Class AA Football Previews: Missoula Sentinel at Glacier, Flathead at Bozeman
TODAY: Missoula Sentinel (3-2) at Glacier (2-3)
KICKOFF: 7 p.m. at Legends Stadium (homecoming)
LAST WEEK FOR GLACIER: For once this season, the Wolfpack scored in the first quarter. But the blue and green didn't stop there. Glacier racked up 41 points in the first half en route to a 48-35 crosstown victory against Flathead underneath the lights of Legends Stadium.
Senior quarterback Colter Hanson threw for two TDs and ran for another pair and senior Brendan Hagan had 121 yards rushing and a TD to go along with a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown. Junior receiver Anthony Gugliuzza also caught his third TD pass of the season. Senior lineman Joel Horn led in the trenches on both sides of the ball to help make a fast start possible.
"It was great to start fast like that and get points on the board," Glacier head coach Grady Bennett said.
"You could see our confidence grow from that point on. All week long we really talked about belief and believing in yourself. You could see that pay off last week. They just came out and executed everything we called in the first half. They were sharp. There was some great stuff in that first half."
LAST WEEK FOR SENTINEL: In a back-and-forth offensive contest, Sentinel lost on a last second 39-yard field goal by Butte's Matt Berg. The Bulldogs managed to win 38-36 despite 374 passing yards by Sentinel quarterback Riley King and 223 yards receiving by Ben Roberts.
SAME STRATEGY AS BEFORE: Bennett said the Wolfpack will have its hands full today with a team as offensively-talented as Flathead. Sentinel is averaging 292 yards-per-game and 24.8 ppg. In comparison, Glacier is averaging 23.8 ppg and 282 ypg. "Our game plan has to be the same as last week. We have to keep Riley and Ben on the sidelines and off the field," Bennett said of King and Roberts, Sentinel's two main weapons. "We have to drive the ball and score points early and stay ahead like we did against Flathead."
There's another carry-over skill Bennett hopes to see against Sentinel. "When you break that game down (against Flathead), they didn't have any big plays," the coach said. "We totally eliminated the big play and made them throw underneath time and time again."
SO FAR, SO GOOD: Heading into today's first day of the final month of regular-season football, the Wolfpack is in the middle of the pack of Class AA tied with two other teams fighting for eighth place. The top eight teams will advance to the playoffs.
"We feel good about where we are," Bennett said. "I like our football team and I think we can be very, very good."
LAST YEAR: The unranked Wolfpack stunned third-ranked Sentinel 24-17 on the Spartans' homecoming night in Missoula. Trailing 14-7 at halftime, Glacier scored 17 straight points and finished the game with six forced turnovers on defense.
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TODAY: Flathead (0-5) at No. 1-ranked Bozeman (5-0).
KICKOFF: 7 p.m. at Bozeman.
LAST WEEK FOR FLATHEAD: The Braves fell 48-35 to Glacier in the fourth annual crosstown game. Flathead's Mike VanArendonk completed 41 of 62 passes for 377 yards with three interceptions and five touchdowns. George Sherwood had 16 catches for 161 yards and Jeff Markavadge had eight catches for 85 yards.
Flathead head coach Russell McCarvel said 64 pass attempts for the team was a personal record for him.
"I'm not sure throwing it 64 times is a good formula," he said. But he pointed out that 41 completions was a good percentage.
"Our offensive line did a good job in pass protection, especially since we had four guys in different spots," he said.
LAST WEEK FOR BOZEMAN: Beat Billings Senior 40-6. Outgained the Broncs 401-253.
The Hawks have been putting up big numbers all season long. They've outscored their 2010 opponents 210-61. The closest game they've had is a 22 point win Sept. 10 over Glacier. They have the No. 1 scoring offense and the No. 1 scoring defense.
"That means you are beating people," McCarvel said.
BIG NUMBERS: The Hawks average 473.6 total yards per game.
"Bozeman is maybe the most talented team in the state. Their quarterback could be the best player in the state. He's tremendous," McCarvel said.
Roderick has put up some nice numbers individually as well. He's rushed for 787 yards and thrown for 849. He's thrown eight touchdowns and run for nine. His rushing average is 8.1 yards per carry.
The only Class AA player with more total yards is VanArendonk.
"They have a nice running game and receivers to compliment him, so even though he can do it all, he doesn't have to," McCarvel said.
"They have a good running game, good receivers," he said.
"Defensively, they have two big defensive tackles. They're both 6-foot-4, 240. They're just big up front defensively."
The Hawks will play some 4-3 and some 3-4.
"We will have to make sure we are lined up properly and that we are executing our assignments," the coach said.
"We've had a good week of practice. Our kids' spirits are excellent. Defensively, we will certainly have to be at the top of our game. Offensively, we hope to run the ball a little bit better than we did last week," he said.
INJURIES: Two Flathead juniors, Connor Hagel and Nick Riley, are injured and will not make the trip.
"Hopefully, both of them will be back for Homecoming next week."
RETURNING: Center Austin Bradley missed last week's game with an illness. He is back for tonight's game, but in a different spot - guard.