By FRITZ NEIGHBOR

Daily Inter Lake

Glacier and Columbia Falls have state championship berths in sight, with the Wolfpack seeking their first AA title game since 2016 and the Wildcats chasing their first since winning the 2017 title.

The Wolfpack play first, taking on Bozeman’s Gallatin High at Legends Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday. On Saturday Columbia Falls is at Corvallis for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

Gallatin (9-1) at Glacier (9-1)

Glacier football coach Grady Bennett has seen the film on the Gallatin Raptors, and there’s a lot to like.

“They really remind me a lot of us,” Bennett said. “Very good on the perimeter, a lot of good athletes, good weapons, with some depth. Good lines on both fronts. It’s hard to find any weaknesses. 

“On paper I think it’s a great matchup. It should be a classic AA semifinal football game.”

It’s the first meeting between the two programs, and Gallatin’s rise of the AA football ranks is meteoric — it is the Raptors’ fourth season. By comparison, Glacier went 6-5 in its fourth season in 2010. 

Grant Vigen, son of Montana State football coach Brent Vigen, has thrown for 1,409 yards and 22 touchdowns, and has fired roughly half the passes that Jackson Presley (2,596 yards, 27 TDs) has for the Wolfpack. Which brings us to a wrinkle.

“The main difference is they play two quarterbacks,” Bennett said of the Raptors. “Grant starts and is very solid and can make every throw. 

“Then they bring in Reese Dahlke and man, he is explosive and dynamic. It’s like preparing for two completely different offenses.”

Dahlke has run for a team-high 834 yards and a lot of it has come on read-zone plays at QB. It will be a challenge for a Glacier squad that is similarly talented and deep.

Aiden Krause just signed to compete in track and field at North Dakota State, where fellow Wolfpack O-lineman Henry Sellards is going to play football. Receiver/safety Kash Goicoechea and tight end/defensive end Isaac Keim are headed to the Griz. 

Kobe Dorcheus has run for 13 touchdowns, and Cohen Kastelitz has 13 TD catches.

Bennett noted that Raptor middle linebacker Joshua Woodberry is Big Sky Conference-caliber, and that top receiver Quinn Clark is headed to Nebraska to play safety.

“A lot of their skill kids on offense play defense,” Bennett said. “Athletes everywhere.

“I’m looking forward to it, to the chance to compete and get to the state championship. I told the players, I don’t know how long you’ve played football — it doesn’t matter when you start, this is why you do everything you do, to get a chance to be a part of games like this.”

Columbia Falls (8-2) at Corvallis (8-1)

This is the programs’ first meeting since 2018, which was the first of two straight one-win seasons for the Blue Devils.

While the Wildcats have been a steady playoff qualifier the past several years, this is the first postseason for Corvallis since 2018 and just the third since 2008. The Blue Devils haven’t made a championship since winning the 1976 State B crown.

Don’t let the lack of pedigree fool you: They are very good.

“They’re really big up front, and really well-coached,” Wildcats coach Jaxon Schweikert said. “They have a lot of speed on the outside, so they’re tough matchups for our corners. They run a lot of counter and misdirection.

“And then defensively, they’re tough. They like to load up the box and get after you. They don’t really have a weakness that shows up and you say, ‘Oh, let’s attack them there.’ They’re good everywhere.”

Aydan Mayn triggers an offense that is balanced and can score, but more impressive is a defense that has allowed just 63 points. Dillon got the most, in a 27-12 win; the unbeaten Beavers also beat Columbia Falls 22-19 earlier this season.

Schweikert feels the Blue Devils have evolved during the season, streamlining a passing attack that gets the ball out of Mayn’s hands quickly. 

“They’re quite a bit different team than they were early in the year,” he said. “They’ve done a good job of figuring out who they are and getting all their kids on the same page. The quarterback is playing really well right now and they have just gotten better and better at the run game.”

Cody Schweikert, son of the Wildcats head coach, continues to put up gaudy numbers. Columbia Falls has scored 51 touchdowns this season, and he’s had a hand in 39.

All that’s left is to play. There will be a lot of blue in that Bitterroot Valley town 40 miles from Missoula.

“You’re down to the final four,” Jaxon Schweikert said. “Once you make the final four anything can happen.

“We feel good, we look good. Attitude is great. Our kids will be 100 percent and give their best effort. They fully expect to play hard, play smart and fully expect to do very well.”