Bitterroot Game Day, October 21

getting their kicks Corvallis looks to upset rival Stevensville for Senior Night

Friday, October 21, 2011

DAVID ERICKSON / Ravalli Republic

2 - Ravalli Republic, Friday, October 21, 2011

The Stevensville Yellowjackets have already locked up their No. 2 spot in the playoffs, but they are still looking to go to Corvallis on Friday and get a victory.

DAVID ERICKSON - Ravalli Republic

Corvallis hosts Stevensville in cross valley battle DAVID ERICKSON Ravalli Republic

The Stevensville Yellowjackets and the Corvallis Blue Devils will meet on the gridiron Friday night for the last battle of the 2011 regular season. For Stevensville (3-1, 6-1), which has already locked up the No. 2 seed in the Southwestern A conference behind No. 1

Dillon, it’s a chance to build momentum heading into the playoffs.

For the Blue Devils (1-3,2-5), a team that made big improvements this year after a winless 2010 season, Friday’s game is a chance to knock off a valley rival and end the year on their home field on a high note.

Either way, it promises to be quite a show.

Ravalli Republic, Friday, October 21, 2011 - 3

Stevi head coach Hank Praast knows that any rivalry game can swing either way, and the Blue Devils are a dangerous team on their own turf if they are looking to prove a point and go out in style. “For Corvallis, it’s their Superbowl,� he explained. “That’s the way they’re looking at it. It’s their senior night and the crowd’s going to be into it. These valley games are always big, so we know they’re going to be ready to play. We’re looking forward to it.�

Praast said that he knows his team has to be ready for the Corvallis running back tandem of Stuart Landis and Tyler Berner. “They are going to put their hand in the ground and try to run you over,� he said. “They are both really good backs. That’s one of those things where they are going to hand it off to those guys 30 times. I hope they don’t run that many plays, but that’s what they want to do. We have to keep our gap integrity. We have a guy that’s going to be in every gap, like our normal defense. Those guys are good enough to find a hole and make you pay if one kid gets out of their gap. They can also find some success in the passing game if they have to. That’s the wildcard.�

Praast said he saw a lot of good things from his squad during last Friday’s 41-13 victory over Hamilton. “Some younger kids played really well for us,� he said. “We had a kid get a concussion, and another kid stepped up. We started slow and we got going. We got our passing game going again and we figured out that they were taking away our run to the edge, our sweep. But that’s our option, so we came back underneath and that’s how (Stevi quarterback) Caleb Vance ended up with 160 yards rushing. That worked. Him being a senior and being able to read that. Some other stuff in the passing game worked. He read which coverage they had. We threw to our tight ends when they had Cover 2, and when they ran Cover 3 we threw to our slots. Caleb pulled a Peyton Manning on them (calling audibles at the line of scrimmage to change the play based on the coverage).�

The Blue Devils just missed upsetting Butte Central last Friday, as they mounted a heated fourth-quarter rally, scoring 22 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes of the game. Branden Butt completed a 51-yard TD pass to Jake Capko in the fourth quarter as well, showing the Blue Devils can be explosive when they need to be.

Praast said his kids just have to play like they know how, and not look ahead to the playoffs. “We are locked into the No. 2 spot in our conference,� he said. “But we have to play a good game against Corvallis. The kids are excited about it. It should be a good game.�

Reporter David Erickson can be reached at 363-3300 or david. erickson@ravallirepublic.com.

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4 - Ravalli Republic, Friday, October 21, 2011

Hamilton takes on Anaconda in must-win game

DAVID ERICKSON - Ravalli Republic

The Hamilton Broncs have to beat winless Anaconda on Friday night to advance to the playoffs, but the Copperheads will undoubtably be looking to get at least one win for the year.

Ravalli Republic

It’s do-or-die time for the Broncs this Friday night.

Hamilton (2-2,3-5) must win their home game against the Anaconda Copperheads to make the playoffs this year as the No. 3 seed in the

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Southwestern A conference. Head coach Travis Blome knows the pressure is on, but he and his boys relish the opportunity to prove that they belong in the big dance.

“Win and we’re in,” he said. “We control our own destiny. Also, it’s senior night for our guys, so that’s a little extra motivation to play a

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zone. Stevi is a goo team and you can’t make those kinds of mistakes against a team like that, because they will make you pay. So we are just hoping that we can fix a few things.

The Hamilton Broncs are improving each week, which is crucial if the team hopes to advance to the playoffs and make any noise, Blome said.

“We have some young kids that are stepping up,” he said. “And our seniors are really ready to go. We just need to win to get in. It should be a good crowd Friday night and we’re ready to play.”

