Pirates fall to Bigfork in season opener

Trailing 26-20 early in the third quarter, Polson recovered a Bigfork fumble on the Vikings' 34-yard line, giving them a chance to tie or take the lead. An intentional grounding call by referees ended the drive, and Bigfork pulled away for the 55-20 Northwestern A victory over the Pirates in Polson on Friday, Aug. 25.

The Vikings scored 29 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and finished the game with 315 yards rushing and another 193 through the air. Bigfork tight end Eli Thorness proved a powerful weapon as he caught four touchdown passes for 167 yards.

Still, the Pirates showed they have a powerful passing attack with Holden Emerson throwing for 212 yards, including seven passes to Tommy Sherry who finished the game with 130 yards receiving.

Having moved from Class B to Class A, Bigfork showed why they were a power in that classification, jumping out to a 20-8 lead in the first quarter. Polson answered back with Emerson's five-yard touchdown pass to Sherry in the first quarter and then a Landon Shoemake five-yard touchdown run.

Emerson scored on a five-yard run in the third to cut the lead to six, but that's as close as they would get.

Emerson finished the game with 68 rushing yards. Cason Graham caught three passes for 75 yards as well.

At Polson

BIGFORK 55, POLSON 20

Bigfork - 20 - 6 - 14 - 15 - 55

Polson - 8 - 6 - 6 - 0 - 20

B — Wyatt Johnson 9 run (run failed)

B — OIiver Buzzell 2 run (Tristen Herd kick)

P — Tommy Sherry 5 pass from Holden Emerson (Landon Shoemake pass from Emerson)

B — Eli Thorness 30 pass from Herd (Herd kick)

P — Shoemake 5 run (pass failed)

B — Thorness 4 pass from Herd (pass failed)

P — Emerson 10 run (run failed)

B — Thorness 53 pass from Herd (Herd

kick)

B — Thorness 57 pass from Hrd (Herd kick)

B — Herd 4 run (Herd kick)

B — Asher Knopik 9 run (Waytt Barness pass from Herd)

Rushing – Bigfork 37-315 (Johnson 10-152, Samuel Plummer 11-66), Polson 34-89 (Emerson 15-68, Shoemake 17-21). Passing – Bigfork (Herd 8-13-193), Polson (Ho.Emerson 12-25-212-1). Recieving – Bigfork (Thorness 6-171, Buzzell 1-17, Johnson 1-5), Polson 12-212 (Sherry 7-130, Cason Graham 3-75, Brenden Griffin 1-5, Cody Haggard 1-5).

Warriors shine in win over Victor

The scoring came early and often for Arlee in its eight-man opener as the experienced Warriors squad took down Victor at home 68-12 on Saturday, Aug. 26. After getting left out of the playoffs last year despite a 5-3 record, Arlee wasted little time showcasing why they are a team that should be respected in 2023.

Senior Jace Arca rushed for one touchdown, passed for another, returned an interception for a score, and then ran back a fumble against Victor. He wasn’t the only one with a banner day as fellow senior Jake Knoll rushed for four touchdowns – all breakaway long scores in the eight-man game.

Arlee led 30-6 after the first quarter and proceeded to score 22 in the second quarter for a 52-6 halftime lead. It notched 16 pounds in the second half to cruise to victory.

The Warriors finished with 431 total yards on the ground, and Arlee QB Kendall O’Neill passed for another 61, including a touchdown pass to Brody Smith.

At Arlee

ARLEE 68, VICTOR 12

Victor - 6 - 0 - 6 - 0 - 12

Arlee - 30 - 22 - 8 - 8 - 68

VIC — Rowlan 10 run (run failed), 9:42

ARL — Arca 56 run (run failed), 9:25

ARL — Arca 12 pass from O'Neill (Knoll run)

ARL — Arca 47 interception return (Knoll pass from Arca), 1:51

ARL — Knoll 31 run (Arca pass from O'Neill), :11

ARL — Knoll 78 run (Arca pass from O'Neill), 7:55

ARL — Knoll 32 run (Arca pass from O'Neill), 5:03

ARL — Arca 25 fumble return (pass failed), 3:13

ARL — Smith 12 pass from O'Neill (Ostby pass from O'Neill), 8:53

VIC — Rowlan 1 run (pass failed), :16

ARL — Knoll 58 run (Brody Smith run), 11:02