BOZEMAN — The Flathead Braves couldn’t overcome Bozeman’s 29 unanswered points, including three Balue Chapman rushing touchdowns, as they lost 43-21 on Friday.

The Braves (2-5) fell into an early 14-0 hole, but senior quarterback Easton Johnson hit senior wide out Alex Croymans for a rejuvenating 78-yard touchdown strike to cut the deficit in half. Croymans, who added the extra point after his touchdown, got behind the Hawks’ secondary and caught Johnson’s pass, which floated just out of the reach of the Hawks’ secondary.

The Hawks responded quickly. Bennett Hostetler caught a 48-yard pass from Bozeman quarterback DJ Perdaems, bringing the ball down to the Flathead 2-yard line to set up Chapman’s first score of the game.

Perdaems added his second passing touchdown of the night with eight seconds remaning in the first half, and the Hawks went into the break leading 26-7.

With the game out of reach, Braves junior running back Josh McCracken never stopped fighting. He rushed for the final two touchdowns of the game, including a 42-yarder to close out the scoring.

The loss put a strain on Flathead’s playoff hopes with three games remaining.

Flathead will look to regroup at home against winless Missoula Hellgate at 7 p.m. on Friday.

The Braves, who have lost four straight, finish up with Missoula Sentinel at home and the crosstown game with Glacier on Oct. 31.

Flathead 0 7 0 14 — 21

Bozeman 7 19 17 0 — 43

First quarter

Boz — Bennett Hostetler 35 pass from DJ Perdaems (Hostetler kick), N/A

Second quarter

Boz — Bailey Paddock 11 pass from Perdaems (Hostetler kick), 4:29

Flat — Easton Johnson 78 pass from Alex Croymans (Croymans kick), N/A

Boz — Balue Chapman 1 run (kick failed), 1:29

Boz — Paddock 58 pass from Perdaems (conversion failed), 0:08

Third quarter

Boz — Riley McNeil 28 field goal, 9:36

Boz — Balue Chapman 45 run (Riley McNeil kick), 4:07

Fourth quarter

Boz — Chapman 8 run (McNeil kick), 9:36

Fla — Josh McCracken 14 run (Croymans kick), 6:14

Fla — McCracken 42 run (Croymans kick), 2:44

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FLA BOZ

First Downs 13 20

Rushing Yards 133 157

Passing (C-A) 9-23 17-26

Pass Yards 165 334

Total Offense 298 491

Fumbles-Lost 5-1 0-0

Turnovers 4 1

Penalties-Yards 5-50 8-53

3rd down 5 of 12 2 of 8

4th down 1 of 1 1 of 2

Punts-Avg. 4-28.5 3-21

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Flathead: Josh McCracken 17-96, Payton Boyce 6-59, Easton Johnson 6-27, Keaton Krantz 2-(11), Team 1-(38); Bozeman: Balue Chapman 19-142, Perdaems 6-25, Unknown 1-(3), Callahan O’Reilly 1-(7).

Passing — Flathead: Johnson 9-22-3 165, Bridger Johnson 0-1 0; Bozeman: Perdaems 16-23-1 327, Callahan O’Reilly 1-3-0 7.

Receiving — Flathead: Alex Croymans 2-83, Krantz 3-52, Cody Eaker 1-9, James Flannigan 1-9, Unknown 1-15; Bozeman: Bennett Hostetler 4-145, Bailey Paddock 3-110, Brady Coffman 6-41, Robert Samson 2-21, Payton O’Reilly 1-9, Scott Arnold 1-7, Trace Bradshaw 1-1.