Polson gets past Whitefish in overtime

It was a back-and-forth affair as Whitefish and Polson fought for their postseason lives, and the Pirates were able to pick up a key 29-26 Western A home overtime victory on Thursday. Whitefish fell to 3-5 on the year with the loss.

"Polson really brought their A game on Thursday; hats off to them for winning a hard-fought game," Whitefish Head Coach Brett Bollweg said. "Both teams had a lot to play for, and I'm proud of our guys for the heart that they showed. At the end of the day, Polson won the game."

Holden Emerson got Polson on the board first, running the ball in from the two-yard line. Whitefish responded with a one-yard touchdown run by Carson Gulick, and a 15-yard touchdown pass by Gulick to Dane Hunt for the 13-7 lead.

Polson took the lead against as Emerson once again punched it in the endzone from three yards out for the 14-12 halftime lead. After a scoreless third quarter, Whitefish pulled ahead with another touchdown pass by Gulick to Mason Kelch from 11 yards out.

The Pirates got an 11-yard touchdown run from Uriah Ulutoa and a one-yard scoring run by Lucian Sawyer to go up 26-20. A two-point conversion fail opened the door for Whitefish, which tied the game up in regulation with a two-yard touchdown run by Gulick.

Polson had a chance to end things before overtime as Tommy Sherry caught a long pass from Emerson, but the ensuing field goal attempt fell short of its school-record 33-yard distance.

Whitefish had the ball first, but had its go-ahead field goal attempt tipped by Bordy Bulette and Cason Graham. Polson got the ball back, and Sawyer nailed a 23-yard game-winning field goal.

Polson finished with 147 yards on the ground, and Emerson passed for 204 yards on 9-of-20 passing.

Whitefish had 96 yards on the ground and 197 yards through the air. The Bulldogs will face Browning at home on Friday, October 20 at 7 p.m..

"Browning is doing a lot of things well this year," Bollweg said. "They have some really dynamic players on the offensive side of the ball that we will have to work hard to contain. I'm impressed with the level of play that their guys are going at. They are athletic and are really working to do the right things."

Whitefish will be jostling for positioning in the conference standings, and it will be the final regular season home game for Bulldog seniors.

"We have a lot to play for this week," Bollweg said. "So we need to make sure we are disciplined and focused in order to get the win on Friday."

At Polson

POLSON 29, WHITEFISH 26 (OT)

Whitefish - 13 - 0 - 0 - 7 - 0 - 26

Polson - 7 - 7 - 0 - 12 - 3 - 29

SCORING SUMMARY

P — Holden Emerson 2-yard run (Lucian Sawyer kick)

W — Carson Gulick 1-yard run (kick failed)

W — Dane Hunt 15-yard pass from Gulick (Ryder Barinowski kick)

P — Emerson 3-yard run (Sawyer kick)

W — Mason Kelch 11-yard pass from Gulick (pass failed)

P — Uriah Ulutoa 11-yard run (Sawyer kick)

P — Sawyer 1-yard run (pass failed)