Flathead thumps Glacier

Braves gets off to fast start, roll 49-13 in first cross-town grid battle

The Braves set the tone from the beginning, and the Wolfpack proved this rivalry is only going to get better.

The Flathead High School football team thumped Glacier 49-13 Friday night at Legends Stadium in Kalispell's first cross-town clash.

The Braves (5-3) led after 13 seconds as junior running back Bryce Stacy took an inside handoff on the first play from scrimmage, burst through the middle and cut to his right before racing down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown.

Flathead's fast start illustrated that while the young Wolfpack - which played its finest game of the season - soon will be a force of its own, the Braves are still the big boys in town.

Stacy scored on Flathead's next drive as the Braves established a formidable running game to compliment their impressive aerial assault. They scored on five of their first six possessions, leading 35-0 at halftime and 49-0 after three quarters.

Stacy rumbled for 135 yards on nine carries and put Flathead up 21-0 on a 3-yard scoring reception in the second quarter.

"Our front line came out and got their heads low and pushed me forward," Stacy said. "Everybody came out like a ball of fire. It's a good thing to do that in cross-town.

"Having a cross-town rival, it's going to be a lot of fun in the years to come."

Flathead quarterback Brock Osweiler completed his first eight passes en route to a 13-for-18 performance, good for 195 yards and three touchdowns in 2 1/2 quarters of work. Kyle Van Eimeren and Bryant Eickert had long scoring receptions in the first half.

The Braves totaled 242 yards on the ground, including 58 by Pat Hergesheimer, who scored a 7-yard touchdown.

"We always want to be able to run the football," Flathead coach Russell McCarvel said. "Sometimes we're not as good as we'd like to be, but our O-line did a good job, not only pass blocking, but run blocking, and we hope to keep improving on that."

Glacier (0-8) improved across the board, totaling 268 yards of offense while steadily moving the ball for most of the night. Quarterback Shay Smithwick-Hann completed 28 of 38 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns, while wide receivers Connor Fuller and Taylor Graham combined for 14 receptions, 176 yards and two scores.

The Wolfpack made things interesting late in the first quarter, driving to Flathead's 4-yard line before the Braves made a sack and forced a missed field goal.

"That's what's exciting is Flathead's a good defense, and yet I thought, by far, we had our best offensive night of the year," Flathead coach Grady Bennett said.

"(Flathead's starters) stayed in most of the game, so credit our kids for just continuing to battle."

The Class AA contest was as spirited and visceral as expected. The teams combined for 24 penalties, four turnovers and myriad big hits and spectacular plays.

"It was a great atmosphere," McCarvel said. "It was a great event for the community.

"I don't think there's any question that both teams came to play hard for 48 minutes."

The Wolfpack finishes its inaugural season against Missoula Sentinel (0-8) and Missoula Big Sky (3-5). Both games have the potential to be highly-competitive, provided Glacier's athletes sustain their momentum.

"I think what's so cool is our guys are really learning how they can play up against older, bigger competition," Bennett said.

"I'm so proud of them for not focusing on the scoreboard, so that when those JV guys or the backups come in for other teams, they're still raring to go - to play hard and get something done."

The Braves, winners of five of their last six games, wrap up their regular season against Missoula Hellgate and Helena Capital before making their postseason run.

"We definitely set the tone (tonight), and we want to just keep pushing," Stacy said. "We definitely want to have better wins against tougher teams.

"I'm not going to take it away from Glacier, but I'm looking forward to the playoffs. We have a championship to win."

Flathead 14 21 14 0 - 49

Glacier 0 0 0 13 - 13

First Quarter

Fla - Bryce Stacy 65 run (CJ Manning kick), 11:47

Fla - Stacy 19 run (Manning kick), 8:34

Second Quarter

Fla - Stacy 3 pass from Brock Osweiler (Manning kick), 11:52

Fla - Kyle Van Eimeren 24 pass from Osweiler (Manning kick), 6:08

Fla - Osweiler 1 run (Manning kick), 2:20

Third Quarter

Fla - Bryant Eickert 41 pass from Osweiler (Manning kick), 8:17

Fla - Patrick Hergesheimer 7 run (Manning kick), 5:52

Fourth Quarter

Gla - Connor Fuller 28 pass from Shay Smithwick-Hann (Taylor Graham kick), 4:26

Gla - Graham 6 pass from Smithwick-Hann (pass failed), 1:16

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Fla Gla

First downs 14 12

Rushes-yards 30-242 20-11

Passing yards 195 257

Return yards 50 62

Comp-Att-Int 13-20-1 28-38-1

Punts-yards 2-83 6-154

Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0

Penalties-yards 14-115 10-53

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Flathead, Stacy 9-135, Hergesheimer 5-58, Osweiler 4-30, Andrew Edsall 5-14, Nolan Grosswiler 2-5, Michael Windham 1-4, Greg Seaman 2-2, Mike VanArondonk 2-(-6). Glacier, Smithwick-Hann 9-6, Wiley Fusaro 11-5.

PASSING-Flathead, Osweiler, 13-18-195, VanArondonk 0-2-0. Shay Smithwick-Hann, 28-38-257.

RECEIVING-Flathead, Van Eimeren 4-73, Michael Gallagher 4-51, Eickert 2-49, Travis Andrus 2-22, Stacy 1-3. Glacier, Fuller 7-91, Graham 7-85, Fusaro 11-60, Josh Doty 2-19, Tyler Lincoln 1-2.