The Flathead football team faces a daunting task tonight when it hits the road against the unbeaten Helena High Bengals.

Helena (5-0) is third in the Class AA Associated Press poll, leads Class AA in total defense and run defense and has an average margin of victory of 32 points.

Helena pitched a shutout against Missoula Hellgate on Sept. 13 and held high-octane Billings Skyview to a season-low 17 points last week. It has also held two opponents to seven points and gave up 14 against Billings West on Sept. 6.

“They’re fast and physical,” Flathead coach Russell McCarvel said of Helena’s defense. “Their schemes look like a college team in terms of how they drop guys off and how they blitz. They’re really one of the most sophisticated teams in terms of what they do.

“And their secondary guys have the ability to cover one-on-one. They play more man-to-man than most teams, or at least they give you the look of man-to-man.”

While its defense grabs the headlines, Helena’s offense has been impressive as well. The Bengals have the third best rushing offense (203.6 yards per game) in Class AA and an experienced quarterback in senior Troy Arntson. Running back Cooper Lanier averages 110.6 yards per game and Arntson is a dual-threat athlete who ranks sixth in Class AA in total offense with 164.2 passing yards per game and 49.2 rushing yards per game.

“If you weren’t coaching against him, he’d be one of your favorite players to watch,” McCarvel said of Arntson. “He’s fast, he runs that offense. He’s not very big, but he’s as tough as anybody. Preparing for him is difficult.

“We’re going to have to make sure we’re sound against all their formations. He’s great at the play-action pass and he’s excellent rolling out.”

Flathead (2-3) is 2-0 in road games, but it’s coming off a 52-0 home loss to previously winless Great Falls C.M. Russell. CMR racked up 404 rushing yards last week and teams are averaging 358.8 rushing yards against Flathead this season.

“We’ve made a couple personnel changes to try to get a little bigger up front,” McCarvel said. “That’s probably one of the biggest things we’ve done this week.

“We’re going to have to play an excellent game. No one thing is going to stop the run defensively.”

Flathead’s offense is led by junior quarterback Easton Johnson, who averages 134.7 passing yards and has a team-high 277 rushing yards. Flathead is 10th out of 14 teams in Class AA in total offense.

“We have to continue to strive to be more consistent on offense,” McCarvel said. “We’ve done a good job of not turning it over, but we’re going to have to find a way to make some plays.”

Tonight’s game kicks off at 7 at Vigilante Stadium in Helena.

Class AA Football

Standings

W L PF PA

Bozeman 5 0 205 69

Helena Capital 5 0 214 45

Helena High 5 0 212 52

Glacier 4 1 171 89

Billings Senior 3 2 107 107

Billings Skyview 3 2 158 131

Butte 3 2 174 165

Missoula Sentinel 3 2 115 139

Flathead 2 3 68 173

Great Falls C.M. Russell 1 4 129 131

Great Falls High 1 4 51 112

Billings West 0 5 51 168

Missoula Big Sky 0 5 62 146

Missoula Hellgate 0 5 14 204

Friday’s Games

4 p.m.

Billings West at Missoula Sentinel

7 p.m.

Missoula Big Sky at Glacier

Flathead at Helena

Great Falls High at Billings Senior

Helena Capital at Bozeman

7:30 p.m.

Billings Skyview at C.M. Russell

Butte at Missoula Hellgate