When local schools opened their doors this week to begin the academic year, it also signified the arrival of the fall sports season in the Flathead Valley.

Ahead of the start of the season, I spoke with coaches from two local teams who reached state title games last year — but in each case came up short — to learn more about how their players have responded, and what their expectations are in the coming months.

As Glacier High head football coach Grady Bennett put it, “What we love about sports, especially football, and the reason fan bases are so excited every year, is there’s always hope.”

It’s a nice sentiment to carry not just into the fall sports season, but the fall in general. The days are going to get colder, and darker, but even as summer says goodbye, there’s still much ahead on the calendar to look forward to experiencing.

But before we dive deeper with Bennett, and Whitefish High boys soccer coach Eric Sawtelle, let’s take a moment to review what some of the Flathead Valley’s high school sports teams achieved last fall season.

There’s no better place to start than with the Glacier High girls flag football team. One of the most successful high school teams in the state in recent years, the Glacier flag football team won its third straight state title last fall with an 18-13 win over Huntley Project. Girls flag football has been played at the high school level in Montana since 2022, and the Wolfpack head into this season as the only team to ever win a championship.

Speaking of Glacier, they produced another state championship team last fall in the boys golf team, which beat out Missoula Sentinel by two strokes at the state championship at the Northern Pines Golf Course in Kalispell. The Whitefish girls golf team finished second in their state competition at the Polson Bay Golf Course, and the Whitefish boys team finished in fourth place.

Both the Whitefish and Columbia Falls girls and boys soccer teams made deep post-season runs during the state championship series. The Whitefish boys came the closest to a title, losing 3-2 to Billings Central in the championship game. The Columbia Falls boys made it to the state quarterfinals, where they lost to Central by a 1-0 score. The Whitefish girls and Columbia Falls girls teams made it to the quarterfinals, with Columbia Falls losing to eventual state champion Billings Central by a 3-2 score.

The Flathead’s talented cross country teams notched four top-five finishes at the state championships last year, with the highest finish going to the Columbia Falls girls team, who took second place in Class A. Their counterparts on the school’s boys team finished fourth. The Glacier High girls cross country team also finished fourth at state, while the high school’s boys team took home a fifth place finish, and in the process managed to edge out Flathead High, who finished just behind in sixth place. The Flathead High girls cross country team also finished in sixth place at state last year.

In volleyball, Glacier, Columbia Falls and Bigfork all made the state tournament. Of the three teams, Glacier and Bigfork both collected wins in the opening round of tournament play, before being eliminated.

Four local teams — Glacier, Columbia Falls, Whitefish and Bigfork — made the state football playoffs last season. The Glacier Wolfpack made it all the way to the state championship game but lost 34-21 to Helena Capital. Whitefish defeated Bigfork in the opening round of the Class A playoffs, before falling to eventual state champion Billings Central in the quarterfinal round. Columbia Falls also won its first game of the playoffs, a 42-16 victory over Corvallis, before losing a hard-fought 35-28 game to eventual state runner-up Laurel.  

Last year was the second year in a row that Glacier lost in the state championship game. That experience has had a noticeable effect on the team’s returning players, according to Grady Bennett, the team’s head coach.

“The motivation, the focus, the work ethic, all the things in the offseason that as coaches, sometimes you have to work hard to create and get going, man, we didn’t have to do much,” Bennett said. “These guys are hungry and motivated to try to get back there again and this time get it done.”

There’s some degree of continuity, too, in terms of personnel. Bennett said there are players on the team that played in the team’s 2023 state championship game. Along with the added motivation that Bennett has seen in his team, the coach also said that the players have taken a sense of ownership in trying to figure out where they can improve.

“It’s just fun watching kids go on that journey, because that’s what it’s all about, is allowing them to problem solve and find solutions,” Bennett said.

There’s also a distinct competitive streak to how Bennett said his players approach things.

“This group, you put any sort of competitive drill out there for them, and they just get after it.”

On the spectrum of surviving to thriving on a day-to-day training basis, Bennett sees a lot of players on the latter end of things. He identified it as a huge help in promoting the kind of incremental progress that is so important to a team’s success and development.

