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Program "Firsts"

2024 Glacier WolfPack Football - "Break Through"

 

2023 Glacier WolfPack Football - "Sacrifice then Success"

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2022 Glacier WolfPack Football - "WE not me"

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2021 Glacier WolfPack Football - "Earn the Brand"

 

2020 Glacier WolfPack Football - "Quest for Excellence"

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2019 Glacier WolfPack Football - "Every..."

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2018 Glacier WolfPack Football - "As Iron Sharpens Iron"

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2017 Glacier WolfPack Football - "Strive Together"

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2016 Glacier WolfPack Football - "Tradition Never Graduates"

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2015 Glacier WolfPack Football - "New Team Same Dream"

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2014 Glacier WolfPack Football - "Reloaded and Willing to Pay the Price"

First State Championship:
With their dominating 56-19 win over CMR, the WolfPack won their first-ever class AA state championship. In the championship game, several records were set including most points scored (56) and largest margin of victory (37). The WolfPack's championship also established history for the city of Kalispell. It had been 34 years since a championship game was played here (1980), 44 years since a championship was awarded to a Kalispell team (the 1970 team was awarded the championship based on the best record in AA that year, no playoffs were scheduled), 55 years since a championship was won on the field (1959), and 56 years since a championship was won here in this city (1958)!

 

First undefeated season: 13-0
The WolfPack started 2-0 in 2013 for the first time after several 1-1 or 1-2 starts in prior years but in 2014, the Pack started perfect, kept winning and finished perfect to set a new precedent. In 2013, the WolfPack's 11 wins were the most ever for a Kalispell high school football team so that record now is pushed to 13. Wins included 31-7 over West, 49-31 over CMR, 38-8 over Bozeman, 68-13 over Hellgate, 55-29 over Butte, 49-13 over Big Sky, 59-7 over Sentinel, 55-14 over Capital, 58-0 over Great Falls, 27-7 over Flathead, 58-8 over West in the quarterfinals, 42-8 over Big Sky in the semifinals and the capstone 56-19 over CMR in the state championship.

 

Longest win streak at Legends stadium: 16
After closing out the 2012 season with a tough 24-31 loss to the Bozeman Hawks in the state semifinals, the Pack did not lose again at Legends stadium over the course of two seasons (2013-14) winning a total of 16 games in a row and setting the benchmark for consecutive wins on their home turf.

 

First Team to go Undefeated on the road in a Season:
With 5 regular season road victories, the 2014 WolfPack won all their games away from Legends Stadium going undefeated through their travel schedule for the first time in school history.

 

First Punt Return for a Touchdown:

Logan Jones
Friday, October 3rd @ Big Sky
On a night where Logan Jones set a school record with a phenomenal 4 punt returns for 172 yards and an average of 43 yards per return, he also took the 4th one all the way to the end zone for a touchdown, the first punt return for the WolfPack in school history. Logan ended up with a new school record 4 punt returns for touchdowns on the season. 

 

2013 Glacier WolfPack Football - "Together We Rise"

Most Wins (11) in a Single Season in Kalispell High School Football History:

2013
With the WolfPack advancing to the state championship game for the first time in school history and only the 2nd time for a Kalispell team in the past 54 seasons, the WolfPack earned 11 total victories becoming the winningest team in a single season in the history of Kalispell high school football. With their 29 wins over the past 3 seasons and 3 straight trips to the semifinals, the WolfPack became the winningest team ever over a three-year stretch.

 

First State Championship Game Appearance and State Runner-Up Finish:

2013
With their dominating 52-7 semifinal win over CMR on November 15th, the WolfPack advanced to the Class AA state championship game for the first time in school history where they fell to the undefeated Bozeman Hawks 24-14 finishing 11-2 and as state runner-ups.

 

Three Straight Trips to the Class AA Semifinals:

2011, 2012, 2013
Only 2 other class AA programs have ever appeared in three straight semifinal playoff games. The WolfPack joined CMR and Capital as the third AA program to accomplish the feat appearing in 2011, 2012, and 2013's 52-7 victory over CMR.

