Flathead triumphs

Just a little spark.

The Flathead Braves needed a little something and they got it at just the right moment on Friday night at Legends Stadium.

Flathead had a touchdown lead and all the momentum going into halftime.

But the Hellgate Knights opened the third quarter by forcing the Braves into a 3-and-out, then got themselves a great return, a short field and a tie game.

Talk about a momentum shifter.

Flathead needed to answer.

Junior running back Travis Ozegovich stepped up with a 60-yard touchdown run, the longest of his high school career.

Flathead (2-7) went on to claim a 28-14 victory over the Knights (1-8).

"That was the play of the game. It was a quick strike. It got momentum back in our favor. I've got to think maybe it deflated (the Knights) a little bit. That was big," said Flathead coach Russell McCarvel.

"Give them credit for grabbing the momentum back. I felt like we had it all going into half. Then we get stopped, they get a score," McCarvel said.

"I've got to give it up to my O-line," Ozegovich said.

"It was a run right up the middle. It was nothing too special, just hard-nosed football. But it was a big crease. I couldn't miss it," Ozegovich said.

Flathead added an insurance score in the fourth when quarterback Mike VanArendonk hooked up with sophomore wide receiver George Sherwood for a 44-yard strike.

The Flathead offensive line got kudos from both McCarvel and VanArendonk.

"They had a huge noseguard and Connor Thomas did a really good job on him all game long. It allowed us to rush for over 200 yards and pass for nearly 200," McCarvel said.

"Those guys did a good job up front, that's for sure," he said.

"I had time all night to look over the whole field," VanArendonk agreed.

"Our receivers got open all night and the line did amazing all night," he said.

"That was just amazing, getting the win for the seniors," VanArendonk added.

The Flathead offense had one of its best nights of the year - 412 total yards.

VanArendonk was 15-for-25 for 190 yards. He threw two touchdown passes - to Jackson Spooner and Sherwood - and ran for a third.

Ozegovich also had a fabulous evening - 134 yards on 21 carries.

And the defense did just as well, holding Hellgate to 169 total yards.

"Give a lot of credit to the defensive coaches working hard and coming up with a good game plan, We held them to 169 yards. That's a great defensive effort," the coach said.

"We got a lot of big plays, both through the air and on the ground. I felt like we would have a breakout game offensively, because we've been practicing well. We had such a good week of practice. It seemed like we were really focused," he said.

But the night didn't start out looking too promising.

Hellgate drew first blood with a one-yard dive by quarterback Sam Hall.

Flathead, meanwhile, was moving the ball, but drives kept fizzling.

The Braves didn't get on the board until late in the half - and then they had to practically exhaust the trick plays in their playbook.

They drove 45 yards by rotating Sherwood and VanArendonk at quarterback, then capped the effort with "Cat 43."

VanArendonk took the snap, pitched the ball to Ozegovich, who handed it back to the quarterback. VanArendonk then found Jackson Spooner in the end zone.

The play is assistant coach Dan Hodge's favorite - and Flathead has named it in his honor.

"(Hodge) wore No. 43 at MSU. We got a touchdown out of that to Jackson Spooner," McCarvel smiled.

"Sometimes a few of those trick plays are fun," McCarvel said.

Flathead got the ball back at midfield with 37 seconds left. It drove 50 yards in less than 30 seconds.

VanArendonk ran in from six yards out.

"I'm happy for our seniors to go out winning at Legends and I'm happy for our younger kids to feel that," McCarvel said.

Hellgate 7 0 7 0 - 14

Flathead 0 14 7 7 - 28

First Quarter

H - Sam Hall 1 run, (Lee Fosten), 1:30.

Second Quarter

F - Jackson Spooner, 4 pass from Mike VanArendonk (Greg Seaman kick), 1:35.

F - VanArendonk 6 run (Seaman kick), :08.

Third Quarter

H - Shawn Jensen 3 run (Fosten kick), 7:13.

F - Travis Ozegovich 60 run (Seaman kick), 6:59.

Fourth Quarter

F - George Sherwood 44 pass from VanArendonk (Seaman kick), 5:05.

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H F

First downs 7 19

Total Net Yards 169 412

Rushes-yards 33-102 41-222

Passing 67 190

Punt Returns 3-61 1-16

Kickoff Returns 1-18 3-22

Interceptions Ret. 1-32 1-0

Comp-Att-Int 5-15-1 15-25-1

Punts 6-37.0 4-25.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 12-90 6-40

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Hellgate, Sean Hall 5-minus 13, Cody Oliver 2-minus 3, Shawn Jensen 20-103, Steven DeYoung 2-12, Dalton Gensch 4-3. Flathead, Mike VanArendonk 12-64, George Sherwood 3-35, Travis Ozegovich 21-134, Zach Diest 2-3, Greg Seaman 1-minus 16, Jon Collins, 2-2.

Passing - Hellgate, Sam Hall, 5-15-67-1-0; Mike VanArendonk 15-25-190-1-2.

RECEIVING-Hellgate,Cody Oliver 1-8, Spencer Hale, 2-14, Zach Peevey 2-45; Flathead, George Sherwood 4-87, Travis Ozegovich 4-22, Dominic Eickert 1-13, Ian Gillespie 2-15, Jackson Spooner 1-4, Braxton Nimmick 1-6, John Cochran 1-9, Calvin Athy 1-34 .