HELENA — After Kalispell Glacier's second touchdown on Friday night, the Wolfpack, dating back to the 2023 season, had scored 70 consecutive points on Helena Capital.

The fifth-ranked Bruins responded by scoring the next 35. In the process, they took a 14-point deficit and turned it into a 35-14 win over No. 1 Glacier, wiping away memories of a 56-0 defeat at the hands of the Wolfpack last season in Kalispell. 

"In the first quarter, it started to remind me of what happened last year," Capital head coach Kyle Mihelish said. "I turned around and said, 'Hey guys, we aren't going to do this again this year.' Then, Merek (Mihelish) gave us a spark. Cole (Graham) gave us a spark and we were able to run the ball."

Running the ball isn't complicated, but it was the difference on Friday night.

Capital (186 rushing yards) was able to do it and Glacier (55), for the most part, wasn't.

The Bruins, down two touchdowns, turned to their quarterback. And Merek Mihelish, the Montana Grizzly commitment, capped a 5-play, 59-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. 

Capital missed the point after, but after a Glacier fumble, the Bruins, who trailed 14-6 following two first first-half touchdown runs by the Wolfpack's Kobe Dorcheus, were in business.

A 21-yard touchdown pass from Mihelish to Brit Linder, then a three-yard run by Mihelish to covert the two-point conversion tied the score at halftime, 14-14.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, the Bruins ran the ball 11 straight times, covering 65 yards. Then, Mihelish found Daniel Larson for a 15-yard touchdown, giving Capital a 20-14 lead it wouldn't relinquish. 

Cole Graham scored a rushing touchdown, soon after a turnover on downs by Glacier, extending the lead to 28-14. 

Then, after a fourth quarter interception of Glacier quarterback Jackson Presley, the Bruins iced the win with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Mihelish to Larson, who committed to Montana Tech earlier this week.

Helena's Daniel Larson celebrates after a touchdown pass from Merek Mihelish during Friday's game agasinst Glacier at Vigilante Stadium.

Trailing by 21, Glacier tried to mount a final comeback, but another turnover on downs in Capital territory ended that, leaving the Bruins all smiles as they flipped the script from last season. 

"Just looking around the huddle before that final knee, it was all smiles," Larson said. "We were just like, 'We did it! Coach Mihelish told us that no Capital team had been beaten 56-0. So for us to come back and win like this is amazing." 

Capital finished with 303 total yards and 186 came on the ground. Mihelish completed 9-of-12 passes for 118 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 73 yards and a score. Graham added 79 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Larson caught two passes for 46 yards and two touchdowns.

Helena Capital's Cole Graham dives into the end zone for a touchdown during Friday's game against Glacier at Vigilante Stadium.

Dorcheus, Class AA's leading rusher, was limited to 77 yards on 20 attempts. Presley, the Boise State commitment, completed 21-of-38 passes for 275 yards and one interception (Dylan Almquist). 

With the win, Capital (5-1, 4-0) takes over first place in the Western AA conference and here are five takeaways. 

The Capital offensive line deserves its flowers. Cole Graham and the defense do too, but the Bruins don't win this game without the efforts of Merek Mihelish at quarterback.

Facing a 14-0 deficit, Capital ditched the forward pass for a bit and went to the zone read with some other runs mixed in. The offensive line was spectacular, but so was Mihelish who ran past, around, and through Glacier defenders on his way to the Bruins first touchdown.

"We just talked before that drive," Mihelish said. "We knew that we had to score and start playing our brand of football."

The Bruins "brand" of football included running the quarterback 18 times. If it wasn't for sacks, he would have rushed for over 100 yards. Mihelish also completed 75 percent of his passes and had two touchdown passes directly into the wind as he helped rally his team from a two-touchdown deficit.

"Merek's great and he can do it all," Larson said. "He knows how to read defenses. He's smart. He's just a great quarterback and he's the leader of this offense." 

Through six games, Mihelish has 24 total touchdowns and zero turnovers.

Therefore, it's not hyperbole to say if the Gatorade Player of the Year award was given out right now, the Capital Bruins QB should get it.

Facing a 14-point deficit and a stiff right wind in their face, the Bruins didn't have much choice but to run the ball which makes the fact that it worked as well as it did all the more impressive.

The best teams can run the ball, even when their opponents know it's coming and from the second quarter on, even though it knew what was coming, Glacier seemed powerless to stop it.

"When nature calls, we turn to the power game," Coach Mihelish said. "Zone read. Quarterback runs. We did have some different blocking schemes — things that we hadn't done before. We saw some things on film and the offensive line — those guys just do a great job. Coach Hogan, they respond to him, they respond to the scheme. We put the game on them and they came through."

The Bruins ran for 186 yards and yes, maybe the weather had something to do with it, but even in this era of spread offenses and basketball on grass, the team that wins of the line of scrimmage usually wins the game.

Friday night was a reminder of that. 

It was game on after two touchdowns by the Bruins in the final minute of the first half tied the score but the opening drive of the third quarter is when the Bruins started to really assert themselves.

First, Cole Graham powered ahead for a first down on a critical third-and-one. Then, after 11 straight runs, Mihelish found Larson in the end zone giving control of the game to the Bruins for good.

"It was a great drive by our guys," Coach Mihelish said. "It was great playcalling. We executed and when we scored, you saw six minutes off the clock. That was pretty impressive."

As much credit as the Bruins deserve for their offensive execution, holding Glacier scoreless for nearly seven quarters is no easy task. Jackson Presley was intercepted once and also fumbled. Glacier also had a key turnover on downs in its own territory after a bad snap caused the punter's knee to hit the ground. 

The Wolfpack finished with 330 yards of total offense but after going up and down the field early, the Glacier offense was shutout in the second half.

"We told our guys early, they just needed to settle in," Coach Mihelish said. "They finally did that after we got a score and in the second half, they were lights out."

Fortunately, for the Glacier Wolfpack, they don't hand out state championship trophies in October. There's a lot of football left to play.

Capital announced itself a contender on Friday night. The Bruins also control their own destiny in the race to the be the top seed in the Western AA. That would ensure the Bruins of hosting at least through the semifinals.

Unless Glacier gets help though, Friday's result means they'll have to win some playoff games on the road to get back to the state championship game. It can be done, but the path for Glacier at least, seems much more difficult after the 21-point loss to Capital.