Presley, Knopik lead Pack over Bulldogs

BUTTE — On their second play from scrimmage the Glacier Wolfpack scored, and they didn’t stop scoring until the third quarter of a 42-0 win over Butte Friday, in Western AA football action.

Jackson Presley completed 13 of 16 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns at Naranche Stadium. His first pass went 66 yards to Cooper Pelc for a touchdown at 9:48 of the first quarter, and the Wolfpack (3-0, 1-0 in league) were on their way. 

It was Glacier’s 13th win in 14 conference games dating back to a 28-27 loss at Butte when Presley was a sophomore — and after the Wolfpack built a 21-0 lead. 

“The last time we were here it was a really tough night,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. “One of the toughest losses in program history. This crew remembered that and they wanted to come back to Naranche and have a different outcome.” 

Presley added scoring passes covering 31 yards to Hunter Daniels and 55 yards to Austin Gragg. 

In between, senior running back Asher Knopik had touchdown runs of 31 and 5 yards. Trey Ramey added a 1-yard run as well. 

Knopik’s 5-yard run made it 35-0 and guaranteed a running clock as long as Butte (1-2 overall, 0-1 in league) didn’t score. 

Which the Bulldogs didn’t. They were outgained 500 yards to 129. Meanwhile Glacier scored on six of its first eight possessions.   

Knopik rolled up 121 yards on just eight carries. 

“He just runs with such patience and understanding,” Bennett said of the senor. “He runs hard, and has the ability to make people miss, and he just understands how to follow guards up into the second level. He maybe has a better understanding of the scheme than any back I’ve coached.” 

Pelc had a banner day as well, with four catches for 142 yards.  

Most of Butte’s yardage came from quarterback Brooks Vincent, who passed for 108 yards. Bulldog receiver Hudson Luedtke had seven catches for 75 yards. 

Defensively, Brodie Cooke was credited with eight tackles including 1.5 for losses for Glacier. Teammate Wayne Cox had 2.5 sacks. Kruz Robins (six stops) and Weston Robinson each had interceptions. 

The Wolfpack are back at Legends Stadium Friday against Helena Capital, in a rematch of last year’s State AA championship that Capital won. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. 

Glacier    14    21    7    0    -    42 

Butte    0    0    0    0    -    0

G — Cooper Pelc 66 pass from Jackson Presley (Kyle Smith kick), 9:48-1Q 

G — Asher Knopik 30 run (Smith kick), 4:14-1Q 

G — Hunter Daniels 31 pass from Presley (Smith kick, 11:53-2Q 

G — Trey Ramey 1 run (Smith kick), 7:31-2Q 

G — Knopik 5 run (Smith kick), 5:16-2Q 

G — Austin Gragg 55 pass from Presley (Smith kick), 9:00-3Q 

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Glacier (29-185) — Knopik 8-121, Eli Imperato 5-26, Ramey 6-23, Brock Moloney 2-16. Butte (17-21) — Peyton Johnson 13-43, Koda Schleeman 1-minus 4, Brooks Vincent 3-minus 18. 

PASSING: Glacier —   Presley 13-16-0 for 315 yards; Team 0-1-0 for 0 yards. Butte — Vincent 15-33-2 for 108 yards. 

RECEIVING: Glacier — Pelc 4-142, Ethan Kastelitz 4-53, Daniels 3-51, Gragg 1-55. Butte —   Hudson Luedtke 7-65, Kaleb Celli 4-34, Preston Jensen 3-7, Schleeman 1-2.