Entering its Class AA semifinal football game against Missoula Big Sky tonight, top-ranked Glacier (11-0) is sure of one thing: It’s going to have to stop the run.

The fifth-seeded Eagles (8-3), who beat Billings Skyview on the road 28-21 last week, threw only two passes. And completed none.

“I know their game plan will to be come in and run the ball,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. “They’ve got maybe the best football player in the state in Cory Diaz ... If they can give it to him 30, 40, 50 times a game and they can keep moving the chains, they’re going to do it.”

That seemed to be the agenda against the Falcons as Diaz ran for 200 yards and four touchdowns. His teammate Michael Banna ran for 103 yards.

When Glacier played the Eagles earlier this season, it was able to limit those rushing opportunities, forcing Big Sky quarterback Luke Entzel to throw 22 times, resulting in three interceptions for the Wolfpack. It was enough for the Wolfpack offense to take a 42-0 lead at half and cruise to a 49-13 win on the road.

“Last time we were able to put them in some second-and-long, third-and-long type situations where they did call some passes,” Bennett said. “But, their preference would be to run it. If they could run the ball every single play, they’ll do it.”

To its advantage, the Wolfpack has the top run defense in the state, holding opponents to 90.3 yards a game, more than five yards fewer than any other team in the state. In the first contest, Glacier held Big Sky to 237 yards rushing, 20 yards less than their season average.

“That’s the good thing for us, (our run defense) has been our strength,” Bennett said. “It’s a good matchup ... Something’s got to give.

“(Our run defense) They’ve been so solid all year but they continue to improve as well. Across the board our guys continue to get better, individually and as a unit.”

The basis of Glacier’s defensive pressure comes from up front, where an athletic defensive line and talented set of linebackers has given opponents fits all year.

“We’ve got some guys that are active — Andrew Harris, Charles Calobeer, Harrison Kauffman, Bryce Brennan. Those guys are athletic. If you have some size and you put some athleticism to it, it makes it that much harder.

“Then, you put guys like Josh Hill and Neal Wood behind them. Holy smokes; they’re going to make a lot of plays. You get a D-line that occupies the offensive front, those linebackers can run free and make a lot of tackles.”

Hill, who was named Western AA defensive MVP as a junior last season, has been great again, leading a defense that has been one of the best in AA.

“Our guys play disciplined,” Bennett said. “They really trust each other. That allows them to do their job and they don’t have to try to do something else. When you do that, it works pretty well as a team.”

The defense will be key, but so will getting off to a good start on offense, albeit likely not 42-0 at half.

“We got the momentum. We’ve obviously shown that this year where we get the momentum going we can be pretty tough to stop,” Bennett said.

“It was surprising. It’s tough to expect the same thing this time.”

The game starts at 7 p.m. at Legends Stadium.