Pirates host Anaconda Saturday

Defense was the name of the game last Friday night, as the Polson Pirates held Whitefish to less than a 100 yards offense, and clinched home field advantage this weekend for the first round of the playoffs.

Defense, and their kicker, Ted Morigeau.

Oh, by the way, Morigeau is also one of the league's leading rushers, too, and he and Bryce Picard led the offensive effort, coupled with another solid passing performance from Craig Bagnell to give the team a 20-7 victory.

The Pirates will host Anaconda Saturday at 1 p.m., after Anaconda fell to Frenchtown Friday night for the No. 3 seed.

Things started off well for the Pirates' D when Jeremy Basler sacked Whitefish QB Zach Fennelly to force the Bulldogs to punt on their first possession, but Polson couldn't convert the opportunity into points.

Pat Dellwo then recovered a Bulldog fumble off a botched handoff on their next possession, but Polson couldn't make that count either.

Conlin Benson had a big catch for first down right as the quarter expired to spark the offense, but Polson had to punt again.

But Whitefish continued to have problems, this time on special teams, when Brock Picard forced their punter out of bounds, blocking his last-second attempt to get the punt off when Whitefish tried to fake it, but failed.

Morigeau scored his first field goal from about 25 yards out with 6:33 left in the half, but that didn't give the team much breathing room. But Bryce Picard came up with another sack, and the Pirates took over on the 47-yard line.

Picard then raced up the sideline for a touchdown, but it was called back due to a penalty — something the offensive line had a few problems with during the game.

"We were moving the ball well, but then on 1st and 10 we'd jump offsides," said head coach Scott Wilson. "When you are playing a team that's that solid, you're really hurting yourself when you do that. We had six penalties in the first half."

Dellwo had a big tackle in the Whitefish backfield, but the score remained 3-0 at the half.

Morigeau started the second half with a nice 28-yard run, before Benson picked up another first down on a slant-in pattern, to set up Morigeau's second field goal of the night — from 36 yards out.

"I think that's the longest I've ever had in a game," Morigeau said afterwards, although he has hit them from as far as 50 yards out in practice, he noted.

Whitefish took it to the 1-yard line on the next possession, and the third quarter ended at 6-0, but the Bulldogs scored 49 seconds into the fourth to make it 7-6.

A Whitefish interception and touchdown run by Fennelly was called back due to an obvious hold on the intended receiver, John Rausch, and both teams ended up punting.

On Whitefish's next possession, they again had problems on special teams when Tim Rausch blocked another botched punt after Pat Dellwo put pressure on the kicker. The Pirates were able to capitalize this time, as Picard took the ball in from the 1-yard line to give the team a 12-7 lead with 6:35 left in the game.

"Skyler Knutson had some big plays for us, and Brock Picard and Tim Rausch had those blocked punts. The defense overall was pretty even for stats all the way across — everyone contributed," Wilson said.

Dellwo then was left wide open on a slant out pattern for the 2-point conversion to make it 14-7, and then came up with a big sack on Whitefish's next possession to make it 4th and 18, and Polson took over with 5:38 left.

Picard picked up a big first down on 3rd and 6 with 4:12 left, and Benson had another big catch up the middle for a first down with 2:08 left. Morigeau then scored on a 9-yard run on 4th and 1 on what would have been the Pirates last play of the game.

Bryce Picard had 34 carries for 115 yards, while Morigeau had 13 rushes for 60 yards.

Benson had four catches for 56 yards, while Cody Doyle had one catch for eight yards and John Rausch had one for five yards. Bagnell had seven completions for 70 yards total, but hit receivers five different times in the numbers and they couldn't hold on, which would have been solid gains.

"We were not clicking passing wise Friday night," Wilson said.

Anaconda has a solid tailback, quarterback and fullback, and they like to run the option, Wilson said.

"Their quarterback and tailback are the biggeest threats to hurt you. They also bring a lot of pressure on defense," he said.

Game time is 1 p.m. Because this is a MHSA event, no passes will be honored. Cost is $6 for adults and $5 for students and children.

The winner will travel to Billings to face Billings Central the following weekend. Billings Central beat the Pirates in the playoffs in 2005.