Polson rolled by Dillon

POLSON - There was a mild shocker here Friday night.

That the Dillon high school football team beat Polson wasn't a surprise. But how easily the Beavers did it was.

Dillon junior quarterback Bryce Carver showed that he has the stuff of former all-state Dillon quarterbacks Torrey Thomas and Zach McRae by throwing for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the first half and totaling 82 rushing yards with another two scores in a 38-6 season-opening drubbing.

The two-time defending state champs from the Southwestern A led 31-0 at halftime en route to winning their 16th straight game and 160th in the coaching career of Terry Thomas.

Polson, which started its season last week with a dramatic come-from-behind victory, is expected to be the cream of the crop - along with Libby - in the Northwestern A.

"I didn't know what to expect skill-wise (from Dillon), but I knew they were going to be good up front," Polson coach Scott Wilson said. "But they kept us on our heels in all aspects of the game in the first half. I've got to take my hat off to them.

"The biggest thing that surprised me was their team speed. It wasn't that we had missed assignments. We didn't play as aggressively as I wanted to."

The Beavers forced the Pirates' offense into a three-and-out to start the game and then senior running

back Jake McGinley scored on Dillon's first play from scrimmage on a 36-yard run.

The Beavers scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, while holding Polson to just two first downs. They added a field goal before being held without points on a drive. That one non-scoring drive in the first half ended on a fourth-and-goal from the 7-yard line. But then Carver hit Michael Allen on a 40-yard touchdown pass with 1 second left in the half.

"That was good stuff for the first game," said Thomas, who began the season without his quarterback and top four receivers from last year. "We didn't know what to expect tonight. So this was an excellent start. But we really do have some good players coming back, especially in the trenches and at linebacker. Plus, we've got good running backs. Then Bryce (Carver) did a tremendous job of stepping in at quarterback. He's very athletic and very fast."

But it wasn't the Dillon offense that set the tone of the game, it was its defense.

Polson had just seven yards rushing in the first half and finished with 76 on 35 attempts (2.2 yards per carry). The Beavers also registered six sacks and forced three turnovers.

The Pirates were able to come away on a positive note. They played much more aggressive after halftime and lost the second half just 7-6.

They opened the second half by holding Dillon to three-and-out before putting together a 10-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, they ran 22 plays to Dillon's four.

"I told them at halftime that we have to come out and play our kind of football," Wilson said. "We didn't switch anything strategy-wise. We just went out there, got more physical and everything clicked. But we've got to do that from the get-go."

Polson's all-state junior quarterback Craig Bagnell went 19-for-31 for 217 yards with an interception. He set up the Pirates lone score with a 35-yard run and then scored from five yards out.

Bagnell's favorite target was Ryan Kelley, a 6-foot-3 junior. Kelley caught eight passes for 96 yards.

Dillon 21 10 7 0 - 38

Polson 0 0 6 0 - 6

First Quarter

D - Jake McGinley 36 run (Conor Hartz kick), 10:18.

D - Bryce Carver 3 run (Hartz kick), 6:41.

D - Tim Goins 10 pass from Carver (Hartz kick), 1:42.

Second Quarter

D - Hartz 21 FG, 8:02.

D - Michael Allen 40 pass from Carver (Hartz kick), :01

Third Quarter

P - Craig Bagnell 5 run (kick failed), 7:31.

D - Carver 48 run (Hartz kick), 6:37.

Dil Pol

First Downs 18 13

Total Yards 385 293

Rushes-Yards 32-158 35-76

Passing Yards 227 217

Comp-Att-Int 17-29-1 19-31-1

Punts 2-39.0 5-29.2

Punt Ret. 3-42 2-15

Kickoff Ret. 1-32 6-82

Int. Ret. 1-1 1-13

Sacked-Yards Lost 1-11 6-30

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 4-2

Penalties 4-45 9-54

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Dil, Bryce Carver 13-82, Jake McGinley 6-53, Cody Russell 11-21, Brock Myllymaki 2-2. Pol, Cody Doyle 10-27, Brock Picard 6-19, TIm Rausch 5-16, Craig Bagnell 14-14.

PASSING - Dil, Carver 16-28-1-227, Myllymaki 1-1-0-0. Pol, Bagnell 19-31-1-217

RECEIVING - Dil, Michael Allen 5-88, McGinley 4-36, Russell 2-54, Tim Goins 2-22, Tanner Strozzi 2-13, Toby Shepherd 1-12, Stephen Resset 1-6. Pol, Ryan Kelley 8-96, Chris Alfiero 3-33, Doyle 2-33, Picard 2-27, Rausch 2-5, Tucker Morigeau 1-9.

Missed Field Goals - none.