They've been talking about it all season, but on Friday they came one step closer to making it a reality.

The Capital High Bruins are just two wins away from capturing their fourth straight state AA crown, something no team has done in more than 60 years. After a 33-7 first-round playoff win over Big Sky at Vigilante Stadium, a contest that was actually closer than the final score indicated, these boys can taste it.

"It feels really good, we've been working really hard, 6 a.m. in the weight room, busting our butts off," said Capital quarterback Corey Scevers, who was 9-of-15 for 218 yards. He threw for three scores and rushed for another, also adding three PATs. "It's just one more step we've got to get to that state championship and get those funky hair-dos everybody loves."

The Bruins will have to clean up a few things before they'll be able to break out their traditional mohawks. They were penalized nine times for 50 yards and had a couple of turnovers, and each opponent is only going to get tougher from here.

"We'll get that squared away next week; we've been getting better each week, so we'll get that cleaned up," Scevers said of his team's miscues. "I thought we should've scored a lot more than we did."

Capital (11-0) again managed to score on its first possession for the 11th straight game, on a 62-yard drive that culminated in a 33-yard TD catch by Matt Miller, who finished with five grabs for 125 yards.

But it was Bruins receiver Josh Dirks who dominated, playing every snap as if he didn't want his prep career to end with an early postseason exit. Dirks had a couple of big blocks, numerous nice tackles, five catches for 107 yards, an interception return for a TD and two receiving scores.

"Josh gets overshadowed by some of our players, but he was our superstar," Capital coach Pat Murphy said. "He's just a great athlete. He's one of those special kids that's always around in the right place. He's got a great feel for the ball and wherever he plays next year, they got a special one."

Still, credit a Big Sky team that kept a never-say-die attitude, even when trailing 21-0 at the half, and an Eagles defense that forced the Bruins out of their comfort zone a bit.

"Big Sky, that's a hard-nosed football team, they're really well coached and I thought they had a good plan, really limited the stuff we could do," Murphy said. "We were able to hit a couple of big passes, but we couldn't live on that forever."

A Capital team that normally favors the run was held to just nine carries for 35 yards at the half, but the Bruins re-established their ground game at the beginning of the third quarter. Capital rushed right through the Eagles defense with runs of 12, 20, 14 and 17 yards before finally scoring on a 9-yard, alley-oop pass to Dirks.

"At halftime that was a high priority, we wanted to get it on the ground a little more," Murphy said. "We were able to do that right after half and got a big touchdown."

Glen Maricelli was the workhorse for the Eagles, picking up 129 yards on 35 carries and shaking off Capital defenders. Still, Beau Berg, Tommy Peterson, Remington Reishus, Seth Walton and a host of other Bruins managed to keep Maricelli out of the end zone, albeit once. Jacob Grover was Capital's leading rusher, with 60 yards.

Capital will next host either Skyview or Sentinel, depending on the outcome of today's game between Helena High and the Spartans. Regardless of the opponent, the Bruins are in a familiar place.

"We've been here before so hopefully we can get another one," Murphy said.

Amber Kuehn: 447-4079 or amber.kuehn@helenair.com