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 will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Helena Bengals at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in Capital's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last three games.
Last Friday, Capital was fully in charge, breezing past Hellgate 42-6 on the road. The Bruins might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matches by 35 points or more this season.
Merek Mihelish continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 321 yards and four touchdowns while completing 78.6% of his passes, and also rushing 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).
Despite their loss, Helena saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Trygve Braun, who rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.8 yards per carry, was perhaps the best of all. The dominant performance gave Braun a new career-high in rushing yards. Mac Lundstrom was another key player, throwing 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 matchups.
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 victory 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 Friday'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 in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, as the squad secured a 35-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Capital since the team 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
