Ronan loses to Stevensville

Ronan lost to Stevensville tonight, three games to one, 25-16, 28-30, 25-18, 25-17. One thing that really stuck in my mind was how the Maidens played a pretty good game, they just got off to a rough start in the matches they lost. If they can come out of the chute more disciplined I think they'll be fine. Great up front play by the net even though they don't have huge size. They just have to cut down on the miscues at the beginning of matches.

Here are some photos I took from tonight's game...

Where we'll be tonight...

Just got done with Ronan football practice where I was able to talk with Jim Benn about Friday's football game against Stevensville and I'll be courtside at the Ronan-Stevensville matchup (That's essentially a live photo from the JV game). Hopefully, I'll be able to post a score at the end and some photos as well.

EWU sells out Griz game tickets in 23 minutes

It didn't take long for EWU to sell out their game against Montana, which along with being a home away from home game for the Griz faithful, it is also the first time the school will unveil its red turf.

23 Minutes. That's all it took.

A look at the football stats from last week

Here's a look of the stats from the Northwest A conference after week 1. I'll try to analyze them and act intelligent. Probably won't happen.

Rushing per game
1. Ronan (306 yards)
2. Col. Falls (262 yards)
3. Libby (256 yards)
4. Polson (136 yards)
5. Whitefish (77 yards)

During the Orange and Black scrimmage, Ronan scored with two passing plays in their first two drives. I thought that mean they might air it out more this season. Nope.

Passing per game
1. Whitefish (322 yards)
2. Polson (269 yards)
3. Col. Falls (101)
4. Libby (85)
5. Ronan (32)

Yeah, Ronan definitely didn't air it out against Browning. Watch out for Polson though, they look like a nicely balanced team when it comes to offense.

Indv. Scoring
1. Kyle Bagnell, Polson (15 points)
5. Robbie Gauthier, Ronan (6 points)
5. Jeff Humphreys, Ronan (6 points)
5. Marcus Hungerford, Ronan (6 points)
5. Gordan North Piegan III, Ronan (6 points)

This means that Bagnell is a stud (I think we already knew that after he three more one-hitters than Cliff Lee over the summer for the Mission Valley Mariners), and Ronan has ALOT of weapons.

Indv. Passing
1. M. Roche, Whitefish (321 yards, 3 touchdowns)
2. Vince DiGiallonardo, Polson (269 yards, 2 touchdowns)

Two things about this, Whitefish passes all the time so of course Roche is going to have some eye-popping numbers. Vince is playing on a more balanced offense and put up some great numbers. This will be the QB battle to watch this season.


Passing yards allowed
1. Polson (13 yards)
2. Ronan (69 yards)

This is definitely something to keep an eye on. Defense wins championships and the defense stepped up big for both Polson and Ronan this weekend.

Rushing yards allowed
1. Ronan (103 yards)
3. Polson (176 yards)

After week one you have to consider Ronan and Polson the two most formidable defenses in the league. That's after week one though.

Boston Red Sox Manager... does this.

That's Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona, shirtless, celebrating his daughter's engagement.

I'm praying that alcohol somehow played a role in this.

Looking at Polson's win over Frenchtown

I'll admit that I thought Polson wasn't going to win this game. Too many new faces. Frenchtown was basically the same team as last year. The Broncs beat the Pirates last year, 42-0.

Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but usually experience and talent trumps youth. It's a general rule of thumb. A rule somebody forgot to tell the Pirates as they knocked off the defending state champions 21-16.

One of the team's secrets to success? The defense was solid.

"After the first quarter, I was real pleased," Polson head coach Scott Wilson said. "We did a great job gang tackling."

Wilson said that after Frenchtown's first drive, the Pirates tightened the screws on defense and it showed. In the second half, the Broncs only score came from a kickoff return.

Now I can't forget to mention quarterback Vince DiGiallonardo and wide receiver Kyle Bagnell. The two connected for over 200 yards through the air and two touchdowns. This wasn't exactly dinks and dunks either, Bagnell hauled in touchdown passes from 60 and 30 yards out. In the words of that annoying Staples commercial... WOW! THAT'S A BIG PLAY!