Reporter David Erickson can be reached at 363-3300 or david.erickson@ravallirepublic.com.

Congratulations to

Tanner Cobbs

from Florence High School on receiving the “Game Day Ball.”

He returned a kick-off for a TD, returned a fumble for a TD and rushed for a TD in Florence’s win over Ronan.

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good game at home.”

Blome said the Copperheads have struggled a bit this year, but they shouldn’t be overlooked.

“They are kinda young,” he said. “They try to get the ball to their play maker, No. 19, Eric Boyd. They fight hard, they don’t quit, and they play hard every game. We’re going to have to limit our mistakes and play a solid game against them.”

Boyd, playing quarterback last week against No. 1 Dillon in place of injured Jayce Barclay, ran for 95 yards on 15 carries.

That total included three sacks.

Freshman Dylan Flack, who had Anaconda’s lone reception last week, ran for 28 yards on five carries for the banged up Copperheads (0-7, 0-4), who were officially eliminated from the playoffs in their loss against Dillon.

However, their record means that Friday’s game against Hamilton is their lone shot at redemption for the season.

“I was proud of the kids for playing hard, but we’ve got to come out of this season with a win,” Anaconda head coach Bob Orrino told the Montana Standard. “We’re going to work our butts off next week.”

Although the final score didn’t necessarily indicate it, Blome said he actually took a lot of positives away from last Friday’s 41-13 loss in Stevensville.

“Actually, watching the film, offensively, we might have played a little better against Stevensville than we did when we beat Butte Central,” Blome said. “We just made a lot of mistakes in our own red

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6 - Ravalli Republic, Friday, October 21, 2011

Florence Falcons heading into playoffs with energy

Falcons linebacker Derek Brown stops Deerlodge quarterback Robert Stone on Oct. 8.

LAURA LUNDQUIST Ravalli Republic

The Florence-Carlton Falcons are flying high heading into their last regular season game against the Loyola-Sacred Heart Rams Friday night in Missoula.

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After defeating No. 5-ranked Ronan 31-14 last weekend, the Falcons now sit atop the Western 6-B football league with an undefeated record of 3-0. “We’re playing good ball right now,� said coach Terry Maki. “We’re peaking at the right time.�

But they aren’t just kings of their five-team league. They have other brag-

Ravalli Republic, Friday, October 21, 2011 - 7

ging rights.

They have the best record of the six teams in the Bitterroot Valley, having lost only one game overall. Stevensville has also lost only one game, but they lost to conference rival Beaverhead County so the Yellow Jackets’ Class A league record is 3-1.

The Falcons lost their first game of the season to the nonconference Broadwater Bulldogs 7-28. Maki said the loss was probably the result of firstgame jitters because his team didn’t play as well as they could.

Since then, while the Falcons have thrived, the Bulldogs have faltered, losing three games overall, including one to Ronan.

“It’s surprising that they’re not doing well coming down the stretch,” Maki said.

The poor performance of the Bulldogs and other teams has helped Florence-Carlton climb near the top of the statewide pile of 37 Division B teams. With its 6-1 record, the Falcons are looking at only two other unbeaten teams on the windy northeast side of the Continental Divide: Malta and Fairfield.

Five other Division B teams have a 6-1 record, but Florence-Carlton has them beat in the points arena.

The Falcons’ have scored almost 300 points in their seven games, Only Malta has scored higher this season in Division B. With the exception of the Broadwater game, the Falcons’ have scored more than 30 points in each game. Two of those games, against Troy and Powell County, were blowouts where the Falcons scored 59 and 65 points respectively.

Many of those points have come thanks to the talents of senior quarterback Zachary Newbury and his two favorite 5-foot-11-inch targets: running back Tanner Cobbs and wide receiver Dylan Reynolds. Maki said Reynolds has had close to 700 receiving yards this year. Meanwhile, Cobbs has the corner of the market on turnovers, scoring several of his touchdowns while on defense.

Maki is depending on continued high performance from all his players as they go up against Loyola on the Rams’ home turf. Even though the Rams are coming off two consecutive losses, Maki said he respects their players.

“They have a big strong line, a good quarterback, good receivers, and they’re a fast team,” Maki said. “They’ll be tough.”

The Rams were even with the Falcons in the standings before last weekend, but they lost to defending state champion Bigfork 12-21 to fall back to 5-2 on the season.

The previous weekend, the Rams also lost to Ronan 14-32.

If the Falcons keep their streak alive with a win against Loyola, they’ll play host in the first round of Division B playoff games next weekend. Maki has eight seniors who would love to end their high school careers with a championship but he knows it isn’t guaranteed.

