Pirates march past Wildcats

Mike Cast, Leader Staff

POLSON - Fighting the bitter cold, the Pirates came away with an important 13-10 win over Columbia Falls in a great homecoming matchup in Polson on Friday.

The wind blew hard and the temperature dropped, but the Pirates didn't have time to notice. They had a game on their hands.

An early Wildcat possession made that clear right way. Columbia Falls running back Stephen Baumgartner broke one off for a seven-point Wildcat lead.

Polson answered back with a strong defensive effort for its first points when senior defensive back Ryan Kelley picked off the Columbia Falls quarterback and ran it in for a touchdown.

The interception came after freshman Vince DiGiallonardo blasted the Wildcat receiver as he tried to make the catch. The ball ricocheted toward the sidelines but Kelley was able to get his fingertips on it and bring it in.

A wide receiver by trade, Kelley knows how to the run the ball after he catches it, and lost no time getting 30 yards up the field and into the endzone.

It was 7-7, but Polson wasn't through yet.

In the second quarter, Polson used junior running back Tim Rausch to pound the football to the goal line. A two-yard run by senior quarterback Craig Bagnell gave the Pirates the 13-7 lead.

The Polson defense played great all game, according to head coach Scott Wilson, but the effort they put forth at the end of the fourth quarter would be the defensive series of the game, and the one that would give Polson what it needed to win.

The Wildcats moved their way into scoring position late in the fourth and were within the 15-yard line. They rushed for a first and goal, and seemed sure to score.

The Polson defense had other ideas.

Three downs in a row, the Pirates held their ground and it looked like Columbia Falls was going to have to settle for a field goal.

Then something shined bright through the pile of linemen. It was a flag.

The Pirates were penalized for roughing the snapper and the Wildcats had the yards they needed for four more downs.

The Pirates would not give up. They covered the receivers, read the play and three downs later the Wildcats still hadn't crossed the line.

"That was big. We had to stop them twice," Wilson said.

Columbia Falls settled for a field goal and the Pirates went into halftime with the 13-10 lead, a lead they put up a battle for and one they wouldn't give up for the rest of the game.

During halftime, the homecoming queen and king were crowned. seniors Tara Johnson and Steven Roberts took the honor. The other nominees were Su-San Perez-Tenas, Julia DiGiallonardo, and Sarah Newton for queen and Sean Foot, Chris Alfiero, and Keio Salmonson for king.

Back to football, Wilson made some adjustments in the second half.

"We kind of figured out a couple of things that could hurt them," he said.

Noticing the blitz was coming on strong, Wilson prepared his boys to dump the ball off when they read it. The move crushed the Columbia Falls offense.

In the fourth quarter, Bagnell found Kelley for a seven-yard touchdown reception.

That sealed the 20-10 win for Polson and a terrific game for Kelley.

"Ryan Kelley had a couple of huge impact plays," Wilson said.

Although an all-around good effort, the cold night stifled the offense a bit, putting the game in the hands of the Polson defense.

Wilson recognized the effort.

"I was really pleased with how our defense played," he said.

The win leaves the Pirates tied for first with Whitefish, each team sharing a conference record of 3-0. Polson's overall record is 5-2 while Whitefish's is 4-3.

And which two teams should play each other this upcoming week but Polson and Whitefish - it should be a good one.

The game is at 7 p.m. in Polson. It's time for a tie breaker.