No. 4 Capital crushes Flathead
<p>Flathead senior running back Juston Windom (27) is stopped in his tracks by three Bruins defenders during Flathead’s loss to Helena Capital at Legends Stadium on Friday night.</p>
<p>Flathead senior wide receiver Matt McLean (5) scored the Braves’ only touchdown and received a bloody nose and lip in the process.</p>
For the first time this season, the Braves had nowhere to run.
The Helena Capital Bruins rumbled for 419 rushing yards while holding Flathead to just 98 yards on the ground and romped to a 55-7 victory Friday at Legends Stadium.
A game billed as Class AA's best rushing offense versus the state's top defense quickly dissolved into a lopsided affair as the No. 4 Bruins drove the field at will, never punted and totaled 486 yards of total offense.
"We have to play better in all phases," Flathead coach Russell McCarvel said. "We've got to coach better. It felt like we had a little bit of a hangover from last week. We tried to work through it, but now absolutely, positively we have to get past the last two games."
The Braves (3-4) are now on a two-game skid and have given up 954 yards in that span after losing 56-44 to Glacier Sept. 30.
As the Bruins victimized the Braves again and again Friday, junior running back Gunnar Brekke was the most frequent assailant.
Brekke carried the ball 12 times for 202 yards to help make Capital's 24-10 loss to Billings West one week ago a distant memory.
"We were really working on our run game," Capital coach Pat Murphy said. "We had major breakdowns in our offensive line last week and we really worked hard at solving those and the o-line really stepped it up and bought into what we were trying to tell them. That's the result - 400 yards rushing - and that's Bruin football."
Up until Friday, "Flathead football" this season could have easily been described as a dominant rushing attack mixed with persistent passing threats in quarterback Matt Tokarz and receivers George Sherwood and Matt McLean.
The Braves entered the game leading all of Class AA in total offense but managed just 149 yards against the Bruins.
Michael Managhan had 26 carries for 95 yards, but the loss of John Collins and Austin Root - both injured - appeared to play a factor in the loss.
"(It has an effect) any time you're missing two of your three running backs," McCarvel said. "Michael did a good job, but it would be nice to have all three of our backs there. Hopefully we can get them going by next week."
The Braves were also hampered by four interceptions.
"We have to absolutely not turn the ball over," McCarvel said. "In our three wins, we haven't turned the ball over. That's it."
Tokarz - who entered the game as the third leading rusher in Class AA - carried the ball just six times for minus 12 yards while completing 8 of 18 passes for 51 yards and one touchdown.
Flathead's lone score came when Tokarz found McLean on a short slant with 21 seconds left in the first half.
By then Flathead trailed 27-7. Helena returned in the second half and scored four more touchdowns as the Flathead offense sputtered to a stop.
"Russell McCarvel is the smartest offensive coach in the state I think," Murphy said. "He runs a great offense. It's hard to stop and it's a scary thing to face. He can run, he can throw. To hold them to seven points, I think we were very fortunate.
"Flathead's a good team. They just kind of ran into a buzz saw. I think they are a playoff-bound team if they regroup and buy into what the coaches are teaching them."
McCarvel said his team's final three games against Bozeman, C.M. Russell and Missoula Hellgate are must-wins.
"We need to find some leadership," McCarvel said. "It starts with me, but we also have to find some leaders within our players. They need to practice better and play better starting next week. We have three big games coming up. If we want to go to the playoffs, we need to win those three games."
Capital 20 7 21 7 - 55
Flathead 0 7 0 0 - 7
First Quarter
HC - Gunnar Brekke 32 run (Caleb Sparks kick), 10:01.
HC - Connor Lamping 23 pass from Riley Sampson (Kick failed), 4:44.
HC - Riley Sampson 4 run (Sparks kick), 1:59.
Second Quarter
HC - Reece Miller 2 run (Sparks kick), 8:42.
F - Matt McLean 3 pass from Matt Tokarz (Dillon Torgerson kick), :21.
Third Quarter
HC - Brekke 65 run (Sparks kick), 10:10.
HC - Garrett Quigley 5 run (Sparks kick), 7:20.
HC - Connor Lamping 11 pass from Cale Jacobson (Sparks kick), 1:58.
Fourth Quarter
HC - Tristan Shea 1 run (Sparks kick), :53.
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Capital Flathead
First downs 21 10
Total yards 486 149
Rushing yards 419 98
Passing 67 51
Punt Returns 2-27 1-3
Kickoff returns 2-19 6-114
Comp-Att-Int 7-11-1 8-18-5
Punts 0-0 5-40.2
Fumbles lost 1-1 2-0
Penalties 4-30 4-40
Individual statistics
RUSHING - Capital, Riley Sampson 4-13, Cale Jacobson 4-10, Gunnar Brekke 12-202, Teagan Jendro 8-68, Reece Miller 2-minus 1, Andy Waterman 2-12, Garrett Quigley 8-37, Josiah Benson 1-1, Jesse Coker 2-24, Shane Mitchell 1-19, Tristan Shea 3-11, Alex DeLa Hunt 2-17, Team 2-6; Flathead, Matthew Tokarz 6-3, Louis Freudenburg 1-minus 16, Michael Managhan 26-95, Justin Windom 2-16,Reno Abregana 1-0
PASSING - Capital, Riley Sampson 4-7-53-1; Flathead, Matt Tokarz 8-18-51-1.
RECEIVING - Capital, Reece Miller 2-15, Andy Waterman 1-4, Connor Lamping 3-47, Josiah Benson 1-1; Flathead, George Sherwood 4-35, Matt McLean 2-7, Drew Crosby 1-2, Austin Jones 1-7.
Class AA Standings
W L
Helena 7 0
Billings West 6 1
Glacier 6 1
Helena Capital 6 1
Billings Senior 4 3
Butte 4 3
CMR 3 4
Flathead 3 4
Missoula Big Sky 3 4
Great Falls 3 4
Missoula Hellgate 1 6
Missoula Sentinel 1 6
Bozeman 1 6
Billings Skyview 1 6
Thursday's Score
Billings Skyview 28, Bozeman 25
Friday's scores
Helena Capital 55, Flathead 7
Helena 28, CMR 7
Great Falls 33, Missoula Hellgate 7
Glacier 24, Sentinel 21, OT
Butte 40, Missoula Big Sky 0
Billings West 35, Billings Senior 31