Class AA Football Preview: Flathead travels to Missoula Sentinel

TODAY: Flathead (0-3) at Missoula Sentinel (2-1).

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. at Missoula County Stadium.

LAST WEEK FOR FLATHEAD: The Braves fell 27-6 to Billings West. Flathead scored first - it drove 78 yards on its first possession to go up 7-0. The teams were tied at 7-all until the final play of the first half.

One thing that Flathead coach Russell McCarvel stressed last week was the one thing that really hurt the Braves - the big play.

West QB Brady Gustafson threw a 43-yarder that Lee Hardt caught in the end zone at the first half whistle. That turned out to be the back-breaker for Flathead.

The Brave offense never got on a consistent roll in the second half.

"There were too many negative plays after that. That puts you in a hole, allows the defense to dictate what they want to do," McCarvel said.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES: McCarvel had compliments for the play of Flathead inside linebackers Tevin Groshelle (junior) and Tucker Toelke (sophomore), as well as junior linebacker Al Michael Olszewski.

The Flathead defense gave the Braves opportunites that they just couldn't cash in.

"Offensively ... we need to be more consistent," the coach said.

Flathead has shown some real flashes - it comes into this game with the No. 2 passing offense and No. 3 in total offense. It scored 48 points two weeks ago against Helena Capital and on that opening drive last week, it marched 78 yards on 11 plays. Quarterback Mike VanArendonk was 4-for-5 on that drive.

LAST WEEK FOR SENTINEL: Defeated Great Falls High 26-14. The Spartans beat Big Sky 25-7 in the second week of the season, but lost 26-24 to Billings Skyview in the opener.

STEP BY STEP: "Sentinel is very athletic. They have an outstanding quarterback in Riley King. They obviously have Ben Roberts, one of the top athletes in the state," McCarvel said.

King is 64-for-100 for 625 yards after three games. He's thrown three touchdowns.

Roberts has 32 catches for 345 yards so far. He's averaging 10.67 catches per game and 10.8 yards per catch.

"They're very athletic defensively, also. They run to the ball well. It will be important for our offensive line to play assignment football. They do a great job of bringing a lot of pressure. We have to be able to protect the quarterback," he said.

LAST YEAR: Sentinel defeated the Braves 40-16 at Legends Stadium - the first Spartan win over Flathead since 2000.