 

First 9-Game Winning Streak:
Sept 20 over Hellgate 40-0, Sept 27 over Butte 58-41, Oct 4 over Big Sky 38-19, Oct 11 over Sentinel 59-41, Oct 18 over Capital 31-7, Oct 25 over Great Falls High 56-6, Nov 1 over Flathead 56-7, Nov 8 quarterfinal playoff over Butte 62-55, Nov 15 semifinal playoff over CMR 52-7.
In over 100 years of Kalispell high school football, the most games a team had ever won in a single season was 9. The WolfPack won 9 games in a row on their way to 11 total wins and an appearance in the Class AA state championship game.

 

First Team to go 8-0 at Legends Stadium in Single Season:
With 5 regular-season home victories, a crosstown road victory over the Braves and 2 home playoff wins, the 2013 WolfPack won 8 games at Legends Stadium this season going undefeated on their home field and winning more games than any other team at Legends Stadium in a single season in history.

 

First 1,000 Yard Rusher and Wide Receivers in Same Season:
The WolfPack had their first thousand-yard receiver in 2012 when Kyle Griffith had 81 catches for 1,051 yards but in 2013, three WolfPack players passed the thousand-yard mark in the same season when Noah James became the first WolfPack running back to rush for over thousand yards rushing 169 times for 1,073 yards and 17 touchdowns. Not to be outdone, 1st team all statewide receivers Evan Epperly and Logan Jones both eclipsed the thousand-yard mark as well. Epperly had 55 catches for a new single-season record 1,126 yards and 14 touchdowns and Logan Jones had 62 receptions for 1,009 yards and 10 touchdowns.

 

First 100 Yard Rusher and Receiver in the Same Game:

Logan Jones
In a huge quarterfinal playoff performance, Logan Jones helped the WolfPack defeat the Butte Bulldogs for the second time in as many tries by rushing 16 times for 116 yards and 1 touchdown, catching 7 passes for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns and returning 3 kickoffs for 47 yards bringing his total all-purpose yardage record for a single game to 306.

 

First Victory in Washington Grizzly Stadium:

59-41
Friday, October 11th, @ Sentinel
The WolfPack played their first-ever game in Washington Grizzly Stadium and came up victorious with a resounding 59-41 win in which their offense rolled up a school-record 650 yards of total offense.

 

First 3 Touchdown Game by the Defense:
Friday, September 27th, 2013 @ Butte
The WolfPack intercepted reigning AA offensive MVP Dallas Cook 5 times in the game and returned 3 for touchdowns. Todd Ogden began the onslaught in the second quarter when he jumped in front of a screen and took it 46 yards to paydirt. In the third quarter, corner Cain Boschee cut in front of an out route and raced 67 yards for a touchdown. Evan Epperly sealed the deal late in the fourth with a 52-yard return of an errant Cook pass. On the weekend, between the varsity and JV contests (a 47-33 WolfPack win), the Pack intercepted the Butte QB's 13 times, returning 5 of them for scores. Safety Brett Thomas had an incredible 6 interceptions in the JV game, returning 2 of them for TDs.

 

First 4 Interceptions for Touchdowns vs One QB:

Dallas Cook of the Butte Bulldogs
Against arguably one of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the state of Montana and the 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year, Dallas Cook of the Butte Bulldogs, the WolfPack defense made some great plays and intercepted Cook a total of 6 times, returning 4 for touchdowns. In their regular season, 58-41 win on September 27th, Todd Ogden, Evan Epperly, and Cain Boschee all intercepted Cook and returned them for touchdowns. In the quarterfinal playoff 62-55 win on November 8th, Logan Jones intercepted Cook and returned #4 to paydirt to seal the game and move the Pack to the semifinals for the 3rd straight season.

 

2012 Glacier WolfPack Football - "Respect All Fear None"

First Time Earning #1 Seed for Playoffs:

2012

 

First 8-Game Winning Streak:
Sept 14 over Hellgate 64-6, Sept 21 over Bozeman 7-3, Sept 28 over Flathead 55-14, Oct 5 over Sentinel 51-14, Oct 12 over Great Falls High 56-0, Oct 18 over Capital 33-7, Oct 26th over Big Sky 21-10, Nov 2 quarterfinal playoff over Capital 21-13.
The WolfPack extended their longest winning streak to 8 games in a row besting the 5 games in a row they won in the 2011 season.

 

First Shutout of an opponent:

56 - 0 
Friday, October 12th, 2012 @ Great Falls Bison 
The WolfPack extended their longest winning streak to 5 games in a row besting the 3 games in a row they won in both the 2010 and 2009 seasons.

