Braves blow out Big Sky

Flathead exploded offensively and held strong on defense while upending Missoula Big Sky 41-15 Friday in Class AA action at Legends Stadium.

The win was a long time coming - the first for the Braves since Oct. 8, 2010 - and it was more than welcomed by the team's coach Russell McCarvel, his players and the Flathead faithful.

"There is a lot of planning and work that goes into it each week," he said as his players embraced family members and friends outside the Braves' locker room. "It's fun to come out and play well. And I certainly had a good feeling that we would play well."

His team couldn't have played much better.

The Braves (1-1) rolled up 440 yards of total offense as five different players scored the team's six touchdowns.

One of those players was all-state wide receiver George Sherman, who hauled in a 24-yard pass from junior quarterback Matt Tokarz with 14 seconds left in the second quarter.

But it was Sherman's play on defense that helped Flathead snuff out a Big Sky drive that threatened to turn the tides of momentum with less than four minutes to go in the first half.

Ahead 13-0, Flathead was being pushed down the field as Big Sky marched inside the 20-yard line toward what might have been a game-changing score.

Instead, Sherman blitzed from the right side and caught sprinting Big Sky quarterback Cole Baker from behind to end a drive that had started on Big Sky's own 14-yard line.

"They gave me the ‘California' call, which is our cornerback blitz," Sherman said. "I came around, he wasn't looking and I blind-sided him. I went for the strip. He fell on it, unfortunately, but it was a big sack for us. It ended it for them."

"That was a big play for us, no question," McCarvel said. "It stopped their momentum."

Tokarz made the sharp defensive play pay dividends a little more than a minute later. He stepped back to pass on a first and 10, then exploded through the middle of the line. Forty-two yards later, he dived in the end zone to give the Braves a 20-0 lead and plenty of breathing room.

Tokarz finished with 78 yards rushing and completed 13 of 18 passing attempts for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

"To come out and just womp on them, that's the start of a few wins for us I hope," Tokarz said. "We're looking forward to what we can do against Great Falls next week. We're going to practice hard all week long."

Tokarz wasn't the only fleet-of-foot Brave Friday.

Senior John Collins ran for 111 yards on 15 carries for two touchdowns and Michael Managhan racked up 40 yards and a touchdown on eight touches.

It was the second straight week that Flathead crossed the 200-yard rushing threshold as the team finished with 277 yards.

A lot of the success on the ground has to do with the offensive line, McCarvel said. Junior Gage Marcum was perhaps the highlight of that group Friday as he helped keep Big Sky's 6-foot-3, 320-pound nose guard Ryan Stemple in check, McCarvel said.

"They are playing really, really well right now," he added of his offensive line.

Flathead jumped on Big Sky early and often.

Tokarz found Drew Crosby in the end zone for a seven-yard score on the team's first drive to give the Braves a 6-0 lead with 8:42 left in the first quarter.

It took only two plays for the Braves to make it 13-0 after a quick defensive stop. Collins took the ball 21 yards to score with six minutes still remaining in the quarter. Tokarz' 42-yard run followed by Sherwood's touchdown grab in the waning minutes of the half allowed the Braves to take a 27-0 lead to the locker room.

Big Sky ate up nearly six minutes of clock and ran 16 plays before breaking the shutout with a one-yard run by Darby Maier that made it 27-7 in the third.

But Flathead responded with a drive of its own and Collins capitalized with an eight-yard score with 15 seconds left in the quarter. The touchdown put the Braves ahead 34-7.

Albert Olszewski recovered a fumble on Big Sky's ensuing drive, allowing Managhan to put the victory on ice with a two-yard run four seconds into the fourth quarter.

"Wins always help you get excited," McCarvel said. "They keep you going. And they make Monday practice a little more fun."

Tokarz said he hopes the team can ride the victory to more success.

"It's a little motivation," he said. "It just helps when you get (a win) and then you can just get things rolling."

Big Sky 0 0 7 8 - 15

Flathead 13 14 7 7 - 41

First Quarter

F-Drew Crosby 7 pass from Matt Tokarz (Kick failed). 8:42.

F-John Collins 21 run (Dillon Torgerson kick), 6:00.

Second Quarter

F - Tokarz 42 run (Torgerson kick), 2:45.

F - George Sherwood 24 pass from Tokarz (Torgerson kick), :14.

Third Quarter

BS - Darby Maier 1 run (Nico Grahm), 5:09.

F - Collins 8 run (Torgerson kick), :15.

Fourth Quarter

F - Michael Managhan 2 run (Torgerson kick), 11:56.

BS - Austin Linquist 28 pass from Cole Baker (Graham 2-point conversion), 5:29.

BS F

First downs 13 20

Total Net Yards 292 440

Rushes-yards 27-34 46-277

Passing 258 163

Punt Returns 3-98 3-20

Kickoff Returns 7-138 2-53

Comp-Att-Int 20-33-0 13-18-0

Punts 3-32.7 1-31.0

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0

Penalties-Yards 5-45 6-40

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Big Sky, Cole Baker 7-(-28), Eric Schmidt 4-13, Darby Maier 3-3, Jay Owens 10-36, Matt Thao 2-7, Lane Colyer 1-3. Flathead,Matt Tokarz 11-78, Michael Managhan 8-40, John Collins 15-111, Justin Windom 7-42, Brett Hanford 1-2, Remo Abregna 1-minus 3, Louis Freudenberg 3-7.

PASSING-Big Sky, Cole Baker 20-33-258-1. Flathead, Matt Tokarz 13-18-163-2.

RECEIVING-Big Sky, Jay Owens 2-8, Eric Schmidt 1-1, Lane Colyer 6-41, Nico Graham 7-153, Austin Lindquist 3-49, Olan Donaldson2-18. Flathead, George Sherwood, 4-63, Matt McLean 3-29, Drew Crosby 1-7, Austin Jones 1-16, Sid Schenk 1-4, Nick James 1-25.

MISSED FIELD GOALS-Flathead, Torgerson, 42, 49.

Class AA Standings

W L

Helena 2 0

Helena Capital 2 0

Glacier 2 0

Flathead 1 1

Billings Senior 1 1

Billings West 1 1

CMR 1 1

Great Falls 1 1

Butte 1 1

Missoula Hellgate 1 1

Missoula Sentinel 1 1

Missoula Big Sky 0 2

Billings Skyview 0 2

Bozeman 0 2

Friday's Scores

Helena 42, Billings West 35

Flathead 41, Missoula Big Sky 15

Helena Capital 10, Billing Senior 7

Glacier 31, CMR 28

Great Falls 17, Bozeman 13

Butte 32, Skyview 24

Missoula Hellgate 27, Missoula Sentinel 23