Polson Pirates edge Ronan, 40-36, on Homecoming

At Ronan, the gridiron rendition of the Rez rivalry wrangle between the visiting Pirates and the host Chiefs unfolded much like other tradition classics, an entertaining contest that exhibited momentum shifts and pendulum swings. The game culminated Homecoming week for Ronan. The Chiefs gridders played a caliber of contest not only fit for the occasion, but warrants a ranking among some of the historical highlights among the series.

With an atmosphere abuzz with anticipation further fueled by Homecoming week activities, that electricity likewise energized the caliber of play among players on the field.

Chief quarterback Eric Dolence, whose athleticism was acknowledged with baseball all-conference recognition this past summer, electrified the home crowd by finding Matt Victor for a 24-yard completion to the end zone. A quarterback keeper for the conversion staked the home team with an early lead 8-0.

The Pirates countered with a 69-yard strike from Bo Kelley to Ryker Wenderoth down the sideline for six. Kelley’s quarterback keeper knotted the contest at 8-8.

Polson took the lead on a short run by Dugan Davis. Ronan countered with a pass to Victor to make it 14-14.

A Pirate quarterback keeper for six and the subsequent conversion by Kelley moved the visitors into the lead by eight, 22-14. Polson intercepted a pass during Ronan’s subsequent possession, but on the ensuing play, Chief Kolby Reum returned the favor with some extra frosting by taking it to the house. A Daniel Bishop conversion run knotted the contest at 22-22.

A short red zone pass play gave Polson a precarious lead heading to the lockerroom at halftime.

Polson notched the scoreboard with a tally to open the second half, but the conversion pass was intercepted to hold the deficit under two possessions, 34-22. A Chiefs’ quarterback keeper and subsequent conversion run by Victor pulled Ronan within four as the third quarter drew to a close, 34-30.

Pirate Logan Adler rumbled a baker’s dozen into the end zone, but the conversion pass intended for Pirate Trevor Lake would be broken up by a Dolence deflection, 40-30. The unsuccessful conversion attempt featured one of the more amusing sequences during the course of the game. After the play was over, Dolence could be seen apparently gesturing to his teammates with arms outstretched his assessment of the disparity of the matchup between him and the reach of 6-foot-5-inch Lake.

Ronan countered with a pass to the right back corner of the end zone and Reum hauled it in as he leaned over the pylon to make a catch comparable to be featured among collegiate or NFL highlight reel footage. The unsuccessful pass conversion pulled Ronan back within four, 40-36, with five minutes remaining.

The Chiefs attempted an onside kick, but the Pirates secured the ball. Needing a stop, Ronan’s defense held, forcing Polson to punt with 2:30 remaining. The Pirate kicker executed a precision punt, pinning Ronan inside the 5-yard line. Down to fourth-and-2, Trapper McAllister picked up just enough yardage for a first down, but a subsequent interception returned possession to Polson.

On the Pirates final series, once again Ronan defenders denied Polson a first down that would have allowed them to run out the clock. Unfortunately, the allotment of timeouts that would have allowed a couple of throws down the field had been burned earlier. Thereby, the remaining ticks would tock off the clock with less than a possession separating the two teams.

In reflection upon the contest, Ronan head coach Matt Detwiler conceded, “We had a few too many mistakes as coaches and players and Polson capitalized on them.” But Detwiler was nevertheless encouraged by the caliber of play by his team. “I was happy to see how hard our guys battled till the end.”

Polson will play their Homecoming contest this weekend when they host undefeated Libby, while Ronan travels to Whitefish.

Polson 40, Ronan 36

Polson (3-1), Ronan (0-4)

Polson 14 14 6 6 – 40

Ronan 14 8 8 6 – 36

R – Matt Victor 24 pass from Eric Dolence (Dolence run)

P – Ryker Wenderoth 69 pass from Bo Kelley (Kelley run)

P – Dugan Davis 3 run (run failed)

R – Victor 19 pass from Dolence (pass incomplete)

P – Kelley 1 run (Kelley run)

R – Kolby Reum INT return (Daniel Bishop run)

P – R.Wenderoth 4 pass from Kelley (pass incomplete)

P – R.Wenderoth 36 pass from Kelley (pass picked, INT Dolence)

R – Dolence 2 run (Victor run)

P – Logan Adler 13 run (pass tip, PD Dolence)

R – Reum 12 pass from Dolence (pass incomplete)

RUSH – P41-206 (L.Adler 15-88, D.Davis 17-86, Kelley 9-32), R26-196 (Bishop 7-87, Bruin Largent 10-67, Dolence 5-23, Trapper McAllister 4-19). PASS – P (Kelley 10-17-215-3), R15-34-187-4 (Dolence 15-32-187-4, Daniel Kelsch 0-1, Largent 0-1). REC – P10-215 (R.Wenderoth 5-152, Kaleb Unger 2-24, Jarrett Wilson 2-19, D.Davis 1-10), R15-187 (Reum 5-76, Victor 5-75, Kelsch 5-36). KR – R5-74 (Bishop 3-44, T.McAllister 2-30). PUNT – R(Victor 2-54). INT – P4 (R.Wenderoth 2, J.Wilson, D.Davis), R3 (Dolence, Reum, T.McAllister). PD – P3 (R.Wenderoth, J.Wilson, Bra.Henrickson), R (Dolence*). SK – P1 (Braunson Henriksen), R1 (Bishop). FF – P(Garrett Croft). FR – P(R.Wenderoth). TFL – P1 (Kelley), R3 (Landon Lynch, Bishop, Tucker Lytton). TKL/AST – P25t31a (Croft 5t5a, Boston Goode 5t5a, J.Wilson 4t2a, Kelley 3t2a, D.Davis 2t2a, Caleb Pierre 1t3a, Bra.Henriksen 1t3a, R.Wenderoth 1t2a, Kenton Sisler 1t2a, Trent Dwelle 1t, Tyler Otto 1t, Josh Simmons 2a, L.Adler 2a, Jaron Keene 1a), R25t28a (D.Kelsch 4t7a, T.Lytton 3t6a, Reum 5t1a, D.Bishop 3t5a, Victor 4t, Lynch 2t1a, Dolence 2t, T.McAllister 1t2a, Max Morency 1t1a, Largent 3a, Jessie LittleBoy 2a).

Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s) where sideline specs differ from Hudl data:

Pirate specs: Rush (R28-186), Pass (R32att-198)

Ronan stats gleaned from MaxPreps posting. Polson specs courtesy of Pirate coaching staff. Standardized abbreviations utilized: SK (sack), FF (forced fumble), FR (fumble recovery), PD (pass defensed = pass breakup), TFL (tackle for loss)