Pirates ransack 42-6 for homecoming victory

POLSON - On a cold, wet homecoming night at Polson High School, the hometown Pirates were, once again, on fire.

Despite sloppy conditions that limited the passing game, Polson racked up 349 total yards, with 310 of those coming on the ground, in a 42-6 rout of the visiting Frenchtown Broncs on Friday night.

"At the end of the game, I pointed out that we did a good job of concentrating," head coach Scott Wilson said. "With the conditions the way they were, we had to focus. Overall, we played very well."

Four different players carried the rock at least nine times and eight players in all had rushing touches as the Pirates used a punishing effort from the offensive line to move to 6-0 overall on the season.

Not to be overlooked, the defense, which has been nearly perfect this year, limited their opponents to 106 offensive yards or fewer for the fourth time in six games.

Frenchtown racked up just 60 offensive yards on 45 plays, with their only points coming on a kickoff return with just seconds remaining in the first half.

"Defensively, we played great," Wilson said. "On offense, we ran the ball very well. [The weather] limited our passing game - it was hard to keep the ball dry."

Polson came out strong, stifling Frenchtown on three plays and forcing a punt. The offense then drove the field in a hurry, capped by Will Davey's 2-yard touchdown run just four minutes in, giving the Pirates a 7-0 lead.

The defense held strong from there, but the offense stalled for most of the first half, not scoring again until Davey's second TD scamper, this one from 9 yards, that gave Polson a 14-0 lead with 2:25 remaining in the first half.

"The biggest thing was that there were a couple new guys in new positions on our offensive line because of illness and injury," Wilson said. "We executed well our first drive, but then lost momentum."

Davey's second score seemed to re-ignite the offense. After yet another defensive stand, Polson drove quickly, scoring on Vince DiGiallonardo's 12-yard run, spotting the home team a 21-0 advantage.

The Broncs would return the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to close to 21-6 just before halftime, but would get no closer.

After the break, DiGiallonardo found paydirt from a yard out, inflating the lead to 22. After forcing a fumble, DiGiallonardo found Justin Hoel on a 19-yard pass to give Polson a 35-6 edge. DiGiallonardo didn't play at quarterback last week against Whitefish because of an injury, but split snaps with Davey behind center against Frenchtown.

"We wanted to get Vince a few snaps and he did a great job," Wilson said. "Until he's 100 percent, we'll probably continue doing things this way."

The defense forced another fumble after that strike, setting up a Davey 1-yard run that capped the scoring with 1:09 remaining in the third quarter.

On a roster full of defensive studs, Eric Williamson stood out, helping on several tackles and nearly forcing a turnover with a batted pass.

"It's unfortunate, he made a great play on a swing pass and would have scored, but the officials blew it dead," Wilson said. "It would have been a nice tribute to him the way he's been playing. He's a good pass rusher."

As a team, Polson carried 50 times for 310 yards and five scores. The ground game was led by DiGiallonardo's 84 yards on 12 carries. Davey also had 12 rushes, gaining 58 yards, while Paul McClurg ran 11 times for 79 yards. Chris Cote also contributed, with nine carries for 69 yards.

In their final regular-season home contest, the Pirates will host the Libby Loggers. As they all are, it's a big game for Polson, but even more so, with Libby having defeated the Pirates in their matchup last season.

"It's the last game for the conference championship," Wilson said. "The kids set that as a goal and have a chance to realize that."

Polson kicks off against Libby at 7 p.m. Friday night.

POLSON 42, FRENCHTOWN 6

Frenchtown - 0 - 6 - 0 - 0 - 6

Polson - 7 - 14 - 21 - 0 - 42

Scoring Summary

Polson - Will Davey 2-yard run (Brady Hislop kick)

Polson - Davey 9-yard run (Hislop kick)

Polson - Vince DiGiallonardo 12-yard run (Hislop kick)

Frenchtown - Abram Duncan 84-yard kickoff return (kick

failed)

Polson - DiGiallonardo 1-yard run (Hislop kick)

Polson - Justin Hoel 19-yard pass from DiGiallonardo

(Hislop kick)

Polson - Davey 1-yard run (Hislop kick)