Flathead's first win an upset of Helena High
HELENA — It was a long time coming. The Flathead Braves won their first game of the season, beating No. 3 Helena High 13-9 on Friday night in Western AA football at Vigilante Stadium.
“It was just a big win for us,” Flathead coach Matt Upham said. “Hats off to our kids. It was a great team win.”
The win was also Upham’s first as Flathead’s head coach.
Tanner Russell scored touchdowns for Flathead in the second and fourth quarters.
The first was a 37-yard run that gave the Braves (1-5) the lead before halftime.
Russell’s game winner came with just under three minutes remaining in the game and Flathead trailing 9-7. After a holding penalty brought them to 2nd and 22, Russell got the ball and ran 61 yards to Helena’s five-yard line. He ran the ball in on the next play.
“Its just nice to see our kids get their breaks and get the win,” Upham said. “The kids just believed we could battle through a tough start. Just got to keep doing what they’re doing. I’m proud of them.”
Flathead started the season 0-5.
“We’ve battled the last few weeks,” Upham said. “Our kids rose up and got the job done.”
Flathead 0 7 0 6 — 13
Helena High 0 7 2 0 — 9
F — Tanner Russell 37 run (kick)
H — Logan Brown 22 run
H — Team safety
F — Russell 5 run
Full statistics for this game were not available.
Florence 14, Eureka 34
FLORENCE — Eureka stayed undefeated, rolling over Florence on the road on Friday.
The Lions (6-0) started things off strong with two touchdowns and continued to build momentum throughout the night, cinching the victory by a 20 point margin. Eureka led 14-0 at the half.
Hank Dunn threw one touchdown pass and kicked two extra points.
Jake Kindel rushed for two touchdowns.
Eureka 14 0 14 6 — 34
Florence 0 0 14 0 — 14
E — Austin Sartori 10 pass from Hank Dunn (Dunn kick)
E — Chet McCully 11 run (Dunn kick)
F — Williford 61 pass to Waller (Taylor kick)
E — Jake Kindel 2 run (Dunn kick failed)
F — Williford 74 pass to Waller (Taylor kick)
E — McCully 10 run (2 pt conversion Dunn to Hurst)
E — Kindel 1 run (2 pt conversion failed)
Team Stats
E F
First downs 32 11
Rushing 22-83 47-339
Passing 15-28-171-2-1 9-22-178-1-2
Total offense 510 261
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 12-120 6-45
Punts-avg 1-39 3-34
Individual Stats
PASSING — Florence-Carlton, Williford 9-22-178-2-n/a. Eureka, Hank Dunn 15-28-171-2-1.
RUSHING — Florence-Carlton, Goeltz 1-55, Christensen 11-20. Eureka, Hank Dunn 12-114, Chet McCully 13-91, Jake Kindel 17-80, Austin Sartori 4-42.
RECEIVING — Florence-Carlton, Waller 3-135, Round 3-46. Eureka, Austin Sartori 4-73, Jake Kindel 5-35, Cory Chaney 3-31.
Bigfork 36, Deer Lodge 12
BIGFORK — Bigfork pummeled Deer Lodge during their Friday homecoming game in Class B football, more than doubling their competitor’s offensive yardage to bring in the win.
Deer Lodge 6 6 0 0 — 12
Bigfork 7 7 15 7 — 36
P — J. Applegate 68 pass to L. Nicholson (Kick blocked)
B — Levi Taylor 7 run (Tanner Stone kick)
P — J. Applegate 35 pass to E. Bossert. (2 pt conversion failed)
B — Patrick Wallen 1 pass to Taylor (Stone kick)
B — Taylor 3 run. (2 pt conversion Wyatt Herd)
B — Wallen 35 pass to Isaac Bjorge (Stone kick)
B — Joseph Farrier 12 run. (Stone kick)
Team Stats
DL B
First downs 9 25
Rushing 14--6 43-219
Passing 15-32-2-184-2 13-25-1-191-2
Total offense 178 410
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 7-70 5-50
Punts-avg 3-35 1-39
Individual Stats
PASSING — Powell County, J. Applegate 12-29-173-2-2. Bigfork, Patrick Wallen 13-24-191-2-n/a
RUSHING — Powell County, B. Freeman 2-5. Bigfork, Levi Taylor 15-103, Wyatt Herd 13-47, Patrick Wallen 11-44.
RECEIVING — Powell County, L. Nicholson 6-131, E. Bossert 1-35. Bigfork, Isaac Bjorge 4-101, Levi Taylor 6-61.
Frenchtown 42, Polson 0
POLSON — Frenchtown routed Polson in Western A play, blocking a field goal and keeping the Pirates off the scoreboard.
Frenchtown is second in Western A at 5-1 and Polson is 3-3.
Full statistics for this game were not available.
Polson 0 0 0 0 — 0
Frenchtown 6 15 14 7 — 42
F — Jace Klucewich 36 run (Pass int.)
F — Klucewich 55 run (Hank Rugg kick)
F — Kade Baker 15 pass Aidan Cyr (Klucewich run)
F — Field goal blocked by Trent Dwelle
F — Tel Arthur 7 run (kick failed)
F — Baker 20 Pass from Klucewich (Arthur run)
F — Arthur 39 run (Rugg kick)
Libby 29, Butte Central 21
LIBBY — The Libby Loggers (6-0) won their sixth straight game. It’s their most wins in a season since 2007.
Full statistics for this game were not available.
Hamilton 56,
Columbia Falls 7
HAMILTON — The Broncs (5-1) routed the Wildcats (1-5) in Western A.
Full statistics for this game were not available.a