Football Preview: Capital Bruins vs. Helena Bengals
Capital and Helena are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2015, but not for long. The Capital Bruins are on the road again on Thursday to play the Helena Bengals at 6:00 p.m. Capital has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 131 points over their last three contests.
Last Friday, Capital took their matchup on the road with ease, bagging a 42-6 victory over Hellgate. The Bruins might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by 35 points or more this season.
It was another big night for Merek Mihelish, who threw for 321 yards and four touchdowns while completing 78.6% of his passes, and also rushed for 39 yards and a touchdown. He is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for four or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Drew Almquist was in the mix too, providing Capital with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Helena came up short against Glacier on Friday and fell 40-27. While losing is never fun, the Bengals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Montana football rankings (they are ranked 26th, while the Wolfpack are ranked fourth).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Trygve Braun, who rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.8 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Another player making a difference was Mac Lundstrom, who threw for 146 yards and three touchdowns.
Even though they lost, Helena was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 237 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 185 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Helena wouldn't let Glacier keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Helena can thank Brady Swenson and Riley Schulte for forcing both of them.
Capital's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Helena, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Capital has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 285.5 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Helena, though, as they've been averaging only 137.8. How will they fare against such a dominant passing game?
Everything came up roses for Capital against Helena when the teams last played back in September of 2023, as the team secured a 35-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Capital since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
