Crosstown collision: Gridiron reunion tonight at Legends

There's plenty of names used to describe the annual matchup between the Flathead and Glacier football teams - crosstown clash, the Black and Blue game, the gridiron reunion - but this year's contest has another tag line, the season midway point.

"It's certainly gonna bring out the best of both teams," Flathead head coach Russell McCarvel said. "It's always a great time for the community to get together and celebrate the two schools."

Tonight's meeting between the Braves and Wolfpack at Legends Stadium at 7 signifies the third go for the rival schools. At the same time, after tonight there will only be five games left in the regular season, and the window of opportunity to make the playoffs is suddenly shrinking.

Sitting at 2-2, the Wolfpack is hunting for its first-ever playoff berth, which means a top-8 finish among AA's 14 teams. Based on the current standings, Glacier is teetering on the edge in a three-team seventh-place tie.

"I still feel pretty good with where we're at," Glacier head coach Grady Bennett said. "Teams know they have to play against the Glacier Wolfpack, and we're the same way. Every week is a dogfight and you have to show up. It makes it a lot of fun and it makes you show up and just play football and not worry about any of that other stuff."

Meanwhile, Flathead's new class of starters continues to battle through a rebuilding season. Unfortunately for the Braves (1-3), the second half of the season has a slate of opponents with a combined record of 15-9.

In other words, tonight's game has more on the line than the boilerplate bragging rights.

With a win, Glacier would put itself in a good situation heading into its second half schedule. The Wolfpack has yet to play No. 1-ranked Helena Capital (4-0), No. 4-ranked Missoula Sentinel (3-1) and No. 5-ranked Missoula Big Sky (3-1). But aside from those three whoppers, Glacier faces Great Falls (0-4) and Missoula Hellgate (1-3).

The road is even steeper for Flathead and its uphill schedule. For inspiration, the Braves need only look back one season - last year's squad started 0-3, but picked itself up and won six-straight games and made the playoffs.

Last year, the final team to make the playoffs - Billings Skyview - made it with a 5-5 record. Flathead was seventh at 6-4 and Big Sky was one up at 6-4 also.

But before looking too far down the road, it's worth pointing out a few achievements in the present:

- Glacier senior running back Taylor Hart is currently tied for second in the league in touchdowns with eight. Helena Capital's Matt Miller leads with nine.

- Glacier senior quarterback Shay Smithwick-Hann is currently the fourth ranked passer in AA with 773 yards and three touchdowns, and is third in overall offensive production with 956 yards. He's also the state's second best punter, with a 42.3 yards per punt average.

- Enough can't be said of what Helena Capital has going on the football field right now. The last time the Bruins lost a football game was on Sept. 21, 2007 to Billings West. In that time, the Bruins have won 25-straight games and counting and three state championships in a row.

TODAY: Flathead Braves (1-3) at Glacier Wolfpack (2-2)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. at Legends Stadium

LAST WEEK FOR FLATHEAD: The Braves got on the board first after sophomore quarterback George Sherwood scampered into the end zone from one-yard out, but the Missoula Sentinel Spartans flooded the scoreboard from there. Final score - No. 4-ranked Sentinel 40, Flathead 16.

"It's kind of a recurring theme for us the last couple weeks. We need to find a way to not have those big plays get us like that," Flathead head coach Russell McCarvel said. Sherwood, making his first varsity start at quarterback, finished 17-for-30 for 227 yards. Dominic Eickert led the Braves in receiving with 50 yards on five catches and Travis Ozegovich led the rushing attack with 29 yards on 17 carries and had a touchdown. Junior lineman Luke Scholer led the defensive efforts.

LAST WEEK FOR GLACIER: The Wolfpack almost had its second comeback in as many weeks, but came up just short in Helena, 21-13.

"It was one of those games where we felt like we really let one get away," Glacier head coach Grady Bennett said. The Bengals (3-1) built a 21-7 lead at half, but didn't score again. The Wolfpack had more first downs (22), passing yards (228), and rushing yards (109) than Helena despite the loss. Wiley Fusaro had a touchdown run in the second quarter and finished with 32 yards on 10 carries. Taylor Hart finished with 75 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown. Linebacker Connor Fuller led the defense with 14 tackles and a sack. Garrett Conners chipped in a sack as well. Offensive lineman Jake Criner anchored the line in the trenches.

LAST YEAR'S MEETING: It was worth every penny. Flathead quarterback Brock Osweiler and Glacier quarterback Shay Smithwick-Hann had a shootout that ended with 481 combined passing yards and 66 total points. In the end, Flathead held Glacier in check for the second year in a row thanks to fourth quarter savvy a la 17 points - Flathead 38, Glacier 28.

ON PAPER: The Wolfpack ranks fourth in AA in offense with a 29.8 points per game average. The Braves sit in 13th with 10.5 ppg. On defense, Glacier ranks 11th with 27.8 average points allowed per game, followed by 12th-ranked Flathead, 31.0 ppg.

ATHY OK: Flathead receiver Calvin Athy is on his feet and back in school after suffering a bad hit in last week's game. Athy is out indefinitely, McCarvel said.

McCARVEL'S CORNER: "It's not really about what sideline you're on, obviously we have a lot more worries like trying to stop Shay (Smithwick-Hann)," McCarvel said of tonight's crosstown game. "Offensively we need to find a way to run the ball a little better. Defensively we need to find a way to stop the big play."

ONE BIG NIGHT: "Coach McCarvel is a good football coach and you know he's gonna put together a great game plan and have those guys ready to play," Bennett said. "We know we have to play our very best football game."

Reporter Dillon Tabish can be reached at 758-4463, or by e-mail at dtabish@dailyinterlake.com