Pirates come up big again at crunch time
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POLSON — Just call them the comeback kids.
If the beginning of the season is any indication, opposing teams should never breathe easy if they have a lead against the Polson Pirates, even late in the fourth quarter.
With the poise of a veteran team, the Pirates pulled off their second fourth-quarter comeback of the young season Friday to pull out a 14-3 win over Hamilton in a hard-nosed defensive battle.
Both sides showcased their defensive power through the game’s opening three quarters as Hamilton took a slim 3-0 lead into the fourth quarter.
“There was just really good defense both ways. It was a hard game to score for either side,” Polson head coach Scott Wilson said. “We didn’t have a horrible first half, we just needed to do a better job of sustaining our drives and putting points on the board. We had a blocked field goal and a turnover on downs, we just needed to finish our drives better.”
The Pirates finally found a way to finish a drive late in the game as quarterback Vince DiGiallonardo hooked up with receiver Kyle Bagnell on a key fourth-and-14 play to keep the Pirates hopes alive. DiGiallonardo took the ball into the end zone from 3 yards out two plays later to give the Pirates their first lead of the night. Bagnell added the PAT, and the Pirates led 7-3 with just over two minutes to play.
Hamilton had one last chance to snatch the victory away but, in keeping with the game’s theme, it was the Polson defense that came up with the big play to secure the victory. Hamilton was looking to move the ball down field quickly when Will Davey picked off a pass and returned it 62 yards into the end zone to seal the win for the Pirates.
“Wins like this show a lot about the character of our kids,” Wilson said. “To pull off wins in close games like this, while also building our experience level says a lot about the type of players these kids are. We have been in some close ones so far this year, which is a real plus for us. These are the types of games that will help us down the road.”
DiGiallonardo led the way for the Pirates in the win with 125 rushing yards and another 182 through the air. Bagnell was his favorite target, catching 13 passes for 178 yards. Chris Cote added 29 rushing yards in the win while Ian Laimbeer caught one pass for 4 yards. Davey and DiGiallonardo both had interceptions in the win.
“It’s really good experience for us to be in these close games this early in the season,” Wilson said. “The more situations like this that we have to face, the more confidence we will have later when the games mean more.”
Wilson says he hopes these types of games will be good experience for the tougher games down the road.
“Our goal, as always, is to be a playoff team when all is said and done. I wanted to get us some good experience early so we could make a strong push at the end of the season,” he said. “I just didn’t know that we would have this kind of success early.”
Summary
Hamilton 3, Polson 14
Hamilton 0 3 0 0–3
Polson 0 0 0 14–14
H - Seth Mason 18 yard kick
P - Vince Digiallonardo 3 run ( Kyle Bagnell kick)
P - Will Davey 62 interception return (Bagnell kick)