 

First Blocked Punt for a Touchdown:

Dawson Day
Friday, October 12th, 2012 @ Great Falls High Bison
After forcing a 3-and-out on Great Falls' first offensive possession, Dawson Day broke through the left side and blocked the punt, recovering it in the end zone for a touchdown.

 

First 2 Touchdown Game by the Defense:
Friday, September 28th, 2012 vs Flathead
The WolfPack intercepted Flathead quarterback Matt Tokarz 6 times in the game and returned 2 for touchdowns. In the third quarter, Evan Epperly took one of his 3 interceptions in the game back 90 yards for a touchdown officially breaking the game open. This was Evan's second career interception return for a touchdown covering more than 90 yards. In the fourth quarter, Todd Ogden grabbed number 6 on the night and returned it 38 yards to paydirt.

 

First 3 Interception Game:

Evan Epperly
Friday, September 28th, 2012 vs Flathead
The WolfPack intercepted Flathead quarterback Matt Tokarz 6 times in the game and returned 2 for touchdowns. Evan Epperly snared 3 of the errant passes setting a WolfPack record becoming the first to ever have 3 interceptions in a single game.

 

First Safety:

Brayden Nicholson
Saturday, September 15th, 2012 vs Hellgate @ Polson
As Hellgate lined up to punt after their first series ended in a 3 and out, a high snap sailed into the end zone and Brayden Nicholson got to the punter first, forcing him to step out of bounds for the first-ever recorded safety in WolfPack history giving the Pack a 9-0 lead and helping them on to a resounding 64-6 victory.

 

2011 Glacier WolfPack Football - "Sold Out"

First Season with 9 Total Wins:
The WolfPack won 9 games in 2011 which is the most wins for a Kalispell football team in 40 years since the 1970 Flathead team was declared state champions without a playoff system due to their 9-0-1 record being the best in the state that season. The 2011 WolfPack football team became only the 4th Kalispell football team in history to win as many games joining the '70, '59, and '58 Brave squads who also won 9 games.

 

First Home Playoff Game and Playoff Victory:
Friday, November 4th, 2011 vs Billings Senior Broncs 24-10
The WolfPack secured their first-ever home playoff game by finishing 8-2 during the regular season and earning the 4th playoff seed overall. They played host to the 5th seeded Billings Senior Broncs and came away with the 24-10 victory to move on to the semifinals for the first time.

 

First Semifinal Playoff Appearance:
Friday, November 11th, 2011 @ Billings West Golden Bears 16-45
Following their first-ever playoff win at home over Billings Senior in the quarterfinals, the WolfPack headed to Billings West to take on the Golden Bears in their first-ever appearance in the semifinals falling 16-45 and one game short of the state championship.

 

First 5-Game Winning Streak:
Sept 16 over Hellgate 69-21, Sept 23 over Bozeman 24-14, Sept 30 over Flathead 56-44, Oct 7 over Sentinel 27-24 (OT), and Oct 14 over Great Falls High 35-21
The WolfPack extended their longest winning streak to 5 games in a row besting the 3 games in a row they won in both the 2010 and 2009 seasons.

 

2010 Glacier WolfPack Football - "With Tradition Comes Responsibility"

First Kalispell high school football team to defeat both Great Falls teams in the city of Great Falls in the same football season:
Friday, September 3, Wolfpack 31 - CMR 21 and 
Friday, October 8, Wolfpack 20 - Great Falls High 16
The Wolfpack made history on Friday, September 3rd when they became only the 6th Kalispell football team to ever defeat the CMR Rustlers and only the 2nd in history to do so on the road in Great Falls. A few weeks later, they seized the chance to go down in history as the one and only team to defeat both Great Falls football teams in the city of Great Falls when they made their second trip to Memorial Stadium and defeated the Great Falls Bison with a dramatic, come-from-behind, 20-16 win.

 

First All-State First Team Players:
Joel Horn (Offensive Tackle), Bryan Chery (Corner), and Jake Leininger (Long Snapper) became the first Wolfpack football players to earn all-state first-team honors when they were selected to the Class AA first team for the 2010 season.

