Flathead football focused on future

There's no escaping the fact that the 2010 season was a disappointing one for the Flathead Braves.

But like any football coach, Russell McCarvel is focused on the task at hand, not last year's 1-9 record.

"We're not really looking behind because we do so much looking ahead," said the coach, in his fifth year of leading the team. "We certainly talk about a few things as far as what we want to improve from last year, but we're a new team and we're just looking forward."

Today, the team's sights are set on Billings Senior where the Braves will take on a fast-paced squad known for its no-huddle offense and penchant for passing at Daylis Stadium. Kickoff is 4 p.m.

They'll do so with a new quarterback, a bevy of potential starting running backs and a mixture of returning starters and promising newcomers on both sides of the ball.

The offense will be led by 6-foot-1, 180-pound Matt Tokarz, who will be getting his first varsity snaps. The junior quarterback spent the off-season working with McCarvel. The coach calls Tokarz a "student of the game."

Tokarz attended the Manning Passing Academy - supervised by NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning - in July.

"He's a good athlete," McCarvel said Wednesday as his team completed practice just outside Legends Stadium. "He's shown good leadership, he's very athletic and throws the ball good on the run."

The obvious leading candidate for those throws will be first-team all-state receiver George Sherwood, a big target who set the all-time Flathead High School record for touchdown catches in 2010 with a total of 15 while hauling in 63 receptions for 1,038 yards. Also expected to make an impact at the position are fellow seniors Matt McLean and Drew Crosby as well as juniors Kevin Grosswiler and Shea Schroeder.

As for running back, McCarvel said that position is still up for grabs with as many as four different players in the mix.

"We're kind of running back by committee at the moment," he said.

McCarvel said much of the focus of fall practices has been on increasing the depth of the offensive and defensive line, positions that are considered a strength for the team.

The offensive unit includes tackles Randy Holmquist and Travis Okason - both honorable mention all-conference selections - as well as fellow returning starter Nick Riley.

The team's 3-4 defense will feature a front line that includes returning seniors Garret Yarde and Kirk Davis.

"Our offense and defense line depth is the thing we're trying to work on the most," McCarvel said. "I don't know that there's any program - or not too many - where they say ‘yeah, we have plenty of good linemen.' We have good linemen, but we're headed to Billings. It's going to be hot and they run no huddle, fast tempo, and so we've really tried to work hard."

Behind the defensive line will be Austin Jones, a 6-2, 210, middle linebacker who will play alongside the team's 2010 defensive MVP and second team all-conference selection Al Michael Olszewski, who led the team in tackles last year. Tucker Toelke, who saw playing time as a sophomore, is also expected to make an impact.

As for the secondary, McCarvel said the Braves have an experienced group of seniors who will provide for great depth. Connor Eaton, Robert Simmons, Sidney Schenk and Juston Windom are expected to compete for playing time at cornerback while Brandon Gilpin, Evan Eickert and Gage Palmer will vie for the safety position.

"We have a very veteran secondary and they're going to have to be ready to go against Billings because they throw the ball a lot," McCarvel said.

Flathead has just three wins in the past two seasons combined, but McCarvel said he isn't placing any specific goals or expectations on the victory column this year.

He said he's happy with the team's effort in fall practices and that he expects the roster's 34 seniors to provide adequate leadership as the season rolls on. In the ever-competitive AA ranks, he considers Helena High, Helena Capital, Billings West, Billings Senior, Glacier, CMR and Bozeman to be the top teams heading into the first week of the season.

"Really, going into every game we expect to win," he said.

"Our big thing, especially in AA, is we're trying to be week-to-week as good as we can be. We're trying to go 1-0 every week. It's hard to set a number of wins we think we're going to have because, shoot, I like to think every week that we line up we expect to win."

2011 Flathead football Schedule

Aug. 26 - 4 p.m. at Billings Senior

Sept. 2 - 7 p.m. Big Sky at Flathead

Sept. 9 - 7:30 p.m. at Great Falls High

Sept. 16 - 7 p.m. at Helena High

Sept. 23 - 7 p.m. Sentinel at Flathead

Sept. 30 - 7 p.m. Glacier at Flathead

Oct. 7 - 7 p.m. Helena Capital at Flathead

Oct. 14 - 7 p.m. at Bozeman

Oct. 21 - 7 p.m. C.M. Russell at Flathead

Oct. 29 - TBA Hellgate at Flathead