Glacier starts off their season Aug. 29 on the road against a highly regarded Billings West football team, which counts among its starters Matt Ludwig, a 6’4, 230-pound tight end who is committed to play for the University of Michigan next year. The Golden Bears are also returning quarterback CJ Johnson. Another key player for West figures to be Elias Bonner, a wide receiver and safety who has committed to play for Montana State.

Glacier has its own share of D1 commits, including dual-threat quarterback Jackson Presley, who has drawn interest from a number of teams. Ahead of last season, Presley had committed to play for Boise State. But that changed in the offseason, twice. Presley flipped to Montana State, before flipping his commitment again over the summer to Sacramento State.

Presley will serve as a team captain, alongside fellow senior seniors Asher Knopik and Will Astle. Knopik, who transferred to Glacier last year, plays running back and linebacker. Bennett praised his energy and love for football. Astle is the team’s starting center and defensive end. Bennett said Astle got the most votes of anyone when it came time to select captains, and the coach emphasized how impressed he is with Astle’s leadership, character and work ethic.

The Wolfpack will also rely on senior left tackle and defensive tackle Maverick Diede, who has signed to play for West Point. Listed at 6’4 and 295 pounds, Bennett called Diede “a game changer.”  Other key players Bennett identified heading into the start of the season include senior outside linebacker and tight end Jack Robinson, the Robinson twins, seniors Grady and Weston, who play receiver and defensive back, junior receiver and defensive back Cooper Pelc, and senior two-way starter Wayne Cox, who plays on the offensive and defensive line. The team also has a number of juniors that will see significant playing time, and even a few sophomores, too.

“One of the things I enjoy so much about coaching is — there’s so many things — but just every year it’s the next group’s chance to step up on Friday nights. You say goodbye to the senior class, and you always think ‘How are we going to replace these guys?’” Bennett said. “You lose great players, but then the next year rolls around and the kids have worked so hard, and now it’s their time to shine under the Friday night lights. I just love that.”

Those rhythms particular to high school sports, in which one class departs and the others continue to ascend, are also familiar to Eric Sawtelle, the second-year head coach for the Whitefish boys soccer team. Like the Glacier Wolfpack, the Bulldogs made it to the state championship game last season but came up short of their ultimate goal.

“I think coming as close as we did, and performing the way that we did in that game, we were really proud of ourselves,” Sawtelle said. “And that left us with a burning desire to get there again and give it another go.”

Participation in offseason trainings was great, the coach said, and he sees the new class of seniors stepping into the void left by last year’s graduating class.

“I’m really, really proud of the work they’ve done and where they’re at right now,” Sawtelle said. “And program-wide, we just have a lot of great energy, and a lot of great players.”

Whitefish soccer has a strong legacy of success, with the boys program having won three state championships in the last five years. Over the same span, the girls program won one state title, and appeared in three championship matches. Sawtelle said there’s “a great community of players” who work hard for each other, and that this year’s team has a big junior and senior class which will provide the team with more depth than it’s had in previous years.

The team voted on its captains at the start of this week, and there will be four this year, instead of the team’s usual three captains. Sawtelle said there were so many votes in favor of different players this year, that they decided to expand the ranks of the team’s official leaders.

Captains include midfielder and three-time all-state honoree Kyler Jonson, midfielder and striker Jack Oehlerich, midfielder Wyatt Carlson, and defender Gavin Sibson.

Heading into year two, Sawtelle said that he and his coaching staff are sticking to the same approach they’ve previously taken, which includes practicing a mix of situational work, and basic structural stuff, like movements and passing patterns.

“This year we’re really working on our transitions offensively, and defensively,” he said.

The team starts its season this Friday with a home game against the Lockwood Lions. Sawtelle said his team is excited to get on the pitch, and he’s looking forward to seeing where they are in their development.

“You really don’t know until you’re in that first real competition,” he said.

Lockwood will be ready to play, Sawtelle said, and so he expects the same out of his team. “We can’t wait to play at home in front of our fans and on our beautiful field. It’s gonna be a really great Friday evening out there.”

For more information on when and where local teams are playing, check out the following links:

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