 

First Great Falls Tribune SuperState Player Selection:
Joel Horn (Offensive Tackle)

 

2009 Glacier WolfPack Football - "One Team-One Journey / Faithfulness...Success"

First-Ever Class AA Varsity Home Football Win:
Friday, August 28th, 2009 vs Billings Senior 41-20
The Glacier WolfPack football team started their third season in a big way by winning their first-ever home game at Legends Stadium against the Billings Senior Broncs. Read more...

 

First Overtime Game and Victory:
Friday, September 11th, 2009 @ Bozeman Hawks 41-35
The WolfPack football team didn't take long historically to get involved in an overtime game reaching the extra stanza in week three of their third season on the road against the Bozeman Hawks. The Wolfpack climbed off the deck with only eight minutes left in the game and down by 14 points to tie the score and win it in the extra period. 

 

First Four Game Program Sweep of a AA Opponent:
Weekend of September 25th and 26th, 2009 vs Flathead Braves 154-13
In the young WolfPack's quest to win AA football games at any level in the program, earning a sweep over a AA opponent in all four games is something that does not happen very often, especially in class AA. The WolfPack accomplished this in only their third season as a program against their crosstown rivals, the Flathead Braves, sweeping all four games in dominating fashion. The freshmen won 48-0, the sophomores won 45-0, the JV won 21-6 and the varsity won 40-7 bringing the weekend total to an amazing 154-13.

 

First Win Over a Ranked Opponent:
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 @ Sentinel Spartans 24-17
The WolfPack's first victory over a ranked opponent came in week number six on the road against the #3 ranked, 4-1 Sentinel Spartans. 

 

First Interception Return for a Touchdown and Defensive Touchdown:

Boyce Ballard
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 @ Sentinel Spartans
The WolfPack had battled back from a 7-14 halftime deficit to take a 17-14 lead in the 3rd quarter over the #3 ranked Sentinel Spartans. The Spartans were driving to try and take the lead when inside linebacker Boyce Ballard stepped in front of a Riley King pass and returned it 35 yards for what proved to be the clinching score of the game as the WolfPack held on for a breakthrough program win. 

 

First Winning Streak:
#1 - 3 game win streak - Sept 25 over Flathead 40-7, Oct 2 over Sentinel 24-17, Oct 9 over Great Falls High 34-7
#2 - 2 game win streak - Oct 23 over Big Sky 35-31, Oct 30 over Hellgate 42-14
The Wolfpack put together two winning streaks in only their third season winning back to back games for the first time in program history on two separate occasions during the season. The WolfPack win streak record now stands at 3 games.

 

First Homecoming Victory:
Friday, October 9th, 2009 vs Great Falls High Bison 34-7
The Wolfpack played one of their most complete games of the season and won their homecoming game for the first time in program history in season number three over the Great Falls Bison.

 

First Kickoff Return for a Touchdown:

Stormy Day 93 yards
Friday, October 16th @ Helena Capital
The WolfPack were struggling on the road, down 44-0, when Stormy Day ignited the team with the first-ever kickoff return for a touchdown in WolfPack history. Stormy took the ball in the center of the field at the 7-yard line, cut hard to the right, and went 93 yards up the WolfPack sideline to pay dirt.

 

First Playoff Appearance: 
Friday, November 6th, 2009 @ Billings Skyview Falcons 14-28
The WolfPack finished 7-3 and earned the 5th seed overall to earn their first trip to the Class AA playoffs eventually falling on the road to the 4th seeded Billings Skyview Falcons 14-28.

 

2008 Glacier WolfPack Football - "The Tradition Grows"

First-Ever Class AA Varsity Football Win and Class AA Road Win:
Friday, August 29th, 2008 @ Butte High Bulldogs 21-14
The Glacier WolfPack football team began their second season with a milestone victory on the road against the Butte Bulldogs. 
This victory brought with it many more historical firsts for the WolfPack including their First Ever Lead in a football game. When QB Shay Smithwick-Hann plunged in from the 1-yard line early in the 2nd quarter, the WolfPack had their first-ever lead at 7-0. Butte tied the score shortly after but the WolfPack offense responded and when Taylor Hart scored from 7 yards out, the WolfPack had their First Ever Halftime Lead 14-7.

 

2007 Glacier WolfPack Football - "A Season of History and New Traditions"

The opening of Glacier High School gave a special group of football players the opportunity to take part in establishing new traditions and become a part of history that will forever be remembered.

