Football Preview: Braves' seniors buying in

Josh McCracken and Payton Boyce know they are running out of time.

In their first three years as part of the Flathead football program, the seniors have experienced two head coaches, three losing seasons and precisely zero playoff appearances. With their last go-around in the black and orange set to kick off today (smoke permitting), the pressure is on to make this the year their fortunes change.

“It definitely hits you that this is the last time you’re going to play for the Braves,” McCracken said.

“Trying to turn this program around from what it has been matters and I believe we will do that this year. Knowing for the rest of your life that you were part of something that big would be huge.”

There is a quiet confidence surrounding the Flathead program despite a 7-23 record the last three years, and much of it comes from second-year head coach Kyle Samson. The former all-state quarterback at Helena Capital has preached toughness, togetherness and team throughout the offseason, and he has gotten buy-in from his senior leaders.

“We’re all positive energy,” Boyce said. “We’re all super excited for this season and a huge part of it is the coaching. We’ve got coach Samson and we think he’s the best coach in (Class) AA for us.”

“(This year) is different just because we know all the guys better,” McCracken added. “We built a better bond over the summer through our camps and grinding through two-a-days. We have a lot more camaraderie and we’re a lot tighter group than we were last year.”

Learning his team feels closer than ever is music to the coach’s ears.

“Being together as a team is the most important thing,” Samson said. “We can X and O, we can chalk it up, we can put it on film, but I really believe that teams win championships. We could have all of the talent in the world but if we’re not playing as a team we’re not going to win.”

Samson and his young coaching staff have worked on building mental toughness through a variety of drills and exercises during preseason practice, some of it by design and some of it necessitated by dangerous air conditions forcing the team indoors. As confident and tough as the Braves feel now, Samson and his players know the real test will come when they face adversity for the first time this fall.

“We talk about it all the time — we’re going to have a bad play, we’re going to have a mistake and someone’s going to miss an assignment,” Samson said. “The question is how do you respond to that. Do we start pointing fingers, do we put our heads down or do we come together? That’s when I think we’ll really see it.”

“We need to be a lot tougher mentally and physically this year,” Boyce said. “We’re going to make mistakes but we’ve got to overcome that and keep grinding. We’re one team — no pointing at each other. We’ll just take it as a team and we’ll get through it.”

If the Braves are to improve on the field, a heavy burden will fall on the shoulders, and legs, of McCracken. An honorable mention all-state pick at running back last season, McCracken ran for nearly 1,000 yards and figures to see the ball even more this year with Flathead breaking in a new quarterback following the graduation of Easton Johnson.

“We’re definitely looking to pound it down other teams’ throats,” McCracken said with a grin. “We’re going to run the ball and once we get them to bite on that we’re going to air it out.”

“I believe if you’re going to win at any level you’ve got to be able to run the ball,” Samson said. “Our offensive line is really solid and we want to control the clock. We’ve got to be able to run the ball if we’re going to win.”

Junior Bridger Johnson — no relation to Easton — will slide into the starting quarterback job and, despite having thrown just one pass in his varsity career, has earned high praise from his coach.

“He’s a great kid and a great leader,” Samson said. “He was elected as a captain, which is a huge accomplishment as a junior and it shows the type of character he has. He does a great job of understanding defenses, he’s a good athlete and he’s a very good student of the game.”

Johnson certainly looks like a quarterback at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, and has the benefit of significant experience around him. The offensive line returns honorable mention all-state pick Colten Boyle, and wide receiver Keaton Krantz is back off a 20-catch, three-touchdown year in 2014 that also earned honorable mention all-state honors.

On the other side of the ball, the Flathead defense gave up more than 28 points per game a year ago but returns linebackers Boyce, Logan Wilson and Jacob Ridgway, each who will serve as defensive captains. Seniors Nate Sommers, Cody Wiley, CJ Dugan and Tucker Cronk figure to start in the defensive backfield.

“I’m not saying we’re going to be the best defense in the state,” Samson said. “But I don’t feel like we have a weakness on defense right now. We’ve got guys who can play at every position.”

The Braves face a stiff test to start the season, traveling to last year’s Class AA state runner-up Great Falls C.M. Russell (4 p.m. kickoff). Flathead fell to the Rustlers 44-14 in 2014, but Samson has seen progress in his program that he believes will make for a much different year.

“A lot of it has to do with experience now,” Samson said.

“We’ve got good players, and we had good players last year, but having a year under our belt we are understanding what we’re doing a little bit better. They’re buying in to everything we’re trying to teach them and hopefully we’ll be flying around and having fun.”

Flathead Schedule

Aug. 28 — at Great Falls C.M. Russell, 4 p.m.

Sept. 4 — at Helena High, 7 p.m.

Sept. 11 — Great Falls High, 7 p.m.

Sept. 18 — Missoula Big Sky, 7 p.m.

Sept. 25 — at Bozeman, 7 p.m.

Oct. 2 — at Missoula Hellgate, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 9 — Butte (homecoming), 7 p.m.

Oct. 16 — Helena Capital, 7 p.m.

Oct. 23 — at Glacier, 7 p.m.

Oct. 30 — Missoula Sentinel, 7 p.m.