Polson football misses playoffs for first time in seven years

Zach Urness - Leader Staff

This one had to hurt.

In a game they needed to win to make the playoffs, the Polson Pirates fell behind Whitefish 20-0 in the first half and never really made it close, losing by a final score of 28-6.

The Pirates came into the season as one of the favorites to win the Northwest A, but after losses to Columbia Falls, Libby and now Whitefish, the Pirates will finish the season, at best, in fourth place and out of the playoffs for the first time in head coach Scott Wilson's seven year history at the school.

"We've had a good run in the playoffs," said Wilson, "but there is a lot you can gain out of it a situation like this. We'll need to re-evaluate the way we do things to make sure we can get back to that level."

Whitefish did the majority of the damage on big plays in the first half.

The first Bulldog strike came on the fourth play of the game, as Whitefish quarterback Alex Elespuru connected with tight end Brad Nielsen for a 34-yard score. The second touchdown came from Bulldog Byron Whitcomb, who lined up as the quarterback and sprinted 57-yards for the score, and just like that the Pirates were down 13-0.

The Bulldogs added another long run for a touchdown in the second quarter and with the Pirates unable to do anything offensively, the deficit at half-time was 20-0.

"We dug ourselves into a pretty big hole," commented Wilson. "I thought we played pretty well after the first quarter and we started to come back in the second half, but it's tough when you put yourself down by 20 points on the road against a good team."

The Bulldogs ran up 154 of their 190 rushing yards in the first half.

After what can only be presumed as a half-time butt-chewing from Wilson, the Pirates came out and started the second half with a 68-yard drive that was capped by a Tim Rausch touchdown.

But on their next possession a long snap went way out of the reach of punter John Rausch and ended with him getting tackled in the end zone for a safety.

"When you're trying to come back it hurts to turn the ball over and give them back the momentum you've been trying to gain," said Wilson, noting that the Pirates turned the ball over three times in the game.

The defining play of the game came on a crucial Whitefish third-and-nine, when Tim Rausch nearly intercepted a screen pass that would have, in all likelihood, gone for a touchdown. Instead, Rausch narrowly missed the ball and it went for a 35-yard Whitefish touchdown, putting the Bulldogs up 28-6, which would end up being the final score of the game.

Polson quarterback Craig Bagnell, who was 12 of 26 for 135 yards, had a tough night, getting sacked four times and picking up no yards rushing. The Pirates had more first downs (14) than Whitefish (eight) but was ultimately defeated because of an inability to stop the big play.

John Rausch had four catches for 80 yards and younger brother Tim had 67 yards rushing on 18 attempts. Cody Doyle added 52 yards on the ground and Ryan Kelley had 27 yards on four catches.

The Pirate offense piled up 221 yards of total offense but could only turn those yards into six points, thanks, in part, to the three turnovers.

Appropriately, the Pirates final game will pit them against arch rival Ronan, who also comes into the game with nothing on the line except bragging rights and pride.

"I tell the kids every year that it does not matter what situation you find yourselves in during the season, when you play your rival the emotions are going to be high," said Wilson. "We're playing for bragging rights in the valley."

The Pirates' finale starts at 7 p.m.

"The guys know that this is their last game of the season," said Wilson. "We've got to be ready to play."