“There are a lot of tough teams: Loyola, Bigfork, Ronan, Manhattan and Malta. And Fairfield is perennially a top team,” Maki said. “Right now, we’re hoping to host that first game and take it from there.”

Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at 363-3300 or laura.lundquist@ravallirepublic.com.

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8 - Ravalli Republic, Friday, October 21, 2011

Class C: Victor Pirates, Darby Tigers finishing strong

Darby linebacker Matt Robbins reaches out a hand in an attempt to stop Victor running back Chris Morozumi in Darby on Sept. 10.

WHITNEY BERMES Ravalli Republic

Don’t tell the Victor football team that a state title is not in fact on the line Friday night in Arlee.

“The kids are treating it like their state championship,” said Pirates’ coach Brandon Howell. “It was neat when they brought that up and

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they’ve been talking about it all week.”

Unfortunately, Friday night will be the last game of the season for the currently 4-4 Pirates. But the eight-man football squad wants to end things on a high note and hopefully give themselves momentum heading into next year.

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week with a Wednesday night home game against conference powerhouse Lincoln (6-2).

“The kids are working hard and they’re going to go out and play to win it,” said Darby coach Nathan Olsen on Tuesday. “We’re going to be playing one of the best teams in the conference. They’re very well coached. They’ve got a couple great athletes. The kids are excited to see what they can do.”

The Tigers came into Wednesday’s game with only one win – a 50-22 trouncing of Seeley-Swan in week two. However, Olsen gushed about the work his boys have put into their season.

“They’ve stayed together and played as a team,” Olsen said. “The kids have really improved. There are a lot of things with eight-man that are different than 11. A lot of it will be how the coaches respond in the offseason. But the kids have worked hard all season and made a lot of improvements.

“It’s really been a pleasure to have all these kids here.”

The Tigers only had one day of practice to prepare for their final matchup of the season.

“With one day of practice, it makes things kind of tough,” Olsen said.

Despite the shortened practice period, Olsen was confident his team would be ready for Wednesday’s tilt. “(Lincoln) is a big, fast team,” Olsen said. “They’re quarterback is probably one of the best players in the league. They run a lot of spread.

“Their defense, you never know what to expect from them. You have to expect it to be a very physical game.”

For five Darby seniors, the game was the end of their high school gridiron career.

“Our seniors have really stepped up and been leaders this year,” Olsen said. “Some of them have been on the team for four years, and for a couple, this is their first year. But they’ve all had a pretty big impact on the program.”

Victor will be playing its last game of the season on the road at Arlee (3-5), a game that Howell said is winnable and one he hopes his boys make special. “(The Black Hawks) match up really well with us,” he said.

Even in last weeks’ 57-26 home loss to Superior, Howell saw some things that make him hopeful for Friday’s game.

“We were able to throw the ball pretty dang well,” he said. “We had something like 338 yards passing. That was neat for us to be able to come out and do. We competed with Superior as well as anyone else has this season.”

Of the six seniors on the Pirates’ roster, Howell has coached four of them since he started.

“They’ve been through the real tough years that we’ve had, and they kind of helped build this program back up to where we’re competing with the good teams,” Howell said. “Their hard work is awesome. Part of the reason we’re going to be good in the future is what they’ve done in showing these kids how to win and how to be successful.”

Reach reporter Whitney Bermes at 363-3300 or whitney.bermes@ ravallirepublic.com.

10 - Ravalli Republic, Friday, October 21, 2011

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Ravalli Republic, Friday, October 21, 2011 - 11

Griz face tough test against Portland State FRITZ NEIGHBOR for

Bitterroot Game Day

MISSOULA - You can take the No. 12 Montana Grizzlies’ knack for third-quarter surges two ways, and Coach Robin Pflugrad fosters a halffull approach: He knows he has a great second-half team.

“Again, what a great defensive performance,” Pflugrad said of Montana’s third straight win, a 30-24 verdict over Portland State Saturday. “And then the ability to do some things in special teams and offense the second half.

“We’d obviously like those things to happen sooner, but those are some pretty good opponents we’re playing, and I think it’s always important to give them credit. Because they’re out recruiting great athletes and have great schemes.”

The Grizzlies’ next opponent, Northern Arizona (4:05 MDT Saturday), fits in that group. The Lumberjacks lost at Montana State 41-24 to fall to 1-3 in Big Sky Conference play, but still have one of the more dangerous passers in the league in Cary Grossart.

Add in sophomore running back Zach Bauman - his 634 rushing yards rank second in the league to the 731 by now-injured Cory McCaffrey of PSU - and you have a team that you shouldn’t start slow against.

