Bengals pull away from Braves
HELENA - Top-ranked Helena High's defense wouldn't allow Flathead a touchdown as the Bengals rolled over the Braves 33-3 Friday night.
Flathead managed to accumulate 318 yards of offense behind a solid performance by quarterback Matt Tokarz, who threw for 145 yards and ran for another 115.
But the stout defense of Helena (4-0) and its consistent offense were too much for a Flathead (2-2) team battling a rash of injuries.
The Bengals rolled up 364 yards of offense. Helena quarterback Taylor South had 131 yards passing in a game that marked the return of his teammate Sy Keltner, who had been out with a broken collarbone.
Keltner, an all-state selection last year, scored two touchdowns, including a 2-yard run that put the Bengals up 7-0 with three minutes left in the first quarter.
South threw a touchdown pass to Dylan Simac early in the second quarter and ran for a 49-yard score with five minutes left in the half to give the Bengals a 21-0 lead at halftime.
Flathead got on the board with a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter as the Braves' defense held the Bengals scoreless for the first 13 minutes of the second half.
But Helena added 13 points in the final period on a 15-yard touchdown catch by Simac and Keltner's second score on a 5-yard scamper.
Senior Matt McLean led the Flathead receiving corps with seven catches for 83 yards as he continued to step up in the absence of injured all-state selection George Sherwood.
The Braves lost two fumbles in the game and committed six penalties for 43 yards.
Flathead will return home to face Missoula Sentinel Friday at 7 p.m. at Legends Stadium.
Flathead 0 0 3 0 - 3
Helena 7 13 0 13 - 33
First quarter
HEL - Sy Keltner 2 run (Trevin Thompson kick), 3:36
Second quarter
HEL - Dylan Simac 26 pass from Taylor South (Thompson kick), 11:54
HEL - South 49 run (kick failed), 5:01
Third quarter
FLT - Dylan Torgerson 27 field goal, 4:53
Fourth quarter
HEL - Simac 15 pass from South (kick failed), 10:48
HEL - Keltner 5 run (Thompson kick), 2:46
---
Flt Hel
First downs 14 16
Total yards 318 364
Rushes-yards 32-173 35-212
Passing yards 145 152
Passing 13-27-1 14-24-1
Punts-Average 7-32.6 4-41
Fumbles-lost 2-2 2-1
Penalties-yards 6-43 3-15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - Flathead, Matthew Tokarz 11-115, Austin Root 11-29, Michael Managhan 5-19, John Collins 5-8. Helena, South 5-54, Keltner 13-45, Dawson Reardon 7-36, Nate Caldwell 7-29, Dylan Kautz 1-22, Simac 2-13, Jordan Umsted 1-7, Trey Vincent 1-7.
PASSING - Flathead, Tokarz 13-27-1 145. Helena, South 11-17-1 131, Reardon 3-7-0 21.
RECEIVING - Flathead, Matt McLean 7-83, John Collins 2-23, Nick James 1-15, Drew Crosby 1-9, Root 1-9, Managhan 1-5. Helena, Simac 8-96, Umsted 3-25, Chase Williams 2-23, Troy Arntson 1-8.