Polson clamps down on C-Falls
COLUMBIA FALLS - Having a week off had a profound effect on the Polson Pirate football team.
It lit a fire under it.
The No. 5-ranked Pirates (5-1, 2-0) were more than eager to get back on a football field and it showed when they put a 43-20 hurt on the host Columbia Falls Wildcats (4-3, 2-1) on a brisk Friday night. It was Polson's fifth straight win.
"Our kids were ready to play. They really came out and took control of the game early. We put up 14 points fairly quickly," said Polson head coach Scott Wilson.
The Pirates were definitely off and running from the get-go.
It took Polson just under five minutes to force two 3-and-out possessions for the Wildcats and to score 14 points.
Polson opened with a 6-play, 45-yard scoring drive, capped by Tim Rausch's one-yard dive and added a 22-yard blocked punt return by junior Riley Grogan moments later.
"They're a good football team," said Columbia Falls coach Bill Coleman.
"They're not the type of team you want to give momentum to. We were back on our heels from then on," he said.
"Having two weeks off allowed us to prepare. We had a few little owies and it got us healthy," Wilson said. "We had a good two weeks of practice and I thought the kids performed well."
The Pirates were quick when they had the football - their longest drive of the night was in the second quarter and took just over four minutes. Other than that, they took 2:15, 1:34, 1:00, and 1:22.
Senior running back Joe Andrews was nothing short of fabulous, with 190 yards on 17 carries. He also scored three touchdowns on runs of 18 and 27 yards and caught one 18-yard touchdown pass.
As a team, the Pirates improved their per-game rushing average with 338 yards on 54 carries.
Rausch was a perfect addition to Andrews, gaining 52 yards on nine carries and catching two passes for 34 yards.
"Our kids, for whatever reason, are mystified by them a little bit. We started off slow in the first half and had a hard time rallying back in the second half," Coleman said.
"We did fight back in the second half - we can take that as a positive. But we've got to get better."
Perhaps the biggest positive for the Wildcats was Kaleb Johnson. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound junior caught eight passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
The Wildcats best drive was a 13-play, 60-yard affair on their first possession of the second half. It was capped by a fourth-down 7-yard connection between Johnson and quarterback Mitchell Wassam.
Wassam finished the night 15-for-34 for 210 yards with one interception.
So, what does the win do for Polson as for as the Northwestern A is concerned?
"I just look at it one week at a time. I want to win all the games in the conference if you are going to be conference champions," Wilson said.
"Columbia Falls is a good football team. They've played well the last two weeks. I knew we were going to be in a battle.
"Right now, my concentration is going to be on Whitefish. And going in there is never easy," he said.
Polson 14 15 14 0 - 43
Columbia Falls 0 6 7 7 - 20
Polson - Tim Rausch 1 run (Kyle Bagnell kick)
Polson - Riley Grogan 22 block punt return (Bagnell kick)
Polson - Vince DiGiallonardo 1 run (Brock Picard pass from Bagnell)
Columbia Falls - Kaleb Johnson 35 pass from Mitchell Wassam (pass failed)
Polson - Joe Andrews 18 pass from DiGiallonardo (Bagnell kick)
Polson - Andrews 18 run (Bagnell kick)
Columbia Falls - Johnson 7 pass from Wassam (Wassam kick)
Polson - Andrews 27 run (Bagnell kick)
Columbia Falls - Dustin VonFeldt 1 pass from Wassam (Wassam kick)
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P CF
First downs 16 13
Rushes-yards 54-338 31-104
Passing yards 83 210
Passing 5-8-2 15-34-1
Fumbles-lost 2-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 1-5 1-5
Time of possession 26:46 21:14
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Individual Stats
RUSHING - Polson, Andrews 17-190, Rausch 9-52, DiGiallonardo 12-27; Columbia Falls, Nathan Thompson 13-74, Wassam 8-15.
PASSING - Polson, DiGiallonardo 5-8-2-83; Columbia Falls, Wassam 15-34-1-210.
RECEIVING - Polson, Rausch 2-34, Andrews 2-29; Columbia Falls, Johnson 8-139, Thompson 3-20, VonFeldt 2-12.