AA Football: Braves look to get back on track against Hellgate

Coming off a 48-7 homecoming loss to Butte, the Flathead Braves look to get well on the road, with a game against Missoula Hellgate Thursday.

First-year Braves’ coach Alex Cummings has been coaxing a young team through a rough season; in Hellgate, which lost its homecoming game 63-6 to Helena High last week, his squad may find the elements less fierce.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at MCPS Stadium (Glacier has its homecoming game Friday against Helena Capital).

“Hopefully this week we’ll see a more evenly matched football game,” said Cummings, whose club is 0-4 and 0-2 in the Western AA. “This will be more of a test to see where we’re at.”

Hellgate began with a narrow loss at Great Falls CMR, then beat Belgrade 42-20, then had to cancel its crosstown game with Missoula Sentinel for Covid-19 concerns.

Flathead, meanwhile, has three touchdowns in four games.

“There were some better things,” Cummings said of the Butte loss. “I was happy with some things that we did and not happy with some others.

“I thought we took a big step forward last week. The score is what it is, but on film ... offensively we’re very young up front but I think we’re kind of figuring out who we are. I’m excited.”

Quarterback Jackson Walker has thrown for 325 yards and three touchdowns, and run for 115 yards. Kaden Henshaw has missed a game but still leads the team in rushing with 123 yards.

Dylan Kratofil has missed two games but leads the team with 59 yards and two touchdowns receiving.

Chase Youso continues to pile up the tackles: He has 46, 19 unassisted.

Connor Dick triggers the Hellgate offense, leading the team in rushing as well as passing. The Knights have excellent receivers in Leo Filardi and senior Ian Finch, and a capable running back in Jacob Sweatland.

Hellgate plays a 50 front on defense, not that it mattered to Helena QB Kaden Huot, who threw for a school-record six touchdowns last week. Huot, who’s headed to the Griz next season, had all of his 320 passing yards by halftime.

“That presents a different challenge,” Cummings said of the Hellgate defense. “By no means are they a bad football team. It’s a short turnaround for us and I think they’re going to be ready to go. We need to come out of the gates swinging.”