'Special' night for Wolfpack, Braves football
With the teams having two starkly different seasons, each of the coaches in tonight’s crosstown football game are preparing for a tough, competitive contest.
“It’s special,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said of the rivalry. “I want our guys to enjoy it.”
Glacier enters the game at 3-2, having shook off two early losses to beat then-No. 1 Bozeman last weekend. Flathead is in a much different boat, having lost every game, including a tough loss last week to Missoula Sentinel.
“We know we’re the underdog,” Flathead coach Russell McCarvel said.
“But we know this would be a great feather in our cap to get a big ‘W’ in this game.”
Even as the favorites, Glacier will need to stay focused to take down the Braves for a fourth straight year. Flathead quarterback Matt Tokarz nearly toppled the Wolfpack last season in a wild 56-44 finish, the two sides tallying nearly 1,000 yards in total offense.
“Matt Tokarz is maybe the premier athlete in (Class) AA,” Bennett said.
“Our guys know him. They’ve watched him and played him for the last couple years and know how good he is. It will be a great challenge for them to try to contain him, bottle him up.”
Glacier’s defense has been stout this season, allowing less than 260 yards of offense and just 14 points per game. But, for as good as the defense has been, they’ve been on the field for long stretches.
“It’d be nice to let our defense watch us play a little bit,” Bennett said.
“Our goal (Friday) is to put some good, long drives together and let our defense get some rest.”
Flathead’s goal will also be to put together long drives, but more importantly to hold possession against a team that has 11 interceptions this season. The Braves have struggled in that area, losing seven fumbles and nine interceptions.
“The main thing for us is to make sure we protect the football,” McCarvel said. “(The Glacier defense has) been outstanding. They’re athletic, they’re fast, they’re physical.”
The Braves will look to be more balanced on offense, relying less on the legs of Tokarz.
“We’re going to have to be able to do both (run and pass),” McCarvel said. “We have to mix it up. They’re too good if we just do one thing.”
On defense, Flathead will look to tame an offense that has scored nearly 28 points a game and one of the more prolific passing offenses in the state.
“The big thing for us is we have to be able to take away big plays,” McCarvel said.
“That’s easier said than done because they have so many big weapons. It’ll be a big challenge for us for sure.”
The game starts at 7 p.m. at Legends Stadium.