The Flathead Braves had Helena High right where they wanted.

Then the Bengals scored two touchdowns in the final six minutes to stun the Braves 31-30 at Legends Stadium on Friday night. 

Tyse Todorovich took a sweep handoff, pulled up and found Inn Thompson standing alone for the 10-yard score with 16 seconds left in the game. Rex Snezek made the extra point to give Helena (3-1 overall, 2-0 in Western AA) its first lead of the night. 

Flathead moved the ball to the Helena 37-yard line on its final possession, but Bear Barker was sacked as time expired. 

The loss dropped Flathead to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in Western AA games despite outgaining the Bengals 402-266. 

“We didn’t execute long enough,” Flathead coach Mac Roche said. “You can't look back and think about one play or two plays. The reality is we didn’t execute in all three phases.” 

The Braves could not have asked for a better start to their Homecoming night. 

Barker found Leum Saisbury for a 28-yard touchdown on Flathead’s second possession. Dillon Wink intercepted a pass on Helena’s ensuing drive, and Barker found Kellen Mouat wide open for a 43-yard score down the sideline on the next play, extending the lead to 14-0. 

Helena began to chip away in the second quarter. The Bengals blocked a punt through the back of the end zone for a safety, then marched 46 yards on their next possession. Reece Silvonen finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Seth Kiser, trimming Flathead’s lead to 14-9. 

Penalties interrupted the Braves’ offensive rhythm and left them behind schedule, but a 50-yard drive before halftime set up Brett Chivers’ 31-yard field goal to take a 17-9 advantage. 

Coming out of the break, the Bengals passing attack went back to work as Silvonen found Todorovich on a 27-yard jump ball to score. The pair connected again on the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 17. Silvonen completed 19 of 30 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns. 

Barker answered late in the third, finding Oliver Rosenberg for a 20-yard touchdown to put the Braves back in front. A bad snap on a Helena punt later gave Flathead the ball at the Bengals’ 19-yard line, and Barker capitalized with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Mouat to extend the lead to 30-17. The extra point was blocked — one loud point that would be costly by the end. 

The fourth quarter quickly turned into a turnover battle. 

Manning intercepted Silvonen on Helena’s first play after the Braves went ahead. Flathead extended its next possession with a 14-yard run by Noxyn Williams on a fake punt, but Barker tried to throw the ball away near the sideline and the Bengals came down with it. 

Helena attempted a double pass on the next possession, but Wink intercepted Garza for his second pick of the night. 

"The defense made some huge plays there,” Roche said. “We didn’t capitalize.” 

The Braves gave the ball right back when Gracen Silvonen intercepted Barker and returned it 41 yards to the Flathead 12-yard line. Three plays later, Garza scored from 2 yards out to cut the lead to 30-24 with 5:57 remaining. 

After forcing a punt, Helena took over at its own 20. Gracen Silvonen broke loose for a 50-yard catch and run to move the Bengals across midfield. 

The drive appeared to end on fourth-and-9 from the Flathead 19-yard line, but a pass interference penalty in the end zone gave Helena another chance. Todorovich found Thompson for the winning touchdown moments later. 

Barker completed 17 of 30 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns. Mouat caught five passes for 119 yards and two scores while also leading the Braves’ defense with 15 tackles. 

Roche’s message to his team was simple afterward: Learn and move forward. 

“Coaches, players, everybody involved has to get better,” Roche said. “We don’t get better unless we watch it. We can’t run from it. We’ll learn from it, and then we’re going to put it behind us because we’ve got a whole season ahead.” 

Next week the Braves travel to Missoula and take on Big Sky. 

Helena    0    9    8    14    -    31 

Flathead    14    3    7    6    -    30 

F — Leum Saisbury 28 pass from Bear Barker (Brett Chivers kick), 6:37 1Q 

F — Kellen Mouat 43 pass from Barker (Chivers kick), 5:15 1Q 

H — Safety, blocked punt through end zone, 9:55 2Q 

H — Seth Kiser 4 pass from Reece Silvonen (Rex Snezek kick), 6:14 2Q 

F — Chivers 31 field goal, 2:26 2Q 

H — Tyse Todorovich 27 pass from Silvonen (Todorovich pass from Silvonen), 8:24 3Q 

F — Oliver Rosenberg 20 pass from Barker (Chivers kick), 2:58 3Q 

F — Mouat 7 pass from Barker (kick blocked), 11:56 4Q 

H — Brayden Garza 2 run (Snezek kick), 5:57 4Q 

H — Inn Thompson 10 pass from Todorovich (Snezek kick), :16 4Q 

Individual Statistics 

RUSHING: Helena High (25-79) — Brayden Garza 15-70, Reece Silvonen 3-11, Sam Helvik 2-10, Trent Supalla 3-3, Coll Petre -6, Tyse Todorovich -9. Flathead (31-108) — Leum Saisbury 19-49, Bear Barker 6-27, Noxyn Williams 1-14, Ben Reichner 1-12, Brett Chivers 4-6. 

PASSING: Helena High — Reece Silvonen 19-30-1 for 161 yards, Brayden Garza 2-9-2 for 16 yards, Tyse Todorovich 1-1-0 for 10 yards. Flathead — Bear Barker 17-30-2 for 294 yards, Team 0-2-0 for 0 yards. 

RECEIVING: Helena High — Brayden Garza 7-51, Gracen Silvonen 6-69, Tyse Todorovich 3-35, Seth Kiser 2-17, Inn Thompson 2-10, Sam Helvik 1-5, Sean Gibson 1-0. Flathead — Kellen Mouat 5-119, Leum Saisbury 5-62, Kellan Manning 3-50, Oliver Rosenberg 3-41, Robbie Wells 1-22. 

    Flathead was penalized for pass interference on a fourth down pass to Helena wide receiver Tyse Todorovich (11) at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Flathead wide receiver Kellen Mouat (10) scores a touchdown on a 43-yard reception in the first quarter against Helena at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Flathead defenders stop a run by Helena running back Trent Supalla (24) in the first half at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Flathead linebacker Kellen Mouat (10) grabs a handful of Helena running back Trent Supalla's (24) jersey on a first quarter run at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Flathead wide receiver Kellen Mouat (10) catches a touchdown reception in the third quarter against Helena at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Flathead defenders Hudson Capser (54) and Kellen Manning (20) stop Helena quarterback Reece Silvonen (3) on a run in the fourth quarter at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Flathead's Leum Saisbury (2) heads to the end zone on a 28-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter against Helena at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Flathead defensive lineman Kohen Rilley (55) tackles Helena running back Brayden Garza (25) on a run in the fourth quarter at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Flathead defensive lineman Kohen Rilley (55) tackles Helena running back Brayden Garza (25) on a run in the fourth quarter at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider