Kai Johnson’s three TD passes lead Glacier to crosstown flag football win
JOSH DUGAN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 2 months AGO
Glacier's Khirsten Terrell (9) tries to get past Flathead defenders Kenlie Roth (2) and Quinlenn Tennison (13) in the second half at Legends Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 19. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Glacier quarterback Kai Johnson (71) drops back to pass in the first half against Flathead at Legends Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 19. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Glacier's Noah Fincher (22) pulls in a long reception in the first half against Flathead at Legends Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 19. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Glacier's Maria Super (55), Zoey Allen (5) and Alli Buls (7) celebrate after Allen's touchdown reception in the first half against Flathead at Legends Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 19. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Flathead's Kaidyn Lake (5) scores a touchdown on a long reception in the second half against Glacier at Legends Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 19. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Glacier's Zoey Allen (5) scores a touchdown on a reception in the first half against Flathead at Legends Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 19. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Flathead quarterback Harlie Roth (6) is tackled by Glacier's Staisha Thomas (23) on a run in the second half at Legends Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 19. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Josh Dugan covers sports for the Daily Inter Lake, and hosts the Sports Now and Big Sky Now podcasts on the Hagadone Sports Network. Josh is a graduate of Cal State Monterey Bay and founded the digital media brand The Zone Sports. He can be reached at [email protected] or 406-758-4441. | September 20, 2023 12:00 AM
It was a full house at Legends Stadium Tuesday, the bleachers jam-packed with attendees for a crosstown flag football showdown between Glacier and Flathead that ended with a 25-6 Wolfpack win.
“We played with a lot of passion tonight, you saw our defense giving everything we had and it was exciting to see,” Glacier coach Mark Kessler said.
Wolfpack quarterback Kai Johnson fired off three touchdown passes and connected with Zoey Allen on a deep throw down the field that sent the Legends Stadium crowd into a roar and put the Pack in position to go up 18-6 early in the second half.
“Kai can throw a football like nobody’s business and you can’t really look at her great throws without seeing the great catches by Zoey Allen,” Kessler said.
Johnson also found Allen for a key touchdown late in the first half on a throw across the middle of the field that gave Glacier a 12-0 lead.
Flathead made a late push when quarterback Harlie Roth drove the Bravettes down the field with less than 10 minutes to play and hit Kaidyn Lake for a touchdown across the middle of the field to make it 18-6 at the 7:24 mark.
“Great atmosphere to play at Legends under the lights,” Flathead coach Lisa Koehler said. “It was a great turnout, and I hope we were able to create some new fans of the sport, most importantly I hope that people will continue to support the sport and sanction it as a high school sport, giving all girls in Montana the opportunity to play.”
The Wolfpack responded with another scoring drive where Noah Fincher took a short pass from Johnson and broke loose for a huge gain to cross midfield and set Glacier up deep in Flathead territory. The Wolfpack capped off the drive with a score on a perfectly placed jump ball in the corner from the Wolfpack gunslinger Johnson to Fincher.
Khirsten Terrell had a strong day at running back for Glacier as she broke off multiple big runs and showed a great ability to make defenders miss in space.
Roth and Layla Fisher showed a strong connection in the passing game for Flathead as Fisher was able to get open in space underneath for multiple receptions throughout the night.
“Tip my hat to Flathead, they are a great opponent. Arguably the best team in the state the last two years,” Kessler said.
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It was a full house at Legends Stadium Tuesday, the bleachers jam-packed with attendees for a crosstown flag football showdown between Glacier and Flathead that ended with a 25-6 Wolfpack win.