Polson rallies past Bigfork; Libby wins, Eureka falls

Polson’s Kelby Dumont rushed for 216 yards, including an 11-yard run with 1:51 left in the game, and the Pirates landed a wild 29-24 Northwest A football win over Bigfork Friday night.

The back-and-forth battle of Flathead Lake neighbors saw Polson — with Luke Horner scoring the first of his two TDs on an 8-yard run — jump to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Vikings then scored the game’s next 25 points, with Ryeln Rodriguez tearing off touchdown runs of 40 and 35 yards. 

Bigfork (1-5, 1-2 in the Northwest A) trailed 14-3 at halftime thanks in part to a red zone stop of the Pirates, with Rodriguez picking off a fourth-down pass. 

Holding onto a 17-14 lead after Quinn Kerr’s short TD run, the Vikings made a goal-line stand with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter. They then drove 98 yards, with Kerr’s 47-yard burst setting up Rodridguez’ second long touchdown. 

It was 25-14 with 5:24 left, but Polson (3-3, 2-1 in league) struck quickly: Bradley Smith hit Horner for a 65-yard catch-and-run touchdown on the Pirates’ next snap. Dumont ran in the extra point to cut the gap to 25-22. 

Bigfork drove to Polson’s 29-yard line before losing 17 yards and the ball on a jailbreak snap with 3:11 left. The Pirates then drove 54 yards to Dumont’s TD, and Bigfork lost the ball on downs with 1:14 remaining. 

Ben Aldridge scored Polson’s first touchdown and picked up 35 yards on 11 carries. Smith was 2 of 4 passing for 74 yards and was intercepted twice; he ran 10 times for 48 yards. Horner caught both passes and ran three times for 16 yards.