Flathead football coach Kyle Samson insists last week’s 23-0 blanking at Bozeman was not as one-sided as it seemed.

“We didn’t grade out too badly,” Samson said. “We played pretty solid, we just made a couple of key mistakes at some big times in the game.”

There were certainly areas of deficiency for the Braves, who ran for a season-low 72 yards and allowed a season-worst 5.1 yards per carry, but all in all the final score was really not indicative of the game’s competitiveness.

Flathead outgained Bozeman 241-224, committed just one turnover, allowed only four completed passes and got a terrific game from quarterback Bridger Johnson (18-for-28, 169 yards). In the end, it was indeed a handful of key miscues — notably a blocked field goal that was returned more than 90 yards for a touchdown — that doomed the Braves.

So it is with a goal of avoiding any major missteps that Flathead (3-2) travels south to challenge struggling Missoula Hellgate (0-5) tonight at 7:30.

“These kids are really resilient,” Samson said of his chargers. “They’ve bounced back this week in practice and we’ve really focused on the fundamentals. We didn’t have our best game last week and we’re going to see if we can get better this week.”

The Braves’ biggest challenge might well be staying hungry against a Knights team that was humiliated by Glacier last Friday. Hellgate trailed 60-0 at halftime and lost 77-8, allowing many of those points to the Wolfpack’s second, third and fourth-string offense.

Samson is trying to keep his team’s focus sharp against an opponent that has lost 28 games in a row.

“It’s still a football game and we have respect for their program,” he said. “It’s homecoming for them, they’re going to come out ready to go and they’re going to be excited.”

The Braves beat Hellgate, 30-17, a year ago and have won four straight against the Knights. Hellgate last won a game on Oct. 5, 2012 when they shut out Great Falls, 6-0.

Flathead’s shutout loss last week was its first since 2013 and was stunning for a team that averaged nearly 34 points per game through the first four weeks. If the Braves offense is to get on track, Samson believes it will start in the trenches.

“We didn’t control the line of scrimmage like we needed to (last week),” he said. “We’ve spent a lot of time this week working on footwork and strikes up front, and tweaking a couple things.”

Senior running back Josh McCracken was shut down by the Hawks, running for only 26 yards on 15 carries, more than 100 yards under his season average. The Braves had rushed for 350 and 272 yards, respectively, in the two previous games — both wins — and boast a three-pronged attack with McCracken, the bruising Payton Boyce and shifty wide receiver/quarterback/returner Seth Adolph.

Adolph led the Braves with 47 yards rushing in Bozeman and has seen his role in the offense increase each week this season.

“(Seth) is a great, tough runner,” Samson said. “He’s not afraid of contact and he’s a very smart football player. You can put him in any position on the field and he can be successful.”

The 6-foot junior has six catches this year and is averaging 8.3 yards per carry as both a wildcat quarterback and wide receiver. Adolph also returns punts and kicks, and has found the end zone twice already this year.

The Braves’ regular quarterback, Johnson, has developed nicely himself through the first half of his junior season. The strong-armed, 6-3 Johnson has completed nearly 57 percent of his passes through the first five games despite having never thrown a pass in a varsity game before this year.

“(Johnson’s) really seeing the defense well and making some checks when we need him to,” Samson said. “That and he’s getting game experience you really can’t simulate in practice. His reads and his timing and his footwork have gotten better. I’m very pleased with where he’s at.”

With a win over the Knights, Johnson and company would match Flathead’s highest single-season win total of the last seven years.

The game will be broadcast live on KGEZ 600 AM starting at 7 p.m.