Polson FB: The Zero Heroes

Pirates down Anaconda 44-0, have yet to be scored on three games

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Three games, three wins and three impressive blowouts.

The only difficult aspect of Polson High School's football season thus far is deciding which of its stats are more eye-opening.

Friday night, the Pirates recorded their third consecutive shutout victory with a 44-0 blasting of the visiting Anaconda Copperheads.

Through the season's first three contests, Polson has outscored opponents 40-0, 41-0 and 44-0. As if the zero points allowed wasn't a staggering enough figure, the Pirate D has allowed just 285 total yards in the three games. The offense? It's just averaging about 342 yards in their first three wins.

"I think it was a pretty good overall effort," Polson head coach Scott Wilson said of his defense's latest performance. "They played well together as a team; got a lot of gold helmets on the ball."

Seniors Vince Digiallonardo and Paul McClurg led the way for the Pirates on both sides of the ball, with Digiallonardo rushing for three touchdowns, adding one through the air as part of his 110 yards passing and coming up with an interception on defense, while McClurg found paydirt twice, once on a 12-yard scamper and once on a 60-yard fumble return.

"Both play smart, they're two kids with good speed,"

Wilson noted of his seniors playing on offense and defense. "They're great at doing their responsibilities and being in great spots."

Digiallonardo's first touchdown run, from two yards out, followed by a two-point conversion, staked the Pirates to an 8-0 lead after the first.

Junior Will Davey hauled in Digiallonardo's 28-yard TD pass to start the second quarter as part of his 65 receiving yards on the night to give Polson a 15-0 advantage.

McClurg's big defensive gem and Digiallonardo's second TD rush spotted the Pirates a 30-0 halftime edge.

The third quarter saw more of the same as Digiallonardo found the end zone on a 32-yard run, followed by McClurg's second score of the game to give the Pirates their 44-0 lead.

For the third straight week, the offensive line got the ground game going effectively, as seven different rushers combined for 130 yards, led by Digiallonardo's 61 on 11 carries and senior Chris Cote's 31 on just six rushes.

The Pirates will hope to ride their wave of momentum into next week's road matchup with Columbia Falls. The Wildcats will pose the biggest challenge to the Pirates to date, meaning Wilson will work with his team throughout the week to clean up a few problems.

"We'll really work on discipline to cut down on mistakes," Wilson said. "[Against Anaconda] we had three or four offside penalties within a couple series. We've been successful offensively but we have a ways to go to make sure we're all clicking together. We'll have our most success once were all clicking together."

"It will be a true test," Wilson continued. "Columbia Falls was picked first in the preseason. It's always tough to go on the road."

Columbia Falls will host Polson on Friday night at 7 p.m.