As State AA semifinal games go, Glacier’s Isaac Keim had a good one in the Wolfpack’s 35-14 win over Gallatin.

For 90 seconds or so last Friday, it was especially good.

First the senior teamed up with fellow defensive end Justin Timlick to tackle Reese Dahlke, the Gallatin Raptors’ hard-to-tackle running back, for a safety at 1:31 of the first quarter. That actually gave the Wolfpack the lead for good, 8-7.

Then Keim returned the ensuing free kick 16 yards to the Raptors’ 44-yard line.

On the next play he came down with a flea-flicker pass from Jackson Presley — in tighter coverage than usual for a flea-flicker — for a 34-yard gain. 

That set up a Rhett Measure field goal early in the second quarter, and Glacier was on its way. 

Keim finished with five tackles, two of them for losses, and was pretty much all over the place. As Glacier chases its second State AA championship, against host Bozeman Friday night, it doesn’t hurt that the talented Wolfpack have one more guy playing his best ball at the right time.

“He’s one of our most gifted ball players, always has been,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. “As talented as he is, he is maybe one of our most improved players as well. He’s one of those kids that we just keep challenging, one of those kids who has so much talent they can go through the motions and still stand out.

“Three or four weeks ago something seemed to click.”

Even before that Keim, who stands 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, had verbally committed to the Montana Grizzlies. After playing the final six games of 2022, the son of a Drake football player (David Keim lettered for the Bulldogs from 1991-93) showed enough at the summer camps to get offered.

But for a time there the previous summer, he didn’t know how much football he’d be playing.

“We were at a camp in Washington,” he remembered. “I fum little three-day came that we do every year in Spokane.”

One activity was a foot race along a lake, and Keim chose a spot too shallow for a quick dip. “We were running on the sand bar and I dove in,” he said. “I got up and finished the race, and was fine that night. Then I woke up with a headache in the morning.”

He actually woke up with a compression fracture of his spine, and his junior season in jeopardy.

Considering how some of these things turn out, the prognosis was great: Rest and let it heal, no permanent damage.

“I remember specifically saying, ‘Mom, I’m walking, that’s what matters,’ “ Keim said.

Still, he sat out five games with his dad’s mantra, “always check the depth,” playing on repeat in his head. Glacier, mostly juniors, went 7-4. The season ended with, you guessed it, a 31-23 loss in Bozeman in the quarterfinals.

Now those talented juniors are seniors, and Glacier is 10-1. It’s quite the class of athletes that has been together the better part of nine years.

“Freshman year we were undefeated,” Keim remembered. “Going on from there, we kept showing how special and bonded we were.”

Wins and scholarships have piled up for the Pack. Keim has run for three touchdowns in short-yardage situations this season, and has caught a TD pass. His 11 tackles for loss are second only to Aiden Krause’s 12.5. Keim was especially tough in back-to-back games against Missoula Sentinel in late October, with 18 total tackles.

“It’s why I love coaching and running a program,” Bennett said. “He’s found a next level and a next gear.”

Now comes the next game — the last one of his prep career.

“I’m excited,” Keim said. “Super excited. Not many kids get to play in the chipper, you know? It’s a great opportunity. One last game with these boys. One last run.”

    Glacier defensive lineman Isaac Keim (9) celebrates after stopping a fourth down run by Gallatin in the Class AA semifinals at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Glacier defenders Isaac Keim (9) and Carson Baker (38) stop a run by Gallatin quarterback Reese Dahlke (0) in the second quarter of the Class AA semifinals at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider