Braves bring Bruins back to Legends

Looking toward Friday’s Western AA football matchup with Helena Capital, Flathead coach Caleb Aland figures the Bruins probably got their bad game at Legends Stadium out of the way.

A turnover-filled 56-0 loss to Glacier on Sept. 29 gave Capital (4-3 overall) two league losses. “That’s just a rarity,” Aland said of the Bruins’ eight turnovers. “It’s something you’d hope for but it’s not realistic. They lost a lot of seniors but have a lot of good seniors this year.

“Same story as last year up front; they’re pretty big.”

Flathead (1-6, 0-5 in league) is coming off a 42-6 loss to Glacier, a game that got away from the Braves in the second half. Flathead played solid defense the first half and moved the ball well at times. Putting the whole package together remains elusive.

A power running game that rode big Braden Capser to a first-quarter touchdown stood out against the Pack. For the season Jaden Williams, Nolan Campbell, Stephen Riley, Casper, Thornsberry, Tanner Heichel and Austin Schabel all have from 30-41 tackles on a swarming defense. All but Campbell, a sophomore, are seniors.

“Last week helped build confidence. We’ve played against the two best teams in AA in Glacier and Butte, and held our own against Butte (a 21-7 loss),” Aland said. “Not enough good things, obviously, but a lot of good things. I’m still waiting for this team to put together a complete game. I’m excited for that moment.”

When Aland looks at Capital he sees mainly 6-foot-5 nose tackle Cole Dawes on defense and multiple formations on offense.

“I don’t think they’re in the same formation twice in a game,” he said. “The biggest thing is teams have tried to go up the middle (against the defense). Offensively, we have to try to get the ball outside. Defensively we just have to really play our game.

“Honestly I’m excited. I feel the guys are fired up. It can be hard to keep guys motivated to keep going and I haven’t felt that at all with this group.”