Flathead Monsters-12, Big Sky Avalanche-7
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Boulder, Montana- Jefferson High School Field

 

The only RMFL game featuring Montana teams was in Boulder this weekend, as the Big Sky Avalanche hosted the Flathead Monsters.  Last week, the Avalanche were defeated soundly, 38-7, by a tough Utah Cobra team that continued their success this week in a 48-26 thrashing of the Wyoming Outlaws.  As for the Flathead Monsters, last week brought heart-break to the team as they fell short to the Mini Cassia Diggers in the fourth on a failed 2-point attempt that left them with a 7-6 defeat.  The Monsters and Avalanche matched fairly on Saturday, as the two teams featured strong defensive performances and plenty of missed opportunities offensively.

 

Big Sky received the opening kickoff with Patrick Franqui taking the ball 21 yards to his own 42-yard line.  The first six Avalanche plays resulted in runs that accumulated in positive yardage from James King, Kevin Carter, David Weinmeister, and Brandon McBride.  They converted on a third down, but failed to convert on fourth down on their next set of downs.  Monster DB Ropeti Ropeti rushed the backside to find McBride in the backfield to put an end to the Avalanche drive on the Monster 47-yard line.

 

Flathead’s first possession culminated in a 13-play scoring drive on a well-balanced philosophy led by QB Sam Fernandez and company.  With Michael Kuehne out due to an injury sustained last week against the Diggers, RB Henry Atkins assumed the role of carrying the ball for the Monster offense.  Atkins ran for 22 yards on the opening drive, and was relieved by FB Thomas Hallett on a few plays to help sustain the drive.  Fernandez completed two passes, including the 9-yard score on fourth-and-goal to WR Freddie Brown for the first points of the game.  The Monsters drained nearly 7 minutes off the clock to reach the end zone.  Atkins failed on the 2-point attempt as he was tackled short of the end zone by Avalanche LB David Nelson.

 

On the ensuing Avalanche drive, the Monster defense came through to continue the momentum for the offense to find more points.  Flathead DE Joshua Boney made his presence known, as he rushed from the left side to meet up with Avalanche RB David Weinmeister.  Boney punched the ball loose for the turnover recovered by DB Wes Buschang of the Monsters.  The Flathead offense set up on the Avalanche 36-yard line with the chance to make it a two possession game late in the first quarter.

 

The Monsters sustained yet another long drive to find the end zone early in the second quarter.  This time, Flathead drove 36 yards on 9 plays for their second and final score of the game.  The highlight of the drive was the fourth down conversion from the 15-yard line that positioned the Monster offense at the 1 for the next play, as Fernandez connected with Brown for the first down.  Sharing the carries with Atkins on the drive was RB Joey Ybarra, a former Davis Viper RB/WR and new weapon for the Monster offense.  Ybarra and Atkins combined for 19 of the 36 yards on the drive that resulted in a 1-yard dash past the goal line by Atkins to give the Monsters a 12-0 lead.  Once again, the Monsters came up short on the 2-point attempt, as Jamar Galbreath took the carry up the middle and was met at the 1-yard line by Avalanche LBs Weinmeister and Nelson.

 

The next Avalanche possession was highlighted by two strong runs of 3 and 10 yards by RB James King, followed by a first down run of 11 yards by RB Kevin Carter.  Big Sky was unable to move the ball on their next set of downs, as a false-start penalty and a miscue on the exchange between McBride and Carter left the Avalanche with a fourth down situation resulting in a David Nelson punt.

 

However, the Nelson punt continued the Avalanche drive, as the Monster returner, Ropeti, muffed the ball and fell short of recovering the mistake as Avalanche DB Dylan Wine came up with the recovery.  On the very next play, the Avalanche took advantage of the Flathead miscue with a 19-yard completion from McBride to TE Nick Alamia that placed the Avalanche in scoring position at the 8-yard line.  Three consecutive carries by Weinmeister brought the Avalanche to the 4-yard line, facing a fourth down attempt.  On the next play, King took the handoff up the gut and powered his way to the inch line where he was stripped by Galbreath.  The loose ball rolled near the back of the end zone where it was recovered by Monster SS Kyle Becker for the touchback.

