Braves drop 3rd straight in football
BOZEMAN - Defending Class AA state champion Bozeman didn't look like a team with just one win and its quarterback didn't look like a sophomore.
The Hawks (2-6) throttled Flathead 56-26 Friday night to extend the Braves' losing streak to three.
Bozeman quarterback Will Weyer lit up the Flathead secondary, completing 23 of 32 passes for 382 yards and four touchdowns.
The Braves (3-5) kept it close early.
The Hawks got in the end zone on their first drive with a 1-yard run by Otto Stefan. Running back Hunter Gappmayer scored for Bozeman with 1:26 left in the first quarter to put his team ahead 13-0. He rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
Twenty seconds later, Flathead's Michael Managhan rumbled 83-yards to put the Braves on the board. The run accounted for all but 24 yards of his total production in the game.
From then on, though, it wasn't close.
Weyer threw four touchdown passes in the final 6:32 of the first half to put the Hawks ahead 42-6.
The Braves outscored Bozeman 20-14 in the second half, but Flathead never recovered from the Hawks' second quarter offensive explosion.
Flathead quarterback Matt Tokarz finished the game with 83 yards rushing. He completed 10 of 26 passes for 144 yards.
The loss severely damages Flathead's playoff chances.
The Braves play at home against C.M. Russell Friday.
Flathead 6 0 14 6 - 26
Bozeman 13 29 7 7 - 56
First Quarter
B: Otto Stefan 1 run (Carson Schmit kick), 9:10
B: Hunter Gappmayer 3 run (conversion failed), 1:26
F: Michael Managhan 83 run (conversion failed), 1:06
Second Quarter
B: Will Dissly 13 pass from Will Weyer (conversion failed), 6:32
B: Dissly 5 pass from Weyer (Nick Beauchaine rush), 2:58
B: Kyle Miller 78 pass from Weyer (Beauchaine pass from Weyer), 1:42
B: Dissly 15 pass from Weyer (Schmit kick), :20
Third Quarter
F: Matt McLean 5 pass from Matt Tokarz (Dylan Torgerson kick), 8:33
B: Beauchaine 1 run (Schmit kick), 4:58
F: McLean 45 pass from Tokarz (Torgerson kick), 3:42
Fourth Quarter
B: Gappmayer 19 run (Schmit kick), 7:05
F: Kevin Grosswiler 21 pass from Tokarz (kick failed), 2:41
Individual statistics
Rushing: Flathead - Michael Managhan 10-107; Matt Tokarz 14-83; John Collins 4-9; Juston Windom 2-5; George Sherwood 1 (-6). Bozeman - Hunter Gappmayer 27-143; Carson Schmit 1-17; Otto Stefan 2-10; Nick Beauchaine 1-1; Riley Martello 5-4.
Passing: Flathead - Tokarz 10-26-1-144. Bozeman - Weyer 23-32-1-382.
Receiving: Flathead - Matt McLean 4-68; George Sherwood 2-49; Kevin Grosswiler 2-19; John Collins 1-10; Michael Managhan 1-2. Bozeman - Will Dissly 10-126; Nick Beauchaine 6-120; Carson Schmit 3-36; Kyle Miller 2-85; Hunter Gappmayer 1-13; Jackson Toth 1-2.