Playoff football, do or die, win or go home. All the cliche's apply. The Flathead Braves saw a football team Friday night they haven't seen on the same field since 2012, a couple years before Kyle Samson would wear orange and black. The Senior Broncs winning the last two state titles, having the last two Montana Gatorade players of the year in Nathan Dick in 2016, and Gabe Sulser in 2017. The Broncs even though they were 6-4, I believe were looked at as favorites by those outside the Flathead valley. The reason I think, is because the Braves lost last Friday to Helena and people outside looked too much into the Braves last 4 games. In particular games against Big Sky, CMR, Hellgate. What stood out to me first was Seniors speed and in particular, number 13 Oran Nash Bergen. In my opinion the fastest player in the AA. Senior's offensive pace was the 2nd thing I took away. They do not waste time, they run a play and players are already running to the line for the next play. Senior's Matt Plasterer threw the ball 40 times and I don't see too many QB's in high school that get that many opportunities to sling it around the yard. The way the game started I thought this game was going to come down to who had the ball last.
The Game itself Flathead 52 Senior 35.
Coach Samson talked about how proud he was of his team and their response in key situations. The Braves offense stalls and watched Senior take the lead, they respond with a 10 play 80 yard drive to even things up. The defense responded in many different ways. Early on it was the combo of Landrum and Russell that would jar the ball loose and give Flathead it's second takeaway. Providing an opportunity to create distance from Senior. Which Counts would make count (yes pun intended) for a two yard score. Ultimately it was the turnovers that gave the Braves the cushion they needed. The defense has been bend but don't break. Late in the first half and Senior driving to cut the deficit to seven before halftime on 4th and 15, Plasterer never see's Logan Siblerud. Logan jumps up and rips it out of the air for an interception. That pick would would setup a Counts touchdown to give Flathead a 42-21 lead into halftime. To me that is one of the biggest plays of the game.
The game never felt safe, even with a 21 point lead you knew Senior could make up that deficit quickly with their speed and no huddle. The defense lead by coach Matt Upham deserve a lot of credit as the 2nd half adjustments flustered Senior and big stops and punts came in the 2nd half as Flathead continued to build upon its lead.
The Offense...
When you rush for 508 yards on the ground the big boys deserve a ton of credit. It's tough to measure their performance because they don't have a statistical category. The Braves offensive line lead by Max Anderson, Cole Delager, Sebastian Koch, Andrew Siderious, Patrick Hammond all feasted upon the Senior defense as they opened holes for their backs and QB. The WR's also did a great job blocking springing Jaden and Blake beyond the 2nd levels of the defense. The Brave 5 as I like to call them had probably their best performance of the season and lets hope it continues into next week against Bozeman.
Between Jaden and Blake Senior had no answer for either running threat. Jaden breaking off 28, and 51 yard touchdown runs. All of Blake's touchdowns were under 10 yards but the back had by my count at least 4 runs of 25 yards or better. Both guys were lethal to senior and wore them down by games end.
The Unsung Hero...
Logan Siblerud. He made big plays and subtle plays that would directly result in this win for the Braves. He recovered the fumble caused by Russell and Landrum. He had the interception on 4th down. He had a sack that would force Senior into a long down situation. On top of that was a blocker on offense that helped pave the way for Jaden and Blake. Logan is a player that lets his play do the talking and Friday night his play was loud.
Milestone...
Coach Samson picked up his first playoff victory as head coach of the Braves. I always hear the word culture in sports. I have always heard the word brotherhood and family in sports. Some teams embody those traits and some use them as a punchline. This Flathead team is family, brotherhood, close knit all of them. Every player I speak to talks about getting the win for the team no matter the cost. They just want to win for each other. You hear it all the time in sports but deep down is it true? With this team it is. I have covered a lot of high school football and some small college but I have never seen a team this close and this true to the definition of family and brotherhood. That is a reflection of Coach Samson, his staff, and the culture that is at Flathead.
More records to fall?
Blake Counts had another 200+ yard game, might have had his first 300 yard rushing game. Either way Blake is well within distance of putting his name on top of the Class AA single season rushing record. CMR's Andrew Grinde rushed for 2,180 yards in 2014. After Friday night unofficially I have Blake at 2,153 yards. I think Blake is the Gatorade player of the year in Montana. He checks the boxes, prolific numbers, record setting numbers, good team and deep playoff appearance.
Next week...
The Braves will travel to Bozeman and we will have the game on AM 600 KGEZ and FM 96.5. The Braves will look to avenge an earlier season loss 49-34. Much like Senior, Bozeman has a high scoring offense averaging 46 ppg. They have big targets like Simpson, Lonergan, and O'Reilly. The Braves won the 2nd half of the last game but it wasn't enough to overcome a 21 point deficit in the 1st half. The Braves will need a performance like they did against Senior, when they battle Bozeman.
Photo Courtesy of Art Anderson!