Forward focus: Flathead has eyes on Bozeman, playoffs

Flathead is not hiding from the fact of the matter — last Friday’s victory over Glacier was monumental for the program.

Head coach Kyle Samson knows it.

His staff knows it.

So do his players.

“It was a crazy experience, something I’ll never forget,” said defensive back Trae Vasquez, one of 24 seniors who were third-graders the last time the Braves (2-2) topped the Wolfpack.

“I’m excited to tell my kids way down the road that my senior year, we beat Glacier.

“It was big for this whole town, the Flathead community, just our school. I feel like it’s helping move along the school year. It’s making school more fun. All of the kids are excited about it.”

But as big as the win over Glacier was, Flathead has bigger things in its sights. The Braves are determined to keep their eyes on the road ahead and avoid focusing on the rearview mirror.

“We’re just trying to take advantage of every game possible,” Vasquez said.

“Building off (the Glacier win), we just want to move on from that game. Yeah, we won the game. It was a big win for this town and for our community and our school, but we don’t want to stop there.”

The next step of Flathead’s journey comes at 7 p.m. tonight against Bozeman — another team with an eight-year winning streak versus the Braves.

The focus for Samson and his staff this week has been bringing his team back down to earth and moving forward after the emotional high that was last Friday’s game.

The fourth-year coach has been asked one question continuously this week — “Are you going to have a letdown?” — but does not seem worried about such an occurrence rearing its ugly head tonight against the Hawks because of the strong corps of senior leaders that has kept the squad grounded throughout the highs and lows of the Braves’ tumultuous season and the excitement that accompanies homecoming and the first true home game at Legends Stadium.

“I think our kids are just going to build on (the Glacier win) and get better,” Samson said.

“We talked to the kids on Monday. We were like, ‘Hey, enjoy it. Be proud of what you did. But we’ve got to know that we’ve got more goals we want to accomplish.’”

Chief among those goals is a playoff berth, and a victory tonight would boost the prospects of a postseason appearance considerably.

Bozeman, whose pass-heavy offense is led by dynamic quarterback Kris Brown, enters Legends Stadium with a 3-2 record. After a 3-0 start, the Hawks have slipped up against Butte and Billings Senior the past two weeks.

Even so, Flathead knows it can take no game for granted in a season that has recently taken on a heightened sense of urgency.

“They’re no slouch as a team,” Vasquez said of Bozeman.

“They’ve lost two in a row, so they’ll be hungry coming in.”

The Braves — forced to cancel game their game against Missoula Sentinel due to threats to the school system two weeks ago — need three wins in their final five games to finish above .500 and put themselves in position for a likely playoff berth.

They must find those wins amongst the third-toughest remaining schedule in the state, as four of Flathead’s five remaining games come against teams currently above the Braves in the Class AA standings.

“All the rest of our games are meaningful games,” Samson said.

“We’re trying to win out, but we’ve got to take it one game at a time. Our kids know that. We control our own destiny.”

With many obstacles standing in the way of the Braves’ ambitions, finding motivation to look forward instead of backward — even after a win eight years in the making — has been easier than one might expect.

“You don’t want to be OK with success right now,” Vasquez said.

“If you have success, keep building on that. Keep reaching higher. That’s what we’re trying to do right now. I think we had a great week of practice, and we’ll be ready to go.”