Football: Pirates wrap up perfect regular season

Polson crushes Browning 40-0 to improve to 8-0 heading into the

playoffs

POLSON - In their final tuneup prior to the playoffs, the Polson Pirates concluded their undefeated regular season with a 40-0 blanking of the Browning Indians on Friday, Oct. 23.

Chris Cote led the offensive explosion with 11 carries for 100 yards and three touchdowns, while Paul McClurg added 62 and a score on just a pair of carries.

Quarterback Vince DiGiallonardo sat out against Browning in an effort to get him a rest as Polson enters the playoffs. The rout gave head coach Scott Wilson an opportunity to do the same for some of his other players throughout most of the game.

"We decided it was a good time to rest [DiGiallonardo], as well as a lot of the guys once we got a big lead," Wilson said.

Will Davey hit Justin Hoel on a touchdown pass as part of the offensive onslaught. Through eight games on the year, the Pirates are averaging just under 43 points per game.

Coach Wilson admitted it's tough to keep your focus for 48 minutes in a game that, for all intents and purposes, doesn't mean much, but added that his players did a good job of taking care of business.

"It's tough when you go play a non-conference team, but we kept our focus," Wilson said. "There were a couple stretches we didn't that I brought to the kids' attention. We don't want those breakdowns."

The defense continued its stellar play, shutting out an opponent for the fourth time on the year. The secondary, which has been great all season, led the way again. Browning had just 72 yards through the air.

"They've been real solid," Wilson said. "[The Whitefish] game, we struggled, but it was a game they got tested and it showed us a couple things. They've responded."

The Pirates will have next weekend off as a reward for winning their conference before getting back to action on the first weekend in November. Wilson said there are pros

and cons to having the week off, but it's nice to give Polson a chance to get ready for the last few weeks of the season.

"I like having the bye to give kids a chance to rest a bit," Wilson said. "We haven't had a week off this season, so that'll be good. One fear is if we can keep our level of intensity, but we'll practice hard and be ready."