 

First-Ever Class AA Football Game:

Friday, August 24th, 2007 vs Butte High Bulldogs
The Glacier WolfPack football team began their historical journey by taking the field against the Butte High Bulldogs on Friday, August 24th, 2007 at Legends Stadium. The following is a list of "firsts" from that contest.


First Coin Toss:

Shay Smithwick-Hann and Kramer Wilson
Elected team captains Shay Smithwick Hann and Kramer Wilson won the first-ever coin toss in WolfPack history and elected to defer to the second half.


First Kickoff:

Taylor Graham
Taylor Graham followed Butte's decision to receive the opening kickoff with a booming kick pinning returner Michael Ueland on the 4-yard line where he promptly slipped and fell.


First Tackle:

Taylor Graham
On the first play from scrimmage, Butte QB Michael Hawbaker rolled right to pass and finding all of his receivers covered, took off upfield with the football. Taylor Graham came up to make the first-ever tackle in Glacier WolfPack football history forcing Hawbaker out of bounds.


First Pass Completion, Reception, and First Down:

Shay Smithwick-Hann to Taylor Graham
On the first-ever offensive play from scrimmage, WolfPack QB Shay Smithwick-Hann rolled right and found Taylor Graham open up the right sideline for a 15 yard gain and the first-ever first down in Glacier WolfPack football history.


First Sack:

Tim Dick and Jake Criner
On the 4th series for the WolfPack defense in the second quarter, defensive tackle Tim Dick and defensive end Jake Criner knifed through the Bulldog offensive line on 3rd down sacking QB Michael Hawbaker and forcing the first-ever opponent punt in WolfPack history.


First Interception:

Garrett Connors
Middle linebacker, Garrett Connors hustled to a deflected Bulldog pass and dove to make the first-ever interception in WolfPack football history. Garrett also ended up totaling an amazing 21 tackles for the game.


First Touchdown:

Shay Smithwick-Hann
In the middle of the 3rd quarter after the WolfPack had driven to the Bulldog 6 yard line, WolfPack QB Shay Smithwick-Hann faked a run to the right and rolled to his left. Finding all of his receivers covered, he tucked the ball, ran over one defender, and dove into the end zone scoring the first-ever touchdown in WolfPack football history.

 

More Historical Firsts From the First-Ever WolfPack Football Season.....

 

First-Ever Program Victory:

Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 - "Green" Team 20 @ Libby JV 13
The first-ever football victory in program history was earned by the "Green" team, a mixture of sophomores and some juniors, who traveled to Libby on Tuesday, August 28th, and won a hard-fought 20-13 decision over the Libby JV. The WolfPack freshmen then followed that up with another program victory on Thursday, August 30th, with a 26-12 win at Columbia Falls versus the Wildcat freshmen and sophomores.

 

First Class AA Road Game:

Friday, August 31st, 2007 @ Bozeman Hawks
On Friday, August 31st, 2007, the young Glacier WolfPack football boarded the bus for their first-ever Class AA road contest traveling all the way to Bozeman to face the Bozeman Hawks. Considering that the longest game trip most of the young sophomores on that bus had ever taken was to Ronan or Eureka, they performed quite admirably forcing Bozeman to take 15 plays, almost 7 minutes, and convert two 4th downs on their first drive to score.

 

First Forced Fumble and Fumble Recovery:

Matt Cope and Nate Dennison
Friday, August 31st, 2007 @ Bozeman Hawks
In the 2nd quarter versus Bozeman, punter Shay Smithwick-Hann boomed a high punt to Bozeman returner Brent Lohman who was immediately swarmed by a host of WolfPack players. Matt Cope came in to jar the ball loose and force the first fumble in WolfPack history and Nate Dennison, who was the first man on the scene to receive credit for the tackle, recovered it.

 

First Passing Touchdown and Reception:

Shay Smithwick-Hann to Kyle Montini
Friday, September 7th, 2009 vs Hellgate Knights
On the first offensive play of the second quarter versus Hellgate at Legends Stadium, WolfPack QB Shay Smithwick-Hann fired a bullet over the middle to TE Kyle Montini who made the catch on the 1-yard line and took it into the end zone for the first ever receiving touchdown in WolfPack history.

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