COLUMN: (Over)reacting to early returns

First impressions are always, without exception, 100 percent bang-on, stone cold, take it to the bank, bet your life, write a letter home to momma accurate.

It’s a lesson we all learned last high school football season when the defending state champion Glacier Wolfpack started with back-to-back home losses and the once-forgotten Flathead Braves were the toast of the town after a 1-1 season opening road trip, on their way to a 3-1 start.

It’s why, as we all remember, the Wolfpack never recovered and were an afterthought the rest of the fall and the Braves went on a run that would make Cinderella jealous, snapping a 45-year state championship drought in the process.

Except, of course, none of that happened.

Glacier rattled off wins each of the next nine weeks and was one play away from returning to the state championship game while the Braves lost three of their last four, including in the first round of the state playoffs.

Which brings us to this year and another pair of surprising starts in Kalispell.

With the nearly unprecedented run of recent success at Glacier it’s no surprise to see the Wolfpack at 2-0, but hardly anyone predicted this kind of beginning with the brutal schedule it faced to open the year.

Glacier went on the road to throttle a very good Helena team — just ask the Braves about the Bengals — in week one before a madcap 49-45 victory last Friday in Bozeman, a win over the defending state champions that came after the Hawks had an extra week off to start the season.

“I’m kind of surprised just overall with how productive we’ve been but not surprised at all with the work they’ve put in,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said.

“We’ve been giving them that challenge from last year’s 0-2 at home now we have to play the same teams on the road. All spring and all summer that’s been a focus point.”

Flathead, meanwhile, is in the pits. The Braves may have cooled off after their 3-1 start a year ago, although a challenging late-season schedule had something to do with that, but overall 2015 was considered a rousing success. Flathead made the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and posted a winning record for the first time since 2008.

All that progress in coach Kyle Samson’s second season, coupled with a returning senior quarterback and a pair of home games to start the year, gave Flathead heightened expectations for the first time in almost a decade.

Then the Braves allowed 88 points in their first two games and left Legends Stadium with their tails between their legs last Friday, nursing a 47-14 loss to Helena.

“We’re not going to overreact by being 0-2,” Samson said. “There’s been a lot of good teams at any level that have gone 0-2 and figured things out and had a heck of a year. It’s a long season.”

Samson, of course, can just look across town to prove his own point.

Bennett, too, won’t be bowled over by his team’s start, impressive as it might be.

“I keep reminding them, last year we were 0-2 and we came back to get nine straight wins,” he said.

“Never get too high, never get too low. Keep working every week. All we’ve done is create an incredible opportunity for ourselves.”

Bennett called this week the best week of practice his team has had all year, which is a scary prospect for Helena Capital, the Pack’s opponent tonight at Legends Stadium.

Flathead must play outside of Legends for the first time today, crossing the divide to face a Great Falls team they whipped a year ago. Samson is hoping for a repeat performance — and a momentum builder.

“High school football, you get a win and things can start rolling,” he said.

“We want to get our first win this week however we do it.”

If they do, all will be right in Braves-ville. The season saved. The march to the state title game on course once again.

There they’d probably meet Glacier, unless of course the Wolfpack lose tonight, in which case the torches and pitchforks will be at Grady Bennett’s doorstep Saturday morning.

You can take that to the bank.

Or better yet, start scribbling something down for momma.

Andy Viano is a sports reporter, columnist and flip-floppy hot take artist. He can be reached at aviano@dailyinterlake.com or (406) 758-4446.