As the Glacier Wolfpack wound up preparation for a Thursday road game against Missoula Big Sky, coach Grady Bennett was thinking long-term and short.

“I think for us, this week the focus is these kids have a chance to achieve a lot of goals,” said the coach of the 6-1 (4-1 in the Western AA) Wolfpack. “It’s been a long time since we’ve started a season 7-1.

“We haven’t had a bye since we went to the play-in situation (Class AA went to a 12-team playoff in 2019). As we look for our goals that we set for the year, these kids have a chance to accomplish some really cool things. This team has a chance to go down in history as a group.”

For the record, Glacier’s 2016 team started 11-1 before losing in the state championship to Billings Senior.

In Big Sky (3-4, 2-3 in league) the Pack has a foe that Bennett every year says he respects for the way they’re coached (by Matt Johnson) and how hard they play.

Every season the Eagles have tough skill kids and 2023 is no different: They have the top rusher and leading pass-catcher in AA in Joey Sandberg and Colter Ramos.

Bennett noted that senior quarterback Drew Martins is splitting time with big-armed sophomore Avery Omlid.

“They’re both weapons,” Bennett said. “That sophomore, he’s going to be good.”

The Pack, meanwhile, has the No. 2 rusher (Kobe Dorcheus) and receiver (Cohen Kastelitz) in all of AA, and a lot of targets besides them for sophomore quarterback Jackson Presley to hand off or throw to.

“I thought Evan Barnes had one of his better games last week,” Bennett said of Glacier’s 42-6 Crosstown win over Flathead. “He’s been doing a good job as a receiver, really getting better and we’re trying to get the ball in his hands more and more.”

Bennett also sang the praises of his linebacker corps, which is led by seniors Kaleb Shine, Jaden Dannic and Carter Lapke. Shine’s name gets heard a lot: He has a team-high 57 tackles. But Dannic (47) and Lapke (33) rank 2-3.

“Those three are playing great,” Bennett said. “They’re getting less press than anybody because our D-line is so good, and our secondary. But they’ve been really good. And they’ll need to play well tomorrow night, obviously.”