Wolfpack flag football ready for takeoff

The Glacier flag football team is 5-0 and jetting off to California.

Following a 26-0 win at Missoula Sentinel Tuesday night, the Wolfpack continued preparations for a 2 p.m. Thursday flight to San Diego for the MaxPreps Invitational, a high-test tournament that coach Mark Kessler hopes will be another step for the sport. 

“It’s a great experience,” Kessler said Wednesday. “We have some players we believe  

could play at the next level. There’s going to be a great deal of college coaches at this event, and we feel it’s just another opportunity to move flag football forward in Montana.” 

Glacier has won state championships all four years the sport has existed in Montana; last year was the first it had more than one classification. This season all 16 Class AA schools are fielding teams. 

As for Tuesday, the Pack intercepted six passes at Sentinel. Bentley Cartwright had two of them, including a 22-yard pick-6; her first interception set up Glacier’s second touchdown, a 7-yard Mikenzie Bauer run.

Bauer, who was 7 of 9 passing for 89 yards, threw scoring passes of 12 yards to Addison Kauffman (set up by Olivia Ronngren’s interception) and 17 yards to Remi Osler (after a pick by Ella Goicoechea).  

Norah Cantrell and Brielle Khoury also had interceptions. Bauer had 48 rushing yards on four attempts; fellow quarterback Riley Bigelow picked up 37 yards on four carries. 

Now the Wolf Pack take their show out of state; their first game in San Diego is against West Park out of Roseville, Calif., at 6:10 p.m. local time. That game will determine their next matchup.  

The cost of the trip was partially funded by the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons; the team was able to raise the rest of the cost locally. “We had incredible support,” Kessler said. 

All that’s left is to play some of the best in a burgeoning sport. 

“I think there are 27 Division I commits in this tournament,” Kessler said. “It’s blowing up.”