POLSON — The Polson Pirates football team could not withstand a blistering Frenchtown attack, losing to the Broncs 42-0 last Friday night in a nonconference game.

Playing in front of a boisterous home crowd on opening night of the 2009 football season, the Pirates didn’t overcome four interceptions by junior quarterback Kyle Bagnell in his first varsity start.

“In his position, he wanted to do the best he could,” Polson head coach Scott Wilson said of Bagnell. “He may have tried to force the ball on a couple of those throws, but once he gets more varsity snaps, he’ll get that experience.”

The turnovers on offense proved costly on defense, as the Pirates were overmatched against Frenchtown’s tenacious running attack. Broncs senior running back JD Undem totaled three touchdowns on the game, running for 220 yards and averaging nearly 15 yards a carry en route to Frenchtown scoring 14 points in every quarter but the fourth.

“The biggest thing to improve is our intensity level,” Wilson said. “We got out-hit and we weren’t ready to come out and play.”

The Polson offense sputtered for most of the night, coming up with 69 total yards, all on the ground. But Wilson cautioned against counting the team out, as they are a young group with a lot of potential.

“Some big pluses were the kids who played without  any  previous varsity experience, I thought they played very well,” he said. “They stepped up their level of play, especially on the offensive line.”

Wilson made sure that the Broncs were given their due, and had high praise for their attacking defense.

“When you play against a team as good as Frenchtown, it shows your kids the level they need to get to,” Wilson said. “They have the same number of days to prepare as we do.”

The game was played in honor of Lyle Bagnell, who passed away after a car accident earlier this summer. Lyle has grandsons’ Kyle (Polson) and Patrick (Frenchtown) Bagnell, in addition to many others who played for Frenchtown. He was the voice of the Broncs football team for more than 20 years.

“He was a great supporter and enabler of high school football,” Wilson said. “He was very active in his grandchildren’s lives.”

The Pirates next take the field at 7 p.m. on Friday when they travel to Corvallis.