Braves blast Big Sky for first win

It was all hugs and handshakes for the Flathead Braves after Friday night's football game.

The Braves (1-6) rolled up 451 total yards (213 rushing, 238 passing) and dropped visiting Missoula Big Sky 42-20 on homecoming.

"I thought everyone came out and played real hard. Everyone was jelling. We had a nice week of practice and everybody was really confident coming in," said Flathead junior receiver George Sherwood.

"Big Sky (0-7) came out and gave us a tough battle, but we ran the ball well and that opened things up," he added.

"I'm really happy for these kids," said Flathead coach Russell McCarvel.

"(A win) has been a long time coming. These guys stuck together. We had a good week of practice. We just focused on all the good things that we've done ... and there's enough good things out there," he said.

"Give (the Eagles) credit. It's tough. They've made improvements and they came in here with a nice game plan," the coach said.

McCarvel also thanked the Flathead assistant coaches.

"They put in a lot of hours. They do a good job and they work at it hard," he said.

The defining moments were just about two minutes apart - and just before halftime.

With the teams tied at 14-all, Flathead put together two incredible 50-yard plays - the first a pass from Mike VanArendonk to George Sherwood, the second a defender-flattening run by the quarterback.

With 2:25 left in the half, Flathead went from a tight ballgame to a 14-point lead.

"I didn't think I'd catch it," Sherwood smiled when recalling that first score. "But I just ran as fast as I could, put my hand out and snagged it," he said.

The Braves got the ball to start the second half and put together a 74-yard scoring drive capped by a Travis Ozegovich dive at the 8:39 mark.

Flathead never looked back.

"We were in a rhythm. Everything was going good for us. It seemed like we couldn't do anything wrong," Sherwood said.

They really couldn't.

They added one more score in the third - Braxton Nimmick caught a three-yard pass - and then turned the fourth quarter over to their defense.

VanArendonk finished with five touchdowns - he ran for three and threw two more. He was 13-for-17 on the night.

Sherwood caught four passes for 94 yards and threw a 39-yard pass to Matt McLean.

On the defensive side, Flathead only really gave up one touchdown.

"We didn't give up any big plays. That was the difference between this game and the others," McCarvel said.

Big Sky 7 7 0 6 - 20

Flathead 14 14 14 0 - 42

First Quarter

B - Sam Damron fumble recovered in end zone (Weston Blublagh kick), 6:52.

F - Mike VanArendonk 1 run (Kick failed), 5:23.

F - Van Arendonk 1 run (VanArendonk run), :17.

Second Quarter

B - Zach Sandau 1 run (Blublagh kick), 6:06.

F - George Sherwood 50 pass from VanArendonk (Steve Olbert kick), 4:39.

F - VanArendonk 50 run (Olbert kick), 2:25.

Third Quarter

F - Travis Ozegovich 1 run (Olbert kick), 8:39.

F - Braxton Nimmick 3 pass from VanArendonk (Olbert kick), 2:43

Fourth Quarter

B - Cole Baker 70 run (Blublagh kick), :24.

F BS

First downs 17 17

Rushes-yards 39-213 43-195

Passing 238 136

Comp-Att-Int 14-18-1 15-23-0

Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-2

Penalties-yards 6-45 6-45

Individuals

RUSHING - Big Sky, Jay Owen 5-minus 2, Sam Damron 7-35, Zach Sandau 24-102, Matt Theo 2-8, Lane Colyer 1-minus 15, Michael Duncan 1-0, Cole Baker 1-70. Flathead, Mike VanArendonk 14-107, George Sherwood 1-8, Travis Ozegovich 11-34, Larry Francis 6-31, Michael Managhan 4-28, Bryant Plympton 1-minus 5.

PASSING - Big Sky, Jay Owens 13-20-129, Cole Baker 2-3-7. Flathead, Mike VanArendonk 13-17-1-199, George Sherwood 1-1-0-39.

RECEIVING - Big Sky, Zach Sandau 1-19, Matt Ethridge 1-2, Lane Colyer 5-38, Michael Duncan 6-54, Aaron Koster 2-23. Flathead, George Sherwood 4-94, Travis Ozegovich 1-17, Matt McLean 2-43, Jeff Markavadge 6-81, Braxton Nimmick 1-3.