Of course the Griz have generally done that in 2011 while going 5-2, including 4-1 in the Big Sky. Outscoring opponents 83-30 in the third quarter has salved a lot of sore first halves.

For the record, Pflugrad is concerned. Trailing 21-10 at halftime, like the Griz did against PSU, is neither fun nor the goal.

“That’s why we practice every day, to get a better start,” he said Tuesday. “It does get a little bit concerning when you practice either a game plan or certain things you see, and get stopped.

“Or you have to punt out of the end zone. Those are frustrating things. I don’t want to punt out of that area. We’ve got to get the ball out of there; that’s something we’ve got to get better at.”

The positive thing is that Pflugrad’s Griz have continued a trend that stayed in place during Bobby Hauck’s seven-year stay as head coach: great third quarters. You have to go back to Joe Glenn’s final season, in 2002, to see an opponent outscore UM in that period over a season (and it was just 90-88).

Yet it begs the question, why spend 70-100 hours a week on preparation only to make the biggest adjustments at halftime on Saturday?

“That’s the great eternal question,” Pflugrad said. “I think the first coaching staff didn’t spend over 100 hours a week at work. Some guy along the way did, and now that’s the standard.

“There’s two ways to think of it - it’s a very simple game made complicated by coaches and egos, but also there’s being prepared for everything.”

Pflugrad ticked through a little bit of everything: Red zone offense, scramble field goals, defending a hurry-up offense, the two-minute drill and a four-minute Kill-the-Cat offense. And every team has variations.

“If they were standard, I’d learn how to fly-fish,” Pflugrad said.

“They’re not standard, and NAU’s different than Portland State, so you’ve got to go back to ground zero and start all over. And if you’re not prepared as they are, they’ll take advantage.”

Pflugrad will face junior-high classmate and NAU coach Jerome Souers for the second time Saturday in Flagstaff, Ariz.

The Griz edged NAU 24-21 in Missoula a year ago in the first battle between the Portlanders on C.J. Atkins’ TD catch with five seconds left.

“They have, I believe, four former Grizzlies on that staff and the head coach there was here and is a pretty good friend of mine, having grown up together since sixth grade,” said Pflugrad, who was on UM’s staff with Souers from 1986-94.

“I know he’ll have his guys ready. He’ll have his staff working day in and day out on this one. It’s also homecoming down there, and they’ll have a great crowd.”

Two years ago UM prevailed 41-34 in overtime, in Flagstaff. The Griz surrendered 440 passing yards to Michael Herrick; now Grossart is QB, and is ranked seventh in the Football Championship Subdivision in efficiency.

“I remember down there it went to overtime - Shann (Schillinger) got the interception, Trumaine (Johnson) tipped it,” said Griz defensive end Ryan Fetherston. “And last year, C.J.’s catch. During those games you never saw any of us quit. That’s what we want this weekend, too.”

Pflugrad rued the loss of Atkins to a knee injury in UM’s second game, against Cal Poly. The Griz lost as many as three more skill players for Saturday: Receiver Jabin Sambrano (ankle), receiver/QB Gerald Kemp (shoulder) and running back Dan Moore (knee).

“Dan Moore will definitely not be with us on this trip, and that’s tough,” said Pflugrad of the Arizona native. “A big time loss for us, as far as short-yardage situations and down in that red zone area.

“I don’t know how Gerald and Jabin are responding, but I’m hopeful both will be there and ready to go.”

Pflugrad said Beau Donaldson, who ran for two touchdowns in 2009 and sat out 2010 with a leg injury before moving to linebacker this year, will get reps at Moore’s spot.

“He hasn’t been with us a lot but I have confidence in him,” Pflugrad said.

QUICK KICKS: The Griz are No. 15 in the Sagarin ratings among FCS teams. Montana State is No. 6. Weber State is No. 23, Eastern is No. 25 and NAU is No. 59. ... NAU’s Bauman ran for 127 yards against UM a year ago as a true freshman. ... Griz RB Jordan Canada is now seventh in the Big Sky in rushing with 365 yards. ... NAU receiver Austin Shanks, a preseason all-Big Sky pick, has been shelved by a hamstring injury. ... Montana is the leastpenalized team in the Big Sky at 50.4 yards a game. ... UM is tied for second in the BSC in turnover margin with MSU, at plus-2. ... NAU coaches with UM ties besides Souers are LB coach Andy Thompson, who played for the Griz in 1999-2003; and safeties coach David Reeves, who played for the Griz from 1984-87. ... DE Josh Harris and RB Jordan Canada were UM’s offense and defense nominees for Big Sky player of the week.

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