Bulldog football falls to Polson on road

Whitefish suffered another narrow defeat as the football team traveled to Polson Friday to take on the Pirates. The Bulldogs lost 14-7.

The Bulldogs lone score came early in the third quarter when senior running back Jack Alton broke away for a long 55-yard touchdown rush and the point after by Jaxsen Schlauch soared through the uprights. This score cut the Polson lead to 14-7.

Whitefish had two more sustained drives charging into the red zone, but each time turning it over to the Pirates. One long drive resulted in an interception from Pirate senior defensive back Boston Goode who returned the pick 90 yards to the Bulldog four-yard-line. However Polson was not able to capitalize on the turnover.

After some back and forth play, Whitefish again took the ball down into Pirate territory with 1:30 left on the clock. Bulldog quarterback Fynn Ridgeway found Schlauch for a long pass, what would have been a first down, but the receiver was stripped by Polson’s Jarrett Wilson which gave the Pirates possession.

Despite going down 14-0 before the end of the first half, Whitefish stuck with Polson up until the end. The Bulldogs had numerous quality defensive plays, including holding up Polson’s offense in the red zone during the second half. Whitefish forced both a Pirate red zone fumble and a turnover on downs within the Bulldog 10-yard line in the second half.

Polson’s scores both came off pass receptions from Wilson to receiver Xavier Fisher, with one two-point conversion stopped by Whitefish.

Whitefish defensive back Bodie Smith came up huge in the end of the first half with an interception deep in Bulldog territory. Both teams suffered from critical turnovers; Ridgeway was picked off twice and Whitefish also gave up the rock on a fumble.

Whitefish will look forward to its first game of the season at the Dawg Pound when the Bulldogs host Columbia Falls on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Whitefish enters the rivalry game in desperate need of a ‘W,’ meanwhile the Wildcats are 2-0 after defeating both Polson and Ronan.

Polson 14, Whitefish 7

Whitefish 0 0 7 0 – 7

Polson 6 8 0 0 – 14

P – Xavier Fisher 10 pass from Jarrett Wilson (conversion no good)

P – X.Fisher 26 pass from J.Wilson (X.Fisher pass from J.Wilson)

W – Jack Alton 55 run (Jaxsen Schlauch kick)