HELENA — For the 17th time in program history and the second time in the past three years, Helena Capital will play for the Class AA state football championship.
On a cold and snowy Friday night at Vigilante Stadium, Cole Graham had three touchdowns and the Bruins shut down Billings West 35-6 in the state semifinals at home to advance to the title game.
Capital jumped ahead early, eventually building a four-touchdown lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.
The Bruins, now 10-1, will look to win the 13th championship in program history next Friday night when they host Kalispell Glacier (10-1). The Wolfpack knocked off Bozeman Gallatin 46-27 on the road in Friday's other semifinal.
Capital, which last won the crown in 2022 with a victory over Bozeman High, beat Glacier 35-14 on Oct. 4.
West appeared to score the game’s first points, but a penalty wiped out a touchdown by star Matt Ludwig. The Bruins then got the ball and took a 7-0 lead on a short run by Graham, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Capital took advantage of another penalty in the second quarter, as a West pass interference call kept a possession alive and led to Bruins quarterback Marek Mihelish running into the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
Mistakes continued to plague the Golden Bears in the first half. West’s defense stopped the Bruins on fourth down only to have the offense turn the ball over on the ensuing possession, which eventually led to another short TD run by Graham, putting Capital ahead 21-0 at halftime.
The Bruins built a four-possession lead midway through the third quarter as Graham scored his third touchdown of the night, catching a pass out of the backfield and then diving for the pylon to give Capital a 28-0 lead.
West got on the scoreboard later in the third with a halfback pass from Malachi Claunch to Cal Schoening for a touchdown. The point-after kick missed, and the Bears trailed 28-6 with 2:41 left in the quarter.
But the Bruins put the game away on a 6-yard TD run by Drew Almquist to go ahead 35-7 with less than 8:00 to play, securing another trip to the championship game in the storied history of the program.
West finished its season with a 9-2 record.
