AA Football Preview: Flathead awaits Hellgate

TODAY: Hellgate (1-7) at Flathead (1-7). Four teams are at 1-7 (Great Falls High and Butte are the other two).

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. at Legends Stadium.

LAST WEEK FOR HELLGATE: The Knights came close to their second win of the season against Billings Senior. Senior kicked a 30-yard field goal with 42 seconds left in the game to pull out a 24-21 victory.

LAST WEEK FOR FLATHEAD: The Braves fell 35-6 to No. 2-ranked Great Falls Russell. But Flathead had several scoring opportunities that it failed to capitalize on - including a first-and-goal at the Rustler 1-yard line and a first down at the Rustler 13-yard line.

Statistically speaking: The Knights rank last in total offense - they managed only 1,584 yards of total offense this season - 198 yards per game. The Braves, though, are just one spot ahead of them. Flathead has managed 1,733 yards of offense, 216.6 yards per game.

McCarvel's take: "They are a quick team. They have two receiver/wing guys who average over 20 yards per reception - Brendan Gragg (6-1, 165) and Spencer Hale (5-9, 135). "They are a big play team. They want to run sweeps and play-action and they try to get big plays off their play-action," he said. Gragg is also the top kick returner in the state, averaging 31.6 yards. He's also returned two kicks for touchdowns so far this season. However, according to a story in the Missoulian, a shoulder injury may keep Gragg off the field tonight.

HELLGATE DEFENSE: The Knights run a 3-4 and have a great noseguard in Jesse Ginn (6-5, 220). "He's probably one of the best defensive linemen we'll face all year. Connor Thomas will need to have a great game for us.

"Defensively, they are never out of position. They are always playing hard. They played very well against Billings Senior. They had a great opportunity

FLATHEAD PRACTICE: "We had a very good week of practice. I would call it our best week. We showed a lot of improvement," McCarvel said.

The Braves bounced back well from the disappointing outcome of last week's loss.

"They turned last week's positives into positives to build on for this week. We look forward to this (game) as a great opportunity for us to honor our seniors. It's been a group who have worked hard all year and has never gotten down."

INJURIES AND ILLNESS: Cody Stinger is still ill this week and will not play.