Flathead hosts neighboring Glacier in crosstown football II

Is there any doubt it will be a full house?

It's crosstown football … Part Two.

The Flathead Braves (4-3) play host to rival Glacier at 7 tonight at Legends Stadium.

The Wolfpack (2-5) is much improved from its inaugural season and looking to make a good game of it.

?I give those guys a lot of credit. They're playing good football,? Flathead coach Russell McCarvel said of the Wolfpack.

?Special teams-wise … last year, you'd watch their games, their punt team would be a little bit of an adventure. This year, all their special teams are solid,? he said.

?Our goal is just to try to make this thing a competitive game. We've obviously improved a lot. We're playing competitively with some of the better teams,? said Glacier coach Grady Bennett.

?Our team has gotten better and they're playing well. There are so many things I'm proud of. Our guys have never quit. They're still fighting hard and scoring. It's really neat when you see that.

?But they are so improved,? he said of the Braves.

?They started off with a tough schedule, and they do have a lot of guys going both ways.?

But with four straight wins, the Braves have their football legs under them now, Bennett said.

?They are the most improved team I've seen. They are playing very well. It makes our task more daunting,? he added.

?They may be the most talented team in the state,? Bennett said of the Braves.

Programs such as Helena Capital, CMR and Helena may have more depth, but Bennett believes Flathead may have an edge in pure talent.

?Bryce (Stacy), Brock (Osweiler), Paul Streich, Tyler Thomas, Ian Damon … they're just good,? he said.

?They are in a position right now to win six straight going into Helena Capital. If I was Coach McCarvel, I would be trying to get better against a team like us.

?I'm sure they're going to be working things they want to get better,? Bennett said.

?We're a team that still physically is trying to get there. We're still building a program.

?I'm just hoping it's a better game (than last year). We want to give the fans something to enjoy and cheer for,? he added.

?The biggest thing we've tried to do is keep getting better. We know we've put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs. If we keep winning, we won't have to worry about what other teams are doing,? McCarvel said.

?Not only is it crosstown, but it's our senior night. It gives us a chance to honor a pretty darn good group of seniors,? McCarvel said.

?It's a group that's been through a lot of adversity, but has had a lot of success. It's a group that saw a lot of their classmates split up and go to Glacier, but I've always been proud of their efforts. They've really been the heart and soul of what we've done the last two years.?

?They've worked awfully hard for everything they've gotten,? he added.

As for this game and this opponent, the Braves are hoping to curtail the Wolfpack passing game.

The Wolfpack sports a quarterback second only to Flathead's Osweiler in Class AA passing.

Osweiler (6-8, 235) has completed 119 of 196 passes ? 60.7 percent ? for 1,779 yards and 19 touchdowns. His average is 254 yards per game.

But junior Shay Smithwick-Hann (6-4, 205) has completed 105 of 218 passes ?48.2 percent ? for 1,547 yards and 13 touchdowns. He's averaging 221 yards per game.

?We need to make sure we contain their passing game. I don't think you can really shut it down. They do a great job of scheming people and finding weaknesses. We need to keep things in front of us and tackle well. We're also going to have to make sure we rush the passer well,? McCarvel said.

?Offensively, we know they'll give us a lot of looks. We're going to have to continue to try to be balanced. We've run the ball better in the last few weeks.

?And then we'll rely on Brock to do his thing,? he added.

Class AA Standings

W-L

Helena Capital 7-0

CMR 6-1

Helena 6-1

Billings West 6-1

Big Sky 4-3

Flathead 4-3

Great Falls 4-3

Billings Skyview 3-4

Sentinel 3-4

Bozeman 2-5

Glacier 2-5

Billings Senior 1-6

Butte 1-6

Hellgate 0-7

Today's Games

Great Falls High at Missoula Sentinel

Missoula Big Sky at CMR

Glacier at Flathead

Bozeman at Butte

Billings West at Helena

Billings Senior at Billings Skyview

Saturday's Games

Missoula Hellgate at Helena Capital

Last week's scores

Helena 35 - Glacier 20

West 42 - Senior 7

Butte 12 - Skyview 7

CMR 28 - Bozeman 14

Big Sky 30 - Hellgate 28

Flathead 28 - Great Falls 20

Capital 49 - Sentinel 14