A lot can change in eight weeks, but the Glacier Wolfpack are hoping for a repeat of their performance against Butte in the AA football quarterfinals Friday at Legends Stadium. 

The Wolfpack jumped out early and often on the Bulldogs to claim the 49-14 victory on Sept 13. 

“Everyone has gotten better,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. “But we are such a different team than we were back in week three when we played these guys and even just the start of the season.” 

Glacier earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season as the No. 2 seed in the West with an 8-1 overall record, 6-1 against Western AA foes — the lone loss coming in Helena, a 35-14 decision to the Capital Bruins. 

“Our guys handled it really well last year,” Bennett said. “I thought our coaches put a good plan together, so we just duplicated it this year.  

“Last week was good, it was a way to rest and recoup both mentally and physically, get healthy and then focus on the things that each area needed to get better.”  

Jackson Presley finished 13-for-15 for 262 yards in the first matchup against the Bulldogs, with three touchdowns and one interception. The junior has thrown for 2,095 yards and 19 scores this season, completing nearly 65 percent of his passes. 

On the ground, senior Kobe Dorcheus racked up 131 yards on 11 touches with one touchdown. Dorcheus’ 140.8 yards per game ranks top among AA running backs and second in the state overall — only Luke Oxarart of Class B Boulder has more. Dorcheus’ 21 touchdowns also leads AA. 

Defensively, Butte’s 14 points is the third most allowed by the Wolfpack all season, and the most allowed at home — Helena High (27) and Capital (35) both hosted Glacier in 2024. 

“Every time you play Butte it’s going to be a rock fight,” Bennett said. “They are just tough kids. They are gritty, hardnosed kids. They are tough and every game with them is one of battles. It’s just a physical rock fight.” 

The Bulldogs enter this week as the No. 6 seed in the West and are coming off a 21-17 road victory over the East’s No. 3 seed, Great Falls. 

In their first meeting with Glacier, Butte quarterback Colton Shea threw for 246 yards on 27 of 39 passing. He found Hudson Luedtke 12 times for 121 yards and a score. Last week against the Bison, Luedtke caught seven passes for 67 yards and a TD.  

Shea also completed eight passes to Tocher Lee for 72 yards in week three. Lee picked up an injury in the game and was limited in week four against Missoula Big Sky, he hasn't played since.  

On the ground, Glacier held Butte to just 18 yards on 22 carries in the first meeting. 

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. with the winner facing either Helena or Gallatin next week in the semifinals. 

    Glacier wide receiver Cooper Pelc (8) catches a 40-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter against Butte at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider