When all looked lost, Glacier found a way to get itself back in the game.

Great Falls C.M. Russell gave the Wolfpack every bit of fight it could muster on Friday night, leading for most of the game before Glacier found its stride to put away a 49-31 Class AA football victory at Legends Stadium.

After a miserable first two and a half quarters on both sides of the ball, Glacier looked to have finally fought back after a quick drive ended in a Devin Cochran touchdown and two-point conversion to cut its once 11-point deficit to three.

Then CMR receiver Bryce Cuchine returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Cuchine had 259 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in the game.

“That’s the game right there,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said.

“We had just battled back after a rough start. Then boom, they hit the kickoff return. You’re thinking as a coach, we worked so hard and we haven’t played well, CMR has played great, oh no.

Glacier answered just seconds later, with senior receiver Logan Jones running back a 91-yard kickoff return on the next play.

“I got in the kick return huddle ... the attitude of the guys in that huddle, it was in their eyes,” Bennett said. “Then bam, they hit it right back.”

The defense responded to the momentum swing, forcing a fumble on the next drive and an interception on the one after that.

All the while, Glacier’s high-powered offense found its form, scoring touchdowns on each ensuing drive. The first, a nine-yard strike to Caleb Jones gave Glacier its first lead of the game at 35-31. The second gave the Wolfpack its swagger back, with Sam McCamley leaping over a defender in the end zone to snatch away another score.

Thomas Trefney capped the scoring and put an exclamation point on the night with a 44-yard run up the gut for a touchdown to give Glacier a resounding victory.

“In the first half, we were on our heels a little bit,” Bennett said.

“I cannot give our kids enough credit for their resilience, the way they continue to fight and believe in what we’re doing.”

The Rustlers dominated the first half of play, holding Glacier to just three offensive plays in the first quarter. CMR hit big play after big play, finding holes in a Glacier defense for big gains.

CMR just missed on a touchdown on its opening drive, completing four third-down conversions on a 16-play drive and just missing a fifth as a pass to a wide-open tight end in the end zone went off the Rustler receiver’s hands. The Rustlers found those openings later in the half, marching for an 11-play drive ending in a touchdown at the beginning of the second quarter and finding Cuchine wide-open behind the defense for a 40-yard touchdown to take a 17-7 lead with two minutes before halftime.

“Credit them, they had a great scheme on both sides of the ball,” Bennett said. “They did a great job offensively of attacking our pressure. They did a great job of getting guys open and finding ways to get people free.

“It could’ve been ugly. Somehow we were able to stay close enough for us to get going in the second half.”

That’s when Glacier finally got its offense rolling, using the hurry-up in the two-minute drill to find its rhythm. The Wolfpack drove 80 yards in 10 plays, capping the drive with a touchdown from Trefney with five seconds left in the half.

“We did not have our tempo going in the first half, I don’t know why,” Bennett said. “The last two-minute drive we had to, then all of a sudden it got our tempo going. So that was one of the adjustments we made at halftime was getting back to what we do. I thought eventually in that second half it paid off.”

Jacob Janke, playing in his first varsity game for the Wolfpack, opened the scoring for Glacier with a 64-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Brady McChesney was 18 of 32 for 259 yards passing with four touchdowns and an interception. Trefney had nine rushes for 62 yards and a pair of touchdowns. McChesney led the Wolfpack with six catches for 127 yards.

Tucker Rauthe had two interceptions and Caleb Jones had one for the Wolfpack

Glacier will host a championship rematch against Bozeman next week. The Hawks (0-2) lost to Missoula Sentinel (1-1) 32-27 on Friday.

CMR 0 17 14 0 — 31

Glacier 0 13 22 14 — 49

Scoring Summary

CMR – Andrew Grinde 1 run (Dylan Sandefur kick)

CMR – Sandefur 29 FG

Gla – Jacob Janke 64 pass from Brady McChesney (Brandon Purdy kick)

CMR – Bryce Cuchine 40 pass from Dallas Farren (Sandefur kick)

Gla – Thomas Trefrey 1 run (kick blocked)

CMR – Cuchine 10 pass from Farren (Sandefur kick)

Gla – Devin Cochran 6 pass from McChesney (Purdy kick)

CMR – Cuchine 95 kick return (Sandefur kick)

Gla – Logan Jones 91 kick return (Purdy kick)

Gla – Caleb Jones 9 pass from McChesney (Caleb Jones pass from McChesney)

Gla – Sam McCamley 17 pass from McChesney (Purdy kick)

Gla – Trefney 44 run (Purdy kick)

Team statistics

CMR Gla

First downs 19 14

Total yards 423 360

Carries-Yds 37-125 22-101

Passing Yds 298 259

Pass C-A-I 21-37-3 18-32-1

Punts-Avg. 3-31.0 5-36.4

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0

Penalties-Yds 7-65 7-55

Individual Stats

RUSHING – CMR (Grinde 25-117, Farren 8-29, Tucker II 4-5). Glacier (Trefney 9-67, McCamely 2-19, McChesney 6-31, John Learn 1-3, L. Jones 2-2, Team 0-2).

PASSING – CMR (Farren 21-37-3-298). Glacier (McChesney 18-32-1-259).

RECEIVING – CMR (Tucker II 8-100, Cuchine 6-141, Grinde 3-22, Zach Harper 2-14, Jacob Bahnmiller 1-11, Kam Mims 1-10). Glacier (McCamely 4-99, Cochran 4-42, Janke 3-74, Noah Lindsay 3-15, C. Jones 2-13, McChesney 1-12, Trefney 1-4).