Polson knocks off champs

FRENCHTOWN- There's the old adage that experience trumps talent but it didn't hold true last Friday for the Frenchtown Broncs. The fresh-faced Polson Pirates started 16 new players while the defending Class A state champions had 10 returning starters on both sides of the ball.

Advantage? The new guys.

Polson (1-0) handed Frenchtown (0-1) a shocking 21-16 loss as junior quarterback Vince DiGiallonardo threw two touchdown passes to senior wide receiver Kyle Bagnell, and junior fullback Jake Skelton added another touchdown on a short run.

Polson head coach Scott Wilson said during last Monday's practice that his team needed to get off to a positive start so that his young players wouldn't get discouraged. He got just that.

"It is definitely going to help us build some team confidence," he said.

Frenchtown, who went 11-1 last season, jumped out to the early 7-0 lead in the first quarter but DiGiallonardo hit Barnell for 60-yard and 30-yard touchdown passes in the second for a 14-7 lead heading into the locker room.

In the third, Frenchtown tied things back up at 14-14 with a 95-yard kickoff return and that's how things would stay until late in the fourth quarter. That's when Polson put together an 89-yard drive, finishing with a six-yard touchdown run by Skelton for the 21-14 lead. It was a veteran-like drive for the young team.

"Mentally, their mindset was good during that drive," Wilson said.

The Broncs were able to respond with a drive to the Pirates 36-yard line before being denied when defensive back Kienan Keniston intercepted the ball with a minute and a half left. Polson tried to run out the clock, but ended up in a punting situation. That's when Wilson had his team run out the back of its own end zone for an intentional safety.

"There was no way I was punting the ball," Wilson said. "I was not taking any chances."

The safety did run the clock down to just one second and forced Frenchtown into a do-or-die kickoff return that went nowhere.

Wilson said that a big key of the success on offense was the protection that the offensive line provided. Frenchtown lost the battle in the trenches.

"Vince has some good protection from our line," he said.

DiGiallonardo finished with 269 yard through the air and was the team's leading rusher with 84 yards on 18 carries. Bagnell finished with 12 catches and 205 receiving yards.

Polson will play Corvallis at 7 p.m. next Friday in Polson.