplan, because we can do both, we want to see what the defense is trying to take away,” Bennett said.

“You can’t stop everything.”

The Wolfpack defense is starting to return to its stingy self, forcing another two turnovers last week, now with 13 on the season to add to its top-ranked run defense.

But, the big story will be the atmosphere, and who can control their emotions playing on the same field as the Griz.

“Naranche (Stadium in Butte) was so loud, it was the first time in a high school game I’ve had a hard time communicating or talking,” Bennett said. “Washington-Grizzly holds the noise so well, so I’m not sure if a couple thousand high school fans will still be loud or if it will just disappear and you won’t even notice.

“The kids play high school football because it’s fun. It’s another chance to have a blast and enjoy it.”

The game kicks off at 7 p.m. in Missoula.