Football: Flathead faces challenging road test at No. 3 CMR
A physical game lies ahead of the Flathead Braves, who invade Memorial Stadium in Great Falls tonight to take on C.M. Russell.
A week after a heartbreaking 25-23 loss to Missoula Big Sky — a team with the state’s No. 2 and No. 4 leading rushers — the Braves get the tall task of trying to stop Andrew Grinde, the top rusher in Class AA.
Grinde and the No. 3-ranked Rustlers average 243 rushing yards a game. Grinde has carried 110 times in four games this season, tallying 744 yards and eight touchdowns.
“He’s a very confident back. He has great size and runs very well,” Flathead coach Kyle Samson said.
“We’ve got to wrap up and we’ve got to limit him. We have to make sure we’re rallying to the football. He’s going to get the ball a lot. I don’t think any team is really going to stop him, but we want to limit his opportunities.”
While C.M. Russell (3-1) looks one-dimensional on paper, giving their star-running back at least 40 more carries than any other back in the state, the Rustlers have averaged about 430 yards of total offense.
Rustler quarterback Dallas Farren is 52 of 96 passing this season, throwing for 733 yards and four touchdowns.
“Our goal, first and foremost, is to stop the run every week,” Samson said.
“They’ve got a good quarterback. They’ve shown that they can pass the ball well, too. We’re making sure we’re sound with our alignment and assignments. If we make it about just one person, we forget about what we’re doing on defense. Our focus is to play sound defense all around.”
Flathead (2-2) nearly pulled off another late comeback after a slow start against Big Sky. Trailing 19-9 heading into the final quarter, the Braves scored 14 points in the last 12 minutes of play, but couldn’t keep Big Sky out of the end zone.
Traveling to Great Falls against a defense that has allowed nearly 300 yards a game, a fast start is essential for the Braves to keep up with Grinde and the Rustlers.
“Defensively, I think they’re very sound in what they do. They have a very good defensive front and they’re coached very well,” Samson said.
“We just got to put together four quarters of consistent offense. Last week, we had a tremendous second half, but started pretty slow in the first half. We want to avoid that and play four full quarters of solid football.”
Flathead quarterback Easton Johnson and running back Josh McCracken each broke 100-yards on the ground against Big Sky, but it may be a tougher task for the Braves’ rushing attack against C.M. Russell.
The Rustlers have allowed a mere 44 rushing yards per game, but it’s the passing game they have yet to successfully defend, letting up an average of 256 yards through the air.
The Braves have the third-best rushing offense in the state, averaging 218 yards a game. Whether it’s McCracken (58 carries for 454 yards), Johnson (59 carries for 186 yards) or junior running back Payton Boyce (37 carries for 193 yards), Flathead will keep the ball on the ground regardless of the defense.
“We always want to be as balanced as possible,” Samson said.
“Easton has done a pretty good job of throwing the ball the last couple weeks, but we’re definitely going to try to establish the run as we always like to do, and we’re going to take what they give us.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.