BillingsWest pulls away from Flathead
BILLINGS - The Golden Bears lived up to their No. 1 billing.
The Flathead Braves' season came to an end Friday night as Billings West rolled to a 39-7 win to advance to the semifinals in the Class AA football playoffs.
The Braves (4-7) just couldn't get their third-ranked offense going as the Golden Bears limited them to 251 total yards.
Billings West running back Clay Compton made up for a lackluster passing game, rushing for 178 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries.
Flathead quarterback Matt Tokarz - who entered the game leading Class AA in total offense - totaled 82 rushing yards and completed nine of 20 passes for 58 yards.
Matt McLean led the Braves in receiving with five catches for 62 yards.
It was Flathead's third trip to the playoffs in five years. Flathead coach Russell McCarvel credited the Golden Bears, but said an early fumble and the Braves' inability to get a first down early hurt Flathead's chances.
"I was really happy with our effort," McCarvel said. "West is an excellent team and they are really well coached."
Billings West (10-1) will face either CMR or Glacier in the semifinals next Friday.
The Golden Bears built an early lead when Compton rushed for a 5-yard score in the first quarter and followed with a 14-yard touchdown run with 11:45 to go in the second.
Logan Laird rushed four yards for a touchdown with 6:28 in the half to give Billings West a 18-0 lead heading to the locker room.
Jayc Van Zee scampered 30 yards for a score four minutes into the second half. Compton scored his third touchdown on a 4-yard run with 3:32 left in the quarter.
Backup quarterback Ryan Gallogly hit Kole Garitone with a 15-yard pass for a score with 6:30 left in the game.
The Braves finally put points on the board with four minutes left as Austin Root crossed the goal line on a 3-yard run.
"West has a lot of weapons and they played well," McCarvel said. "They certainly have enough to win it all."
Flathead made the playoffs as the No. 8 seed after defeating Missoula Big Sky 48-12 last week to snap a four-game losing streak.
Flathead 0 0 0 7 - 7
West 6 12 14 7 - 39
First quarter
West - Clay Compton 5 run (kick failed), 7:30.
Second quarter
West - Compton 14 run (run failed), 11:45.
West - Logan Laird 2 run (run failed), 6:28.
Third quarter
West - Jayc Van Zee 30 run (Grant Linde kick), 11:10.
West - Compton 4 run (Linde kick), 3:32.
Fourth quarter
West - Kole Garitone 15 pass from Ryan Gallogly (Linde kick), 6:30.
Flathead - Austin Root 3 run (Dylan Torgerson kick), 4:11.
Flat West
First downs 12 19
Rushes-yards 32-164 42-273
Passing 10-21-2 9-16-0
Passing yards 87 86
Total yards 251 359
Penalties-yards 2-20 3-30
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Individual statistics
Rushing - Flathead: Matt Tokarz 13-82, Austin Root 7-45, John Collins 8-22, Michael Managhan 3-17, Juston Windom 1-(-2). Billings West: Clay Compton 20-178, Colton Seitz 6-41, Jayc Van Zee 2-30, Logan Laird 7-29, Brady Baxter 1-4, Ryan Gallogly 4-(-3), Brady Gustafson 2-(-6).
Passing - Flathead: Matt Tokarz 9-20-2, 58 yards; George Sherwood 1-1-0, 58 yards. Billings West: Brady Gustafson 8-14-0, 71 yards; Ryan Gallogly 1-2-0, 15 yards.
Receiving - Flathead: Matt McLean 5-62, Austin Root 2-13, John Collins 1-7, Kevin Grosswiler 1-2, George Sherwood 1-(-1). Billings West: Clay Compton 3-28, Trace Alkire 2-25, Jayc Van Zee 3-18, Kole Garitone 1-15.