MISSOULA — With a Western B championship safely in hand, the Loyola Sacred Heart football team will call on a different source for motivation for Friday's game.
The third-ranked Rams will face their archrival, eighth-ranked Florence, in a 7 p.m. tilt in the Bitterroot Valley. The Falcons (6-2) are the underdog on paper — they lost at seventh-ranked Eureka two weeks ago and Loyola (7-1) blew out Eureka last month — but rivalry intensity has a way of evening things out.
"This is one of those games that can come up and bite you," said Rams coach Todd Hughes, whose team is sky-high after a win at then-top-ranked Bigfork last week. "Florence is going to be prepared for us. It should be a good matchup."
Asked why Loyola and Florence have become staunch rivals on the football field, Hughes summed it up with one word: distance. The teams are only 20 miles apart and share a tradition of gridiron success.
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"It's always tough playing in Florence," said Hughes, who graduated from Florence and coached there in the late 1980 and early 1990s. "They're going to come out in swarms. It's a great community that loves their football.
"Unfortunately I'm getting too old to even know the parents there. But I know they've got a bunch of hard-nosed, tough kids."
Loyola's five-game win streak is due partially to the continued improvement of its offensive line. That unit came together in an impressive way, according to Hughes, in last week's 26-21 road win over the Vikings.
"The communication with each other, they know when the defense is giving them different looks and they know where they're going," said Hughes, whose team has reached the State B semifinal round the last three years and placed second in 2016. "When you can play with that kind of confidence and camaraderie within that five-man unit up there, it makes a big difference."
The Rams held a 328-117 edge in rushing yards in their win at Bigfork. University of Montana commit Ryan Tirrell piled up 124 yards on 23 totes. Cooper Waters is another Ram to watch, with three special teams touchdowns two weeks ago against Anaconda.
Florence counters with a tenacious group of linebackers and an offense that has averaged over 37 points per game in its last five outings.
In Class AA, playoff-hungry Missoula Sentinel (4-4) faces a stiff test at Missoula County Stadium Friday night. Fifth-ranked Helena (6-2) has won three of its last four games, losing only to top-ranked Bozeman on the Hawks' home field, 42-22.
The Spartans know that in order to win, they must first contain Helena's running game.
"They're a big, physical team," Sentinel coach Dane Oliver said.
"As the season has worn on they've established an identity. They're going to play an attacking style defense and offensively try to control the ball with their big back (190-pound) Grady Koenig."
Helena can also hurt the opposition with its passing attack. In last week's 57-14 home win over winless Billings Skyview, the Bengals racked up 218 yards rushing and 196 passing, with QB Ty McGurran tying a school record by throwing five touchdown passes.
"Skyview did a good job taking Grady (Koenig) away from our game plan, so the other guys stepped up well, especially Logan Brown and Aidan Brus," Helena first-year coach Scott Evans told 406mtsports.com. "I tell ya what, Brus has been our ace in the hole all year.
"I also liked how we flew around defensively, we adjusted well on the run."
Oliver's team has shown flashes of brilliance this season. But consistency has been an issue.
"We just need to play a complete game," said the coach, whose team is hoping to rebound from a 34-28 home loss to second-ranked Billings West last Friday.
There are two other games involving Missoula teams Friday night.
Hellgate (2-6) will play host to fourth-ranked Kalispell Flathead (6-2) in a Class AA clash at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Valley Christian (4-4) will host Noxon (4-3) in Alberton.
Bill Speltz is the Deputy Sports Editor of the Missoulian. Email him at bill.speltz@406mtsports.com.