The Flathead Braves have a boatload of playoff experience, maybe more than any other team in the state.

On the coaching staff, that is.

Flathead (6-4) will bring a bus full of players making their first-ever playoff appearance tonight in Helena against Helena Capital (8-2) in the Braves first postseason game since 2011.

Since the roster has zero experience, the Braves will lean on a head coach who won a state championship — as a player at Capital — and a pack of former players turned assistants who came along with him to get the Flathead football program precisely to this point.

“I’ve got a lot of great memories as a player in the playoffs and, you know, it’s just fun to be playing in November,” Braves head coach Kyle Samson said.

“We’re very proud to be here but we’re not satisfied with just being in the playoffs. We’re excited to be here but our goal is to go down there and get a win.”

CLASS AA FOOTBALL PLAYOFF BRACKET

Samson won his state championship in 2002 as the Bruins quarterback, knocking off a Braves team in the semifinals that featured current Flathead assistant coach Lex Hilliard, and they’re not the only two on the sidelines with experience in the Montana playoffs. In fact, every member of Samson’s coaching staff played football in the state, and every one made at least one trip to the postseason as a player.

“Our position coaches have talked about (their experience) and I’ve talked to the whole team about it,” Samson said. “We’ve definitely got to increase focus and intensity, but at the same time we want to be loose and confident.

“We had a meeting with the captains this week and they understand it’s a big-time game. It’s the biggest game any of these kids have ever played in.”

The coaching staff can’t do anything to change its team’s inexperience, but they can take a look back at game tape from just three weeks ago, when the Bruins came to Legends Stadium and knocked off Flathead, 24-21. It was a game the Braves dominated in the second half after a miserable start.

“It was a terrible first quarter we had,” Samson said of the first meeting, one in which the Braves mustered just one yard of offense in the first 12 minutes.

“I thought we played pretty good against them that second half, we just waited too long to get going in that game. Like we did last week, we have to have a great start and control the football.”

In the regular season finale, Flathead dismantled a desperate Missoula Sentinel team that needed a win to get into the playoffs. The Braves went right after the Spartans with 21 runs on their first 22 plays en route 258 yards on the ground in a 28-14 win.

It was a stark contrast from the Braves loss to Capital. In that game, Flathead totaled only 105 yards on 37 carries. Samson believes the fix for his ground game is simple.

“We just have to execute better, honestly,” he said. “At this point of the year there’s no secret to what we do; they’ve got 10 films on us and we’ve got 10 films on them.

“It’s a challenge for our (offensive) line and they know it. They know they didn’t do the best job last time, and we’ve gotten a lot better in the last couple of weeks.”

Despite their struggles against Capital, the line paved the way for Josh McCracken’s record-setting senior season. Flathead’s running back has tied Hilliard’s single-season rushing touchdown record with 18 and is one of only two backs (Hilliard the other) to gain more than 1,200 yards on the ground in a season.

One of McCracken’s worst games, however, was Oct. 16 against the Bruins. He gained just 57 yards on 23 carries and had a fumble deep in his own end, one of three Braves turnovers in the loss.

“(Turnovers) are what hurt us in the last two losses, against Capital and Glacier,” Samson said.

“We don’t have to be perfect — we’re going to make some mistakes — we just can’t make the big mistakes.”

Samson will have a bevy of friends and family at Vigilante Stadium tonight, a place where he built years of memories while playing for his father, the former Bruins head coach.

“It will be fun, going back and playing my alma mater in my old stadium,” Samson said. Hopefully we can put on a good show for everybody.”

The game will be broadcast live beginning at 6:45 p.m. on KGEZ, 600 AM.