 

The Avalanche defense forced a punt on the next series and provided the offense with one last opportunity to find points before halftime.  With the ball on the Avalanche-side of the 50, McBride led the Avalanche through the air to the goal line for one last shot at the end zone.  He found WR Jeff McBride on a streak pattern for a 46-yard gain and the ball inside the 10-yard line.  However, McBride’s two pass attempts to Jeff McBride and Franqui fell incomplete, giving the Monsters a 12-0 lead at halftime.

 

The third quarter featured two-Flathead three-and-outs and two-Avalanche turnovers that resulted in no points.  Near the end of the quarter, however, the Avalanche defense caught a break following a successful third down attempt by Fernandez that gave the Monsters a new set of downs.  On the next play, Fernandez rolled to the left to escape the pressure.  Avalanche LB Weinmeister then lunged forward to swat the ball out of Fernandez’s grasp.  The ball was then gathered by Avalanche DE Josh Wallis, who gained 17 yards on the return before being brought to a halt by Atkins at the Monster 38-yard line.

 

In the fourth quarter, the Avalanche would find success in scoring points and edging closer to the Monster lead.  Following the turnover, the Avalanche would sustain an 8-play, 38-yard drive to score their first and only points of the day.  Weinmeister’s 20-yard run on a second down play was the highlight of the drive that would position the offense on the goal line.  On third down, inside the 1-yard line, Carter would acquire the pitch on the left side and jolt past the line for 6.  Tim Johnson’s point after made the score, 12-7, with 8:51 remaining in the game.

On the ensuing Flathead possession, Avalanche LB Weslee Kidd collided with Atkins to jar the ball from his grasp.  Avalanche DL Ian Amestoy fell on the loose ball at the Flathead 28-yard line to place the offense with yet another scoring opportunity and a chance to take their first lead of the season.  This opportunity was short-lived, as the Avalanche went three-and-out resulting in another Nelson punt that placed the Flathead offense on their own 22-yard line.

 

Yet again, the Avalanche defense was able to hold the Flathead offense to a three-and-out on the ensuing drive.  The final Avalanche drive began with relative success, as Carter and King each reeled off 6 yard gains to set the tone for the next set of downs.  However, on a third down attempt, King would take the exchange from McBride and was met by DL Sika Ulatoa in the backfield.  Ulatoa forced the ball loose as he brought King to a halt, which was then recovered by LB Josh Folsom to aid the Monsters closer to victory formation.

 

The final drive of the game was in the hands of the Monsters.  Runs by Hallett and Ybarra achieved a first down for the offense, which was then succeeded by two short gains and a third down attempt.  On 3rd down-and-8, Ybarra took the handoff from Fernandez and proceeded through the left gap where he would break free from the linebacker’s grasp and into the secondary off to the races.  He was finally brought to a halt by CB Jeff McBride after completing a 32-yard gain that would seal the 12-7 victory for the Monsters, and their first of the season.

For the Monsters, Sam Fernandez finished 4 of 11 for 43 yards and touchdown strike to Freddie Brown, who caught 2 passes for 23 yards.  Henry Atkins led the offensive backfield for most of the game, rushing for 52 yards on 14 carries and the team’s second score.  Joey Ybarra was also a rushing leader with 59 yards on 11 carries, including a big 32-yard gain to seal the victory for the Monsters.

 

Defensively, the Monsters were aided by multiple leaders, including standout defensive linemen Joshua Boney and Jamar Galbreath.  Boney had 8.5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 forced fumbles.  Galbreath made 8 tackles and a crucial forced fumble that would lead to victory for the Monsters.

 

The Avalanche offense was led by two outstanding performances in the backfield.  RB David Weinmeister and RMFL newcomer at the running back position, Kevin Carter.  Weinmeister ran for 75 yards on 13 carries, while he would also turn in an impact performance on defense with 5 tackles and a sack fumble that created opportunities for him to make big plays on offense.  Carter rushed for a total of 60 yards on 12 carries and scored the only points for the Avalanche, which were also their first offensive points of the season.

 

On defense, the Avalanche were aided by DE James DeCoteau, who finished with 7 tackles on the day.  Also, LB Weslee Kidd and DL Josh Wallis contributed with 3.5 tackles apiece, including a Kidd forced fumble recovered by Wallis to set up the Avalanche score by Carter.

 

Flathead improves to 1-1 on the season and will face the Billings Xtreme (0-1) in Columbia Falls, MT this Saturday.  Big Sky drops to 0-2 and will host for the third week in a row in Boulder, MT when they face the Great Falls Gladiators (1-0).