Polson Boy's soccer: Larson lays down the law

POLSON - James "The Lawman" Larson once again showed that he's the final word around these parts with a game-winning goal in the 56th minute of last Saturday's matchup against Park.

Larson, who was all over the field and was constantly in control of the ball, got a long throw-in from Jon Murphy and hit a half volley past Park's goalkeeper who was rushing the ball to cut down the angle.

"James just slotted it past him," Polson head coach Jess Kittle said.

The win avenges a 1-0 loss to Park last year on the road.

Polson is now 1-0-1 on the season after their defense held the Rangers to just four shots on goal. Throughout the game, Park struggled to get scoring opportunities.

"All the shots they took were challenged by our defense," Kittle said. "They didn't have any quality shots that were scary."

Meanwhile, Polson was crashing Park's defense and had several player-on-goalie shots.

"We had our chances," Kittle said. "We just couldn't quite find the back of the net."

Despite Park's usual physical play, Polson notched more fouls in the game and didn't back down from plenty of pushing and shoving.

"I liked how freshmen Spencer Raymond, Sam Huetmaker and Alex Helgeson all filled in and did their part," Kittle said. "All three got to see a lot of varsity time. I look for them to continue that."

While Kittle said the team is off to its best start since he started coaching, he would like to see more offense after losing two all-state attackers from last year's team to graduation.

"James [Larson] had a very good game, and he's very creative with his feet," Kittle said. "But we need to get a few guys up for it to work. James works best if he can pass the ball and get it back."

Kittle said his team will be working on improving passing and shooting in practice, as Larson is the only goal-scorer for the Pirates this year.

"This win helps remind our team what it's like to play when your backs are against the wall," Kittle said. "We have to generate offense and James has bailed us out on two goals. We shouldn't rely on James; he can't shoulder the burden like that."

Polson will get plenty of work in this week though, playing Whitefish Tuesday, traveling up to Libby on Thursday and then hosting Belgrade on Saturday.

"We've got a lot of games compacted," Kittle said. "It's really quite a group of games and the guys are just going to be tired."

But if anyone can pull off three games in five days, it's the Pirates, who put on a preseason conditioning workout regimen that would make boot camp seem like a breeze.

"I'm looking for them to continue to improve," said Kittle.