The Polson comeback kids

Zach Urness

Leader Staff

Keep this up, and the Polson Pirates are going to have a surgeon general's warning sewn somewhere prominently on their uniform declaring them unsafe for cardiac patients.

Trailing Stevensville 26-12 with under four minutes to play, the Pirates offense exploded for two 80-yard touchdown passes — one of which Cody Doyle grabbed off the hands of a Stevensville defender and sprinted 83-yards — on a bum leg no less — for the score.

Even after Doyle's touchdown Polson was still behind by one point, 26-25, and in a brave move head coach Scott Wilson decided to forget about a tie, and go for the win with a two-point conversion.

"It's one of those things were if you make it, it really shows your confidence in the team, but if you miss it, it's a heartbreaking loss," said Wilson.

The gamble ended up paying off as quarterback Craig Bagnell scrambled to his right and connected with Ryan Kelley, who barely kept his feet inbound for the go-ahead points. After Bagnell intercepted a pass of defense, a crowd that was docile for almost the entire second half thundered with applause, celebrating a comeback victory that was as dramatic as it was unexpected.

"The kids really sucked it up," said Wilson. "They really came alive and gave us a chance to comeback and get a little bit lucky."

The Pirates looked like they might run away with the game early, scoring on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Bagnell to Doyle on their first possession. Polson's next drive stalled, but the defense forced a fumble and Skyler Knutson picked it up and rumbled roughly 30-yards for a touchdown, and, after the second missed extra point, the Pirates held a 12-0 lead.

Polson continued to dominate during the second quarter, but a few costly penalties and an inability to score in the red zone kept Stevensville in the game. Slowly Polson's defense began to wear down and Stevensville's offense began to click, and with 1:07 left in the half they scored on an 8-yard run.

"Things were going really well on offense for a while but we just couldn't finish," said Wilson. "Scoring when you have a chance is one of those things you just have to do to be successful."

Stevensville dominated the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, scoring 26 unanswered points to take a 26-12 lead with four minutes to play.

And than Polson woke up.

"The truth is that we just got tired," commented Wilson. "It was kind of a wake up call to the kids, who have to realize they need to be in better shape. The coaching staff also has to do a better job of keeping fresh legs on the field."

Trapped deep in Stevi territory with 3:42 left in the game, Bagnell lofted up a fade route to his favorite target, Ryan Kelley, who caught the ball in stride and ran 82 yards for the score. After a Brock Picard extra point the lead was cut to 26-19.

The Pirates than failed to recover an on-side kick, but the defense held serve and got the ball back to the offense with just over two minutes to play. On the first play of the drive Bagnell took a three-step drop and put up a slightly under-thrown pass to Cody Doyle who was sprinting down the sideline. The Stevi defender had position on the ball and went for the interception, but the ball popped off his hands and right into Doyle's, who, despite needing to pin the ball against his helmet to gain control and an injured leg that sidelined him in the third quarter, he out-ran defenders for the TD.

"I saw him (the defender) try to catch it but the ball popped up and I just grabbed it," said running back Cody Doyle who ended the game with 233 of total yards and two TDs. "It's an amazing feeling, but I couldn't have done it without everyone else."

"When Craig initially threw the ball I was pretty upset," added Wilson. "Cody was the deep receiver and was covered pretty well, but our short receiver was wide open. Cody just made a great play, especially after being cramped up a lot during the third quarter."

Bagnell completed 17 of 31 passes for 310 yards passing and three touchdowns. Ryan Kelley was impressive as well, catching seven passes for 124 yards and one touchdown.

The Pirates will be in action this Friday at home against Dillon. The game begins at 7:00 p.m.