AA football: Bison keep Braves winless
The Flathead Braves will have to wait at least one more week to get their first win after losing 47-33 to Great Falls High Friday at Legends Stadium.
The Braves piled up 449 yards on offense, but coughed up five turnovers that stalled their momentum and handed the Bison premium field position.
“The enemy was us tonight,” Flathead coach Russell McCarvel said. “I really like our guys’ work and effort. Just too many mistakes today.”
Flathead (0-3) took an early lead when quarterback Matt Tokarz found Jerum AuClaire on a 12-yard slant for a touchdown midway through the first quarter.
The Braves carried that momentum to the defensive side of the ball as a sack by Austin Root helped force a three-and-out, but Root fumbled on Flathead’s first play following the punt, allowing the Bison to take over on the Flathead 37.
Eight plays later, Great Falls running back Teylor Smith found the end zone on a 3-yard touchdown run.
Flathead made another costly mistake on its next possession when a snap sailed over punter Dylan Torgerson’s head on fourth down to give the Bison the ball at Flathead’s 12-yard line.
Great Falls (1-2) capitalized on the short field with a touchdown run by Smith, then added a 21-yard interception return early in the second quarter to take a 20-6 lead without having to drive more than 37 yards.
Tokarz orchestrated a 68-yard touchdown drive to pull Flathead within two scores with 4:54 remaining in the half and the score would remain 20-13 at the break.
On the first possession of the second half, Tokarz connected with Kevin Grosswiler on a 65-yard pass to bring Flathead’s offense into Bison territory. Root did the rest of the work, running three times for 14 yards, finishing the drive with a powerful 2-yard run up the middle.
The Flathead fans were silenced just moments later when Great Falls’ Colter Posey returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.
Undeterred, Root, Tokarz and Flathead’s offensive line punched back with another scoring drive. Starting from his own 9-yard line, Tokarz ran up the middle for seven yards. Root added three- and six-yard runs, then Tokarz found a seam up the middle, juked a Bison linebacker and outran the secondary for a 75-yard touchdown that evened the score at 27.
The tie didn’t last long as Flathead’s defense couldn’t hold Great Falls. The Bison scored touchdowns late in the third and early in the fourth to take a 41-27 lead. Then Posey tacked on a 20-yard field goal to increase the deficit to 17.
Flathead had one more answer, a 71-yard touchdown drive, but with 2:15 left, it didn’t have enough time to complete a comeback. Great Falls recovered the Braves’ onside kick attempt and kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired.
Tokarz finished with 126 rushing yards on 13 carries. He also completed 18 of 30 pass attempts for 203 yards. Root had 27 carried for 135 yards.
Smith led the Bison with 167 rushing yards on 26 carries.
McCarvel said he isn’t focused on what the loss means for Flathead’s playoff chances and stressed his team is taking things one game at a time.
“Our first goal of the season is to get that first win,” he said.
“To look beyond that is tough at this point.
The Braves host Helena High (2-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Great Falls High 13 7 14 13 — 47
Flathead 6 7 14 6 — 33
First quarter
FLA — Jerum AuClaire 12 pass from Matt Tokarz (kick failed), 5:52
GFH — Teylor Smith 3 run (kick failed), 1:27
GFH — Smith 12 run (Colter Posey kick), 0:03
Second quarter
GFH — Posey 21 interception return (Posey kick), 9:17
FLA — Tokarz 1 run (Dylan Torgerson kick), 4:54
Third quarter
FLA — Austin Root 2 run (Torgerson kick), 9:52
GFH — Posey 97 kickoff return (Posey kick), 9:38
FLA — Tokarz 75 run (Torgerson kick), 7:38
GFH — Jordan Jernigan 5 pass from Kolby Sukut (Posey kick), 4:17
Fourth quarter
GFH — Posey 3 run (Posey kick), 11:55
GFH — Posey 20 field goal, 4:46
FLA — Tokarz 1 run (kick blocked)
GFH — Posey 35 field goal, 0:00
————
Great Falls Flathead
First downs 14 18
Total yards 343 449
Rushes-yards 42-284 43-252
Passing yards 59 203
Comp-Att-Int 6-14-1 18-30-2
Punts 4-39.8 2-46.5
Fumbles-lost 1-0 6-3
Penalties-yards 9-75 9-55
Individual Statistics
RUSHING — Great Falls: Teylor Smith 26-167, Colter Posey 8-68, Brad Humphreys 4-44, Kolby Sukut 4-5. Flathead: Austin Root 27-135, Matt Tokarz 13-126, Jerum AuClaire 2-5, Dylan Torgerson 1-(-20).
PASSING — Great Falls: Kolby Sukut 6-14-59-1. Flathead: Matt Tokarz 18-30-203-2.
RECEIVING — Great Falls: Jordan Jernigan 2-19, Lukas Vining 1-18, Brad Humphreys 2-17, Dylan Tatarka 1-5. Flathead: Trampus Barton 9-140, Kevin Grosswiler 5-34, Jerum AuClaire 2-14, Tucker Toelke 1-9, Nick Iavicoli 1-6.