All three teams - Big Sky, Hellgate and Sentinel - lost in the same week for the first time since the regular season's first week.
Big Sky and Hellgate have the opportunity to correct that misfortune at home on Friday, while Sentinel hits the road in search of a bounce-back win.
The Spartans (3-5) head to Kalispell Glacier for a 7 p.m. game at Legends Field.
The Helena-Big Sky game is being broadcast live by KGRZ 1450 AM radio, and it's also KPAX-TV's “Prep Game of the Week.” It airs Saturday after the 10 p.m. news.
Flathead at Hellgate, 4 p.m.
The Braves rallied from an 0-3 beginning to win their last five games. Now it's Hellgate's job to reverse that trend - and its own.
The Knights, who've yet to win since the third week of the 2007 season, can play spoiler as the postseason picture unfolds around the state.
Fifth-ranked Flathead averages nearly 31 points per game and senior quarterback Brock Osweiler headlines the league's top passing attack.
The 6-foot-8 Osweiler averages 245 yards passing and another 81 rushing each game. He has 20 touchdown tosses this fall.
The Braves are fresh off a 38-28 win over crosstown rival Glacier. Hellgate is the next roadblock before a regular-season finale against top-ranked Helena Capital.
The Knights are coming off a 61-20 drubbing at the Bruins, but at least they're scoring at a more consistent pace. Hellgate clipped the 20-point total the past two weeks after getting shut out four of its first five games.
Senior halfback Chris Lavoie has rushed for 706 yards this season. He had 89 tough yards in last week's loss.
The Knights have become more proficient in their passing recently behind junior QB Sam Hall and junior back/receiver Brenden Gragg.
Helena at Big Sky, 7:30 p.m.
The Bengals have lost just twice all year, but they've had a difficult time putting away their opponents. Likewise, though, opponents have had a hard time putting them away.
Helena (6-2) hung with Capital for three quarters, but narrowly beat Hellgate earlier this fall in Missoula.
“They get complacent sometimes, but they're the real deal,” said Big Sky coach Gary Ekegren, who only has to point to last week's 14-9 loss to West. “High had a chance, they were driving late in the game. They almost got in, and if they did, they would've won.
“They're a good football team is the point.”
The Bengals rack up 272 yards per game rushing behind a stout offensive line that many AA coaches call the best in the state.
“They're big, talented and they really are a solid football team,” Ekegren said.
Big Sky dealt with a smaller, speedier front seven in a 35-9 loss to Great Falls CMR last week.
“That caused us problems, but at the same time we didn't play at the energy level that we needed to have to any success,” Ekegren said. “I'm disappointed that I didn't have my kids ready to play. I didn't get it done and it was obvious as the game progressed.”
The Eagles likely need to win their final two games for a shot at the playoffs, their coach said.
“We don't stack up well in that tiebreaker stuff,” Ekegren said.
Big Sky junior wideout Drew Owens had his best game of the year last week, catching eight balls for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Sentinel at Glacier, 7 p.m.
Two teams trying to snap losing skids tangle in a rematch of last season's breakthrough game for Sentinel.
The Spartans, who've dropped three straight, broke a 32-game winless streak with a 33-7 win over the Wolfpack in the second-to-last game of the year last fall.
The stakes are a bit higher this time around, however, with Sentinel's playoff life hanging in the balance.
“Obviously it's a must-win situation for us now,” said fourth-year coach Pete Joseph. “If we want to make the playoffs, every game from now on is a playoff game.”
Glacier has dropped five consecutive contests since it beat Hellgate in Week 3. The Spartans' win over the Pack a year ago kind of jump-started Sentinel's recent success, but Joseph isn't taking the second-year school lightly.
“Say what you want about Glacier,” Joseph said, “but coach (Grady) Bennett is a great football coach and he's still got the only team with 22 returning starters.”
Glacier's passing attack ranks second only to Flathead. Junior QB Shay Smithwick-Hann averages 231 yards a game and he has 16 TDs.
The Spartans had to deal with a passing attack that saw its top two receivers slowed by injuries in last week's 35-19 loss to Great Falls High. Junior Ben Roberts (ankle), senior Dalton Bright (shoulder), and others missed time.
“Everybody's banged up at this point in the year, everyone understands that,” Joseph said. “We don't make any excuses there. The game last week was very frustrating. We had opportunities to score early and put away a team. We didn't. They hung around and gained confidence and we ended up making more mistakes in the fourth quarter to help them.
“It was very frustrating, but we have to put it behind us and move on.”
Sentinel turned the ball over twice in the red zone last week, including one interception in the end zone.
The Wolfpack (2-6) by comparison have thrown just four picks all season, despite their propensity to pass.
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