End of the line
Pirates' season ends with 49-14 loss at Butte Central
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BUTTE — The Pirate football season came to a disappointing end Saturday as Polson fell to Butte Central in the state quarterfinals, 49-14.
The Pirates struggled to get their offense rolling all evening as Butte was able to pile on the points to get the win.
“It was one of those days where the ball just seemed to bounce the wrong direction, Polson head coach Scott Wilson said. “They had us off balance quite a bit and they just had our number, I guess.”
Nothing seemed to go the Pirates’ way all evening as the Maroons jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead in the opening quarter before adding another 14 unanswered points in the opening minutes of the second frame.
Polson was finally able to get on the board late in the first half to cut the Maroon lead to 28-7, but Butte Central added one final touchdown before the half to grab a 35-7 lead at the break.
The Maroons added two more scores early in the third quarter to force a running clock and the Pirates were never able to recover.
The Maroons took the game’s opening kick and needed only four plays to find the end zone as Zach Kasperick ran the ball the final yard to put Butte Central on the board first. Nathanial Loomis added the PAT to put the Maroons up 7-0.
Kasperick added his second touchdown of the day later in the opening quarter when he hauled in a 39-yard pass from Maroon quarterback Jonathan Richards in the end zone. Loomis added another PAT to put Butte Central up 14-0 heading into the second quarter.
Turnovers plagued Polson throughout the contest and Butte used them to their advantage in the second quarter to increase the lead.
Kasperick added his third touchdown on a 23-yard pass from Richards to put Butte up by 21 and Andy Ritter took the ball in from three yards out later in the quarter to push the Maroons’ advantage to 28-0.
Polson looked as if it may finally find its feet late in the opening half as they put together a long drive to score on an 8-yard pass from Vince DiGiallonardo to Kyle Bagnell that cut the Butte lead to 28-7.
“I think it was very important that our kids never quit,” Wilson said. “Even when they were down 28-0, they kept on coming.”
Butte had a quick answer, though, scoring on a 38-yard screen pass from Richards to Phil Antonioli just before halftime to go up 35-7 at the break.
Butte struck first in the second half as well as Richards picked off a DiGiallonardo pass and ran it back 38 yards into the end zone to push the lead to 42-7 and start a running clock.
Polson halted the running clock later in the quarter when DiGiallonardo ran the ball into the end zone from 10 yards out to cut the lead to 42-14, but the Maroons answered with a 20-yard scoring run by Kasperick to restart the running clock for good. Polson was unable to find the end zone again as the Maroons cruised to a 49-14 win.
DiGiallonardo led the Polson effort with 56 rushing yards and another 118 through the air, but finished only 9-23 with three interceptions.
Louis Mohr led the receiving corps with 43 yards while Bagnell added 39. Justin Hoel had 25 receiving yards and Brock Bleazard added 11.
Along with DiGiallonardo’s 56 rushing yards, Taylor Pitts added 26, Sheldon Fisher had 22, Will Davey had 17 and Jake Skelton added seven.
With the loss, the Pirates finish the season 7-3.
Despite the season-ending loss, Wilson said he is very happy with what his team was able to accomplish this season.
“This teams showed tremendous amounts of character this season,” he said. “This is a team that exceeded a lot of people’s expectations this season. They wanted to prove themselves and they did. That says a lot about their character.”
Summary
Polson 14, Butte Central 49
Polson0770–14
Butte Central1421140–49
BC - Zach Kasperick 1 run (Nathaniel Loomis kick)
BC - Kasperick 39 pass from Jonathan Richards (Loomis kick)
BC - Kasperick 23 pass from Richards (Loomis kick)
BC - Andy Ritter 3 run (Loomis kick)
P - Kyle Bagnell 8 pass from Vince DiGiallonardo (Bagnell kick)
BC - Phil Antonioli 38 pass from Richards (Loomis kick)
BC - Richards 38 interception return (Loomis kick)
P - DiGiallonardo 10 run (Bagnell kick)
BC - Kasperick 20 run (Loomis kick)
