Football Previews: Bozeman at Glacier, Billings West at Flathead

TODAY: No. 2 Bozeman (2-0) vs. Glacier (1-1)

KICKOFF: 4 p.m. at Legends Stadium

LAST WEEK FOR GLACIER: "That was a historic night," Glacier head football coach Grady Bennett said after practice on Thursday. There's no wondering what night coach was talking about. Last Friday in Great Falls, the Wolfpack did what only five other Kalispell football teams have done in 38 years by beating CMR. Take away the fact that the Rustlers are the defending state champs and were picked No. 1 in the preseason coaches' poll, and it's still an impressive feat for the fledgling program at Glacier, which had not beaten CMR in three previous tries and was the first Kalispell team to do so since 2003. "Somebody put it into perspective, the last time we went (to Great Falls in 2007) it was 67-7," Bennett said. "Just an absolute drubbing. And three years later, we get the win. So it shows just how far we've come."

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES: Almost every player who took the field had a hand in this one. Two receivers in particular had noteworthy performances - Jacob Leininger and Bryan Chery. Leininger put the Wolfpack on the scoreboard after receiving a 43-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. The junior finished with 142 yards on only four catches. Chery came away with two catches for 34 yards. Running back Brendan Hagan totaled 106 yards rushing on 26 carries.

LAST WEEK FOR BOZEMAN: With an athlete like Tanner Roderick under center, Bozeman has had no problem producing offense this season. The senior quarterback threw for five touchdowns and ran for another as the Hawks routed Billings West 60-35 at home last Friday. Roderick finished with 224 yards passing and 114 rushing, and Bozeman totaled 498 offensive yards a week after earning 504 against Missoula Hellgate in a 34-0 win.

"Right now I think Bozeman is the best team in the state. It's clear after two weeks of watching everybody on film," Bennett said. "We can't give up the big play. They're so explosive and I think our key on defense is to make them put long drives together. If you make any team, no matter how good they are, put together 12-14-play drives, the chances for the penalty or mistake are enhanced."

LAST YEAR: After trailing 35-21 in the fourth quarter, Glacier rallied for a thrilling 41-35 victory in overtime at Van Winkle Stadium at Bozeman High on Sept. 11, 2009.

NEWFOUND CONFIDENCE: Bennett said he saw something different during practice this week. "I think confidence is finally there," he said. "We started really slow two weeks in a row on offense and I think a lot of it was confidence, because once we finally snapped against CMR and got things rolling we just played great."

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TODAY: Billings West (1-1) vs. Flathead (0-2)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. at Legends Stadium

LAST WEEK FOR FLATHEAD: The Braves lost a shoot-out with No. 1 Helena Capital despite racking up 48 points, which is the most points the Braves have ever scored against the Bruins, head coach Russell McCarvel said. Capital, led by Brice Burton's 315 rushing yards, piled up 682 total yards and 63 points.

"Forty-eight points, no turnovers; that's usually plenty to win but we just didn't play good enough defense," McCarvel said. The Braves led 21-14 at one point during the second quarter and went toe-for-toe with the Bruins on offense. That credit goes to a strong offensive line, McCarvel said.

"When you score 48 points, a lot of the perimeter guys will get the headlines, but without those guys up front on the offensive line, that kind of game doesn't happen," the coach said.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES: Senior lineman Luke Scholer was a leader in the trenches all night, McCarvel said. The offensive line did not allow a sack and helped the offense amass 28 first downs and 166 rushing yards. That said, senior running back Travis Ozegovich had 70 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. Senior quarterback Mike VanArendonk had another standout game, throwing for 333 yards and running for 96.

LAST WEEK FOR WEST: The Golden Bears ran into a Bozeman buzzsaw. West fell behind 34-14 at halftime and the Bozeman points and yards kept piling up into a 60-35 loss.

West quarterback Brady Gustafson, who stands 6-foot-6, threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns. The Braves have him in their sights with hopes of preventing his big-play potential. "West High is a very good team. They have a lot of big-play capability. They're able to score from anywhere. That will be a big key (Friday night), preventing the big play," McCarvel said.

"They really have the ability to run it and throw it. They've been able to keep you off balance with that."

LAST YEAR: Billings West beat Flathead 35-7 at home.

STEP BY STEP: McCarvel said he is happy with how the Braves are progressing this season, with hopes of improvement in many areas, like defense. "(Against Capital) we didn't play good enough defense and we need to play better this week," the coach said. "We had some breakdowns in our fundamentals. ‘Fundamentals' has been one of the key words at practice this week. And ‘battle,' we want to battle."