Wilson said it was a positive win because with all the new kids starting, they needed a big confidence booster. This probably got the job done. Frenchtown returned basically the same team from last year. If you also factor in that Polson got crushed at home last year by the Broncs, a win in Frenchtown makes it all the more sweeter.

"To be able to go down there and beat them is good," Wilson said. "It's a good win."

Now that said, it's still just one game and there's plenty of the season to go. Wilson said the biggest thing is winning conference games, those are the ones that get you in the postseason.

"It's for sure a positive win but we're got to get better," he said. "It's still early and so many things can happen."

Week one games are always a bit different because teams are still trying to jigger their lineups and see who's going to start.

"You're trying to figure out a couple of things," Wilson said. "You're trying to find out what kids are ready to play."

With so many new faces, starting positions on the Pirates depth chart had to be earned. But if a win over Frenchtown is the result, then they've certainly got the job.

Polson boys' soccer loses to Stillwater Christian

Last night the Polson Pirates got their season started and despite matching Stillwater Christian with shots on goal at 11, they still dropped the match 2-0.

The Pirates also had more corner kicks, 5-3. However, head coach Jess Kittle said that the team had some defensive miscues that led to the two goals.

The Polson girls lost to Hamilton 5-0 at home yesterday.

Volleyball roundup from last night

In Class B action last night, the Mission Lady Bulldogs fell to Superior in five sets, 14-25, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12. Adessa Durglo led the team with 12 kills and she also had 15 digs. Mackenzie Trudeau had 20 digs.

In Class C, The Charlo Lady Vikings disposed of Drummond in four sets 25-21, 25-27, 25-23, 25-23, with Rachel Hoyt leading the way with 16 kills and seven blocks.

Polson girls' golf team wins Flatfish Invitational

Okay, so perhaps it was a technicality but the Polson girl's team overcame conference foe Whitefish on Tuesday to finish first in the Flatfish Invitational at Whitefish Lake Golf Club.

Whitefish led on Monday by 45 shots after the first round but did not field a full team and got knocked out of contention. Polson picked up the pieces and finished first with a team score of 798. Senior Amy Williamson finished fifth in the tournament with rounds of 95-97 for a total score of 192.


Flatfish Invitational
Girl's team standings
1. Polson (798)
2. Glacier (814)
3. Hellgate (815)
4. Flathead (841)
5. Browning (943)
6. Whitefish (352)
7. Columbia Falls (463)

Polson Girls' Team Scores
5. Amy Williamson 95-97 - 192
T-6. Anna DiGiallonardo - 96-97 - 193
Jaylin Kenney - 112-105 - 217
Makaliah Wilson 105-99 - 204
Kat Medlund - 104-107 - 211

The boys finished seventh, as Cody Fischer led the team with an 84-85 for a 169.

Boy's team standings
1. Whitefish (625)
2. Hellgate (629)
3. Glacier (631)
4. Hamilton (647)
5. Flathead (672)
6. Big Sky (687)
7. Polson (696)
8. Stevensville (739)
9. Libby (781)

Polson Girls' Team Scores

Cody Fischer 84-85 - 169
Hayden Congdon 77-84 - 161
Dakotah Jenson 82-87 - 169
Logan Howell 104-99 - 203
Austin Von Tom - 98-101 - 199

Ronan Orange and Black game photos

Here are some photos from tonight's Orange and Black game in Ronan. Some things I noticed about the game.

1. The team was extremely sharp despite having practiced only a week. There was only one offside the entire game, and I could only count two fumbles, none recovered.

2. The defense was opportunistic with three interceptions. And that doesn't mean that Ronan's QB play subpar, I thought all the quarterbacks out there looked very good.

3. They'll have plenty of guys to carry the ball, all strong looking runners.

Check out next week's Lake County Leader for a full breakdown.

