Explosive Bengals sprint past Flathead

Most people know that Helena High, with Kaden Huot at quarterback, is a formidable opponent.

What they might forget about are those bursts.

The visiting Bengals scored three touchdowns in under three-and-a-half minutes to start the game Friday, then added 30 points in the final 8:36 of the first half at Legends Stadium. The final score was 51-0 over the winless Flathead Braves.

Huot ran 17 yards for a touchdown when the contest was barely a minute old, then added scoring strikes of 38 (Carson Anderson) and 32 yards (Coltre Petre) in the second quarter for Helena.

All the points came in the first half; the second half was played under a running clock.

“Holy smokes, Helena High is tough,” Flathead coach Alex Cummings said after his team fell to 0-6. “I was impressed.

“I know our kids played very hard and we did some good things. We need to take the negatives and learn from them. The score is what it is; we need to focus on improving ourselves each week. Now we have to move on to crosstown.”

The Braves and Glacier Wolfpack battle next Friday at Legends.

Helena’s offensive numbers weren’t scintillating, though the Montana Grizzlies-bound Huot threw for 118 yards and ran for 56 in the first half.

Adding to Flathead’s woes were two interception returns for touchdowns, and more special teams issues.

After Huot’s TD run, the Braves tried a third-and-4 pass to the right flat — and Anderson jumped the route and took the pick 40 yards for the score.

Flathead then muffed the ensuing kickoff, giving Helena the ball at the Braves’ 26. Four snaps later Marcus Evans bullied in from 2 yards for a 21-0 lead at the 7:25 mark.

Helena fell off its touchdown-a-minute pace from there, as Flathead got more stabilized and, with Jackson Walker hitting Brody Thornsberry for 25 yards and Helena committing two fourth-down penalties, reached the Bengals’ 19 and 25 on consecutive drives.

Both ended on downs and eventually Helena found fifth gear again.

At 8:36 of the second quarter, Huot found Anderson up the right sideline for a long touchdown. Then Flathead’s Thornsberry appeared to take the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a TD, only to have his return called back for a hold.

“We’ve been close on KOR this year,” Cummings said. “I thought we finally just cracked one open. That’s a tough call. That gave our kids a lot of energy.

“We need to do it again and build off those things.”

Things went south from there. Backed up toward their own goal line, Jackson Walker fired a pass that traveled maybe 2 yards before Helena defensive end Forrest Suero snared it and waltzed 15 yards to the end zone.

“That’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen,” Cummings said. “He loops around. ... and it’s just a really good play by a really good player.”

It was 35-0 with 7:27 left in the first half. The Braves then muffed another kickoff, recovered at its own 5, but that led to Suero recording a safety. That in turn led to a short field, which led to a 6-yard scoring run from Cade Holland.

And so it went. Jackson Walker ran for 31 yards and passed for 91, and had some solid runs and passes here and there. Caleb Riley caught four passes for 36 yards. Chase Youso made some convincing tackles.

Consistency is still proving elusive for Flathead.

“A couple kids got knocked out on kickoffs,” Cummings noted. “You’re struggling trying to get things cleaned up. But we have to take care of the football. That’s the biggest priority in our program.”

Helena 21 30 0 0 - 51

Flathead 0 0 0 0 - 0

H — Kaden Huot 17 run (Porter Coli kick), 10:49-1Q

H — Carson Anderson 40 interception return (Coli kick), 9:10-1Q

H — Marcus Evans 2 run (Coli kick), 7:25-1Q

H — Anderson 38 pass from Huot (Coli kick), 8:36-2Q

H — Forrest Suero 15 interception return (Coli kick), 7:27-2Q

H — Safety, Suero tackles Flathead ball carrier in end zone, 5:36-2Q

H — Cade Holland 6 run (Coli kick), 2:23-2Q

H — Colter Petre 32 pass from Huot (Coli kick), :18-2Q

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Helena (32-126) — Huot 5-56, Karter Kraft 8-33, Evans 6-26, Holland 5-13, Payton Tavary 3-9, Tanner Bailey 2-5, Manu Melo 1-4, Team 1-minus 5, Garrett St. Clair 1-minus 15. Flathead (26-34) — Jackson Walker 17-31, Kaden Henshaw 6-1, Trevor Burke 1-1, Joe Jones 2-1.

PASSING: Helena — Huot 8-11-0 for 118 yards; Karter Kraft 5-6-0 for 49 yards; St. Clair 1-2-0 for 1 yard. Flathead — Walker 9-25-2 for 91 yards.

RECEIVING: Helena — Anderson 3-62, Sam Ark 3-41, Kade Schlepp 3-18, Morgan Bell 2-8, Petre 1-32, Holland 1-6, Corbin Luce 1-1. Flathead — Caleb Riley 4-36, Teyler Hendrickson 2-20, Brody Thornsberry 1-25, Dylan Kratofil 1-6, Trevor Burke 1-4.