Polson pounds Bulldogs
The Daily Inter Lake
POLSON - Tim Rausch ran for five touchdowns as Polson remained perfect in Northwestern A football play with a 41-24 victory over Whitefish on Friday.
Rausch, 21 carries for 158 yards, scored on runs of 14, 37, 10, 8 and 10 yards.
"It was a great, hard-hitting game," Whitefish coach Patrick Dryden said. "It went back and forth. They dominated the fourth quarter.
"They have a very good football team," Dryden added. "We tried to go toe-to-toe with them. We just didn't have an answer for Rausch. They continually came up with the big play offensively."
Polson, 4-0 league and 6-2 overall, wraps up regular-season play Friday at Ronan, while Whitefish, 3-1 and 4-4, hosts Columbia Falls.
Whitefish 7 3 14 0 - 24
Polson 6 8 14 13 - 41
Polson - Chris Alfiero 32 pass from Craig Bagnell (kick blocked)
Whitefish - Alex Elespuru 24 pass from Mac Roche Elespuru kick)
Polson - Tim Rausch 14 run (Ryan Kelley pass from Bagnell)
Whitefish - Elespuru 26 field goal
Polson - Rausch 37 run (Bagnell kick)
Whitefish - Aaron Tkachyk 62 pass from Roche (Elespuru kick)
Whitefish - Quintyn Menegazzi 13 pass from Roche (Elespuru kick)
Polson - Rausch 10 run (Bagnell kick)
Polson - Rausch 8 run (Bagnell kick)
Polson - Rausch 10run (kick blocked)
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W P
First downs 12 20
Rushes-yards 24-129 41-264
Passing yards 245 179
Passing (com-att-int-tds) 16-27-0-3 11-16-1-1
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 8-55 3-30
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Individual
Rushing - Whitefish, Daniel Simmons 15-101, Derek Crittenden 6-40; Polson, Tim Rausch 21-158, Trae Fouty 9-47, Craig Bagnell 8-55.
Passing - Whitefish, Mac Roche 16-27-0-3-245; Polson, Bagnell 11-16-1-1-179.
Receiving - Whitefish, Alex Elespuru 7-130, Aaron Tkachyk 4-58, Seth Wiley 3-35; Polson, Chris Alfiero 3-93, Kyle Bagnell 4-42.
Libby 47, Ronan 22
LIBBY - TJ Benson had three touchdown receptions and quarterback Joel Fuller ran for two more as Libby snapped a four-game skid.
Libby, 1-3 in Northwestern A and 3-5 overall, led 21-14 at the half.
Fuller had a big night, completing 12 of 23 passes for 221 yards and one TD. He also ran for 51 yards on 11 carries. Backup QB Kelly May hit 9-of-13 passes for 105 yards and three TDs.
Benson, 10 receptions for 170 yards, had TD catches of 6, 27 and 12 yards.
Ronan 0 14 0 8 - 22
Libby 7 14 20 6 - 47
Libby - TJ Benson 6 pass from Joel Fuller (Cislo kick)
Ronan - Detwiler 15 pass from Fisher (kick failed)
Libby - Fuller 3 run (kick failed)
Ronan - Noyes 10 run (Fisher pass)
Libby - Fuller 19 run (Fuller run)
Libby - Benson 27 pass from Fuller (kick failed)
Libby - Benson 12 pass from Kelly May (Cislo pass from May)
Libby - Seth Wright 10 pass from May (pass failed)
Libby - Justin Graham 17 pass from May 17 (kick failed)
Ronan - Fisher 6 run (Fisher pass)
Columbia Falls 48, Bigfork 12
COLUMBIA FALLS - Mackey Nolan ran wild Friday night and scored four touchdowns as Columbia Falls defeated conference-foe Bigfork.
The Wildcats scored three unanswered touchdowns in the first quarter. Nolan ran for 179 yards in the game, with a long of 67 yards for a touchdown.
"Mackey had a big game and our line did a great job," said Columbia Falls coach John Thompson.
Columbia Fall's John Woody contributed two touchdowns in the game, the first off a 9-yard run, and the second being an interception returned to the end zone.
Bigfork's Christian Ker threw for 73 yards and a 13 yard touchdown pass to Cheyne Valentine. Donny Tudahl ran for 87 yards a touchdown.
With the win, Columbia Falls (4-3 overall, 3-1 in Northwestern A) kept their chances at clinching the No. 2 playoff seed alive, pending next Friday's matchup against Whitefish. The winner of that game will claim No. 2.
"Hopefully tonight was a step in the right direction," Thompson said.
Bigfork 0 6 0 6 - 12
C Falls 21 21 6 0 - 48
1st Quarter
CF-John Woody 9 yard run (Mackey Nolan kick), 10:53
CF -Nolan 67 yard run (Nolan kick), 3:00
CF - Nolan 17 yard run (Nolan kick), 1:00
2nd Quarter
B - Sheyne Valentine 13 yard pass from Christian Ker (kick blocked), 10:54
CF - Woody 6 yard interception return (kick blocked), 7:37
CF - Kyle Howell 56-yard pass from Mitchell Wassam (Woody run), 5:03
CF - Nolan 5 yard run (Nolan kick), 1:30
3rd Quarter
CF - Nolan 4 yard run (kick failed), 6:57
4th Bigfork
B - Donny Tudahl 6 yard run (run failed), 2:30
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Bigfork C Falls
First downs 9 7
Rushing yards 39-118 35-304
Passing (com/att/yds/int) 3-21-73-1 CF 2-7-59-0
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
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Individual
Rushing - Bigfork, Tudahl 18-87; Columbia Falls, Nolan 15-179, Stephen Baumgartner 7-88
Passing (com/att/yds/tds)- Bigfork, Ker 3-21-73-1; Columbia Falls, Mitchell Wassum 2-7-59-1
Receiving - Bigfork Travis Knoll 1-32, Valentine 2-4; Columbia Falls, Howell 1-56, Nolan 1-4