Class AA Football Preview: Flathead awaits No. 2 C.M. Russell

by The Daily Inter Lake
| October 16, 2009 2:00 AM

TODAY: No. 2 Great Falls Russell (6-1) at unranked Flathead (1-6).

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. at Legends Stadium.

LAST WEEK FOR CMR: The Rustlers bounced back from their only loss of the season to blow away Billings Skyview 41-12. Gavin Hagfors rushed for a season-high 154 yards on 23 carries and had two touchdown runs (6 and 21 yards). Junior quarterback Jake Bleskin was 17-for-24 for 214 yards and threw touchdown passes to Kurtis Parsons and Jordan Harper. He also scored on a 1-yard dive. "He gets rid of the ball quickly and he's got a strong arm," Flathead coach Russell McCarvel said of Bleskin.

LAST WEEK FOR FLATHEAD: Missoula Big Sky defeated the visiting Braves 49-14. The Eagles scored 21 points in the first quarter and held Flathead to 144 yards of total offense.

BIG TASK AHEAD FOR THE BRAVES: The Rustlers are averaging 34.7 points per game and holding their opponents to a mere 12.3. "They're athletic. They're obviously one of the top teams in the state. It's pretty impressive," said McCarvel. "They score a lot of points. They're very dynamic. They are at or near the top in nearly every (Class AA statistical) category. Defensively, they're very fast. They tackle well and they don't give up the big play," McCarvel said. "For us, the big thing is we need to eliminate those spurts where we play poorly and give up big plays. It's a great challenge for us. Our seniors only have two home games left. For our younger guys, this is a springboard for next year."

HEALTH NOTES: The Braves are "as healthy as we've been," McCarvel said. Cody Stinger has been ill with the flu - he will be a game-time decision - and Alex Rudolph has been battling a leg injury. The good news is Flathead will get sophomore wide receiver Calvin Athy back this week. Athy suffered a neck injury in the Missoula Sentinel game on Sept. 18.

LAST YEAR'S MEETING: The Rustlers extended their winning streak over the Braves to five straight with a 41-27 victory. Flathead has been on the wrong end of this series for some time - it is 3-7 against CMR in the last 10 years and 10-35-1 overall. The Braves led last year's meeting 24-19 at halftime, but CMR came out hard in the second half, outscoring the Braves 22-3. The Braves had just 81 rushing yards, 67 of which came from then-quarterback Brock Osweiler. Osweiler also threw for 386 yards and two touchdowns.