Homecoming is falling at just the right moment for the Flathead Braves.

Licking their wounds — both literally and figuratively — after a humbling 41-12 loss last week at Missoula Big Sky, there could not be a better scenario for a team badly in need of some good news than returning home where a boisterous crowd can propel them to victory.

The opponent, that poor team unwittingly walking into this buzzing hornet’s nest?

It’s only (gulp) the defending state champions, a team the Braves haven’t beaten since 2008 and one that’s clobbered them by an average of more than 33 points in seven straight setbacks.

Flathead (1-3) will try and reverse that trend at 7 p.m. at Legends Stadium tonight against mighty Bozeman.

The Hawks (3-1) graduated a pair of powerful running backs from last year’s state champs, but that doesn’t mean their offense is any less dangerous. This year’s Bozeman bunch is powered by a high-powered passing attack that has averaged more than 37 points in the three games it has played in 2016. The Hawks’ first win of the year was a forfeit against Missoula Hellgate.

“They’re a good offense and they’ve got a good quarterback that throws it well and a couple good receivers,” Flathead coach Kyle Samson said. “This year’s much more of a throwing team. Watching the film it’s such a different gameplan.”

Senior quarterback Callahan O’Reilly has gone through the air for more than 1,100 yards in his first three games, according to MaxPreps.com, and his top receiver, Lance McCutcheon, has seven touchdown catches already. O’Reilly threw for seven scores in the Hawks’ wild 49-45 loss to Glacier on Sept. 2, including four to McCutcheon.

Last year, when the Hawks beat the Braves 23-0 on Sept. 25 in Bozeman, Flathead did as good a job defensively as any team in the state, limiting the Hawks to 224 yards of total offense and just two offensive touchdowns.

“I think one thing you can take from [last year] is when you show the kids the film they can gain some confidence,” Samson said. “We can definitely compete with them.”

With a number of new starters on the defense this year, however, the young unit has struggled to stop any of the Braves’ first four opponents. Flathead has allowed at least 40 points in every game and allowed its opponents more than 400 total yards three times.

Those struggles have forced the Flathead offense to carry the load but each week, seemingly, they’ve been given fewer weapons to work with. The Braves lost their starting tailback, Ryan Skramovsky, on the second offensive play of the season and last week in Missoula the next two runners on the depth chart, Blake Counts and Seth Adolph, went down with injuries.

That put the onus squarely on the shoulders of senior quarterback Bridger Johnson against the Eagles and he struggled, throwing three interceptions and completing just nine of 19 passes.

Samson, however, remains confident in his quarterback.

“He’s one of the most mentally tough kids that I’ve coached,” Samson said of Johnson. “I expect him to go out [tonight] and have a very good game. He’s had a nice week of practice and he knows that.

“He had a great first quarter last week and I know the type of kid he is and the competitor he is … By no means was it all on his shoulders last week. We win as a team and lose as a team.”

Tonight’s game will also be yet another battle between members of the expansive Mark Samson coaching tree. His son, Kyle, and first-year Bozeman coach Levi Wesche were the elder Samson’s quarterback-center combination at Montana State-Northern a decade ago.

“It’s going to be cool,” Samson said. “We were so close and we were good friends in college. I know they’ll be ready to go and it should be a fun night.”

The game will be broadcast live on KGEZ 600 AM and at www.kgez.com.