It's game time!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, reporting live from the first scrimmage of the year, I'm here in Ronan for the Orange and Black game.  It will start tonight at 7 p.m.

You know how long it has been since I've seen live football? Much too long. I was starting to go a bit nutty and was wearing my Tennessee Titans jersey around the office tackling people. That didn't go over so well.

Hopefully I should have a good notes section typed up after the game and then for the whole story, be sure to check out next week's issue of the Lake County Leader.

Photos from Ronan football practice

Here are some photos from last Friday's football practice in Ronan...

Q&A with John Robertson

Check out this Q&A article with John Robertson. He's a PRCA team roper and is currently third on the money list in the Montana Circuit.

Click here to read the full article.

We'll stay updated with how he does for the rest of the season. You can check the PRCA standings here.

Ronan Cross Country completes 100-mile relay

The Ronan Cross Country team started on Wednesday night in Charlo, and ended up at Big Arm State Park on Thursday at 9 a.m. It was a 100-mile relay to kick off the season for the team. They'll camp out at the state park and then go on a run on WildHorse Island.

Morning coffee... August 19, 2010

Roger Clemens has been indicted for making false statements to Congress in 2008. Is anyone else excited about this? Not only is this the perfect ending for one of the biggest jerks in baseball history (read: how he gave up on the Red Sox), but it's also going to cause a lot of other baseball players that testified to Congress to look over their shoulder.

Baseball has to feel great that their seven-time Cy Young Award winner has a chance to go to the klink. Wonderful. Now what the heck is Barry Bonds going to do?



College News

UM soccer starts this weekend
Two games this weekend. SCAVES UP!

Former Griz, Bobcats players shine in NFL
Preseason roundup of players from the Treasure State

Eastern Washington holds first football scrimmage
Better known as "EWU has first dress rehearsal of their dismantling of the Griz."

National News

Big Ben to play on Saturday
Lets hope its not "Ladies Night" at the stadium.

Lance Berkman to 15-day DL
Yankees fans rejoice.

Smell like Lamar Odom
No really smell like him.

Local News
The Ronan football team will have their Orange and Black scrimmage Friday at 5 p.m.

The Ronan Golf Invitational at the Mission Mountain Golf Course in Ronan will start at 9 a.m

Morning coffee... August 18, 2010

Griz cornerback Jimmy Wilson is back in practice after a little snafu where he allegedly bit a woman's leg.

Missoula, MT (Sports Network) - University of Montana senior cornerback Jimmy Wilson returned to practice Tuesday after being held out of the beginning of fall camp drills following his citation for a misdemeanor assault charge this month.

Wilson's athletic eligibility was restored by the NCAA in July following his acquittal on murder charges in July 2009.

He missed the beginning of fall camp drills because of the alleged incident on Aug. 6.

Does that mean he's going to run wind sprints?

College News

Montana State worried about turnovers
In their scrimmage on Saturday, the defense looked good, the offense didn't.

National News

Favre practicing with Vikings
Don't you just love the dog days of Favummer?

Eli Manning's head is no longer bleeding
But did you see it WHEN it was bleeding? Awesome.

Andy Pettitte's groin strain is not improving
Even though I'm a Sox fan, not person really wants to have a groin strain that doesn't improve.

Local News

The Polson boy's soccer team will be having a scrimmage this Saturday at Linderman Elementary at 9 a.m.

Griz ranked No. 2 in preseason poll, Eags ranked 13th

Even with a new coach, the Grizzlies were ranked No. 2 in the preseason FCS rankings. Montana State was also in the rankings at No. 24.

They're not alone in the Big Sky Conference though, my wonderful Eastern Washington Eagles are ranked no. 13 even though they have a new quarterback at the helm.

The Weber State Wildcats were ranked 19.

And Idaho State? Well they just suck. But four teams ranked in the Big Sky Conference means that everyone is thinking that it's going to be competitive this year. Wow.

Shots from Charlo's Midnight practice

The Charlo football team laced up their cleats last Thursday/Friday at midnight to usher in the new season. Here are some photos from that night...