Polson wins both games against Ronan

Polson Girls 49, Ronan 14
The offense just couldn't get going for the Maidens in their final home game of the season. The Lady Pirates went into the matchup with a focus on the defense and it paid off as they shutout Ronan in the fourth quarter for the 49-14 victory.

Things started off close as Polson held the 6-4 lead in the first quarter, but the Lady Pirates closed things out with a run to make it 12-4 going into the second. They would extend their lead to 23-10 at halftime, and then scored 26 second half points while holding Ronan to four.

The Maidens were led by senior Tailyr Irvine with six points, on senior night at the Ronan Event Center.

The Lady Pirates were led by Breanne Kelley, who had 16 points, and Riley Kenney, who had 11.

Polson - 12 - 11 - 14 - 12 - 49
Ronan - 4 - 6 - 4 - 0 - 14

Lady Pirates scoring - Breanne Kelley 16, Riley Kenney 11, Mariah Hamel 6, Jonna Grant 6, Heidi Rausch 4, Nina Orozco-Charlo 4, Jordan Quinn 2

Maidens scoring - Tailyr Irvine 6, Marissa McCrea 2, Alice Van Gunten 2, Courtney Clairmont 2, Trinity Rosenbaum 2

Polson Boys 69, Ronan 59
In a night that is the last time Ronan and Polson will face one another in a conference match-up (with the Chiefs moving down to Class B), the Pirates and Chiefs battled in a game worthy of the rivalry.

In the first quarter, Polson had opened up an 18-12 lead, but Ronan called a time out and ended the first quarter trailing 20-15. The Pirates would then push it to 30-17 in the second, but Ronan wouldn't go away and only trailed 39-29 at the half.

Ronan opened the third quarter with a 8-1 run, to pull within 40-37, but then Polson went on a 11-2 run of their own to re-establish a comfortable lead. In the fourth, the Chiefs once again tried to make a run, but Louis Mohr scored 12 of his 19 points to ice the game.

Polson - 20 - 19 - 13 - 17 - 69
Ronan - 15 - 14 - 14 - 16 - 59

Pirates scoring - Louis Mohr 19, Tyler Krell 11, Sheldon Fisher 10, Kyle Bagnell 10, Vince DiGiallonardo 9, Zack Camel 6, Cody Fischer 4

Chiefs scoring - Marcus Hungerford 11, Kevin Wroblewski 11, J.J. Tanner 10, Brady Oakland 8, Lucus Black 7, Jackson Jore 5, Justin Dustybull 5, Chris Clary 2

A look at the Polson-Ronan basketball games tonight...

Ronan versus Polson Deux - “Arrgh”onauts at “Flying R” Arena:
Reciprocating with a Rematch Round between a Rambunctious Roundball Rivalry

(Courtesy of John Heglie)

Friday night’s basketball doubleheader between Ronan and Polson carries some significance that merits a measure of commemoration. It will be the last regular season basketball encounter with conference standing implications between two Mission Valley rival teams, at least for the next few years until enrollment numbers at Ronan can return them to the fold of the Northwestern Class A ranks.

Upcoming SKC Games

Here is the schedule for the MT Tribal College League that will be hosted at Salish Kootenai College the weekend of Feb 11-13.

This is a preview for the AIHEC tournament. All six of these teams will be here March 17-20th for the AIHEC Championships.

Daily Admission:
General - $5.00
Under 18 - $3.00
SKC Students w/ ID - Free
SKC Staff and Faculty w/ ID - $3.00

-Courtesy of Juan Perez, SKC

Polson looks to dominate at divisionals

Here's a preview of the Northwestern A Divisional tournament by the Daily Interlake.

WHITEFISH - It's time to step on the mat and mix it up for spots at the Class A state wrestling tournament.

The Northwestern A Divisional gets under way Saturday morning at Whitefish High School. The first matches are set for 11 a.m. with the championship finals slated for 5 p.m.

The Northwestern A includes Polson, Columbia Falls, Libby, Ronan and host Whitefish.

The top four in each weight class advance to the Class A state tournament Feb. 11-12 in Butte.

A coaches' meeting is set for 6:30 tonight to seed the individual wrestlers in each weight class.

The Polson Pirates, ranked No. 6 in the most recent Class A team poll, are the defending divisional champions. They scored 232 points last year, qualified 15 for state and had four individual champions.

The Pirates, with 17 wrestlers entered, are the favorites to claim a second straight trophy.

"Polson is in the driver's seat right now. They have a great lineup. They're very technically sound and well-disciplined. They're definitely the team to beat," said Columbia Falls coach Jesse Schaeffer

"Our workouts are going very well. I think our kids are going to be prepared for (the tournament)," Polson coach Bob Owen said.

"We're still open at two weights, but we have the four extras at other weights (each team can bring four extra wrestlers to divisional), so that should help us," he said.

"I think we have to be a strong contender (to win), just because of the numbers ... Columbia Falls and us," Owen said.

"I don't think our tournament is as competitive as it has been in the past, but there's going to be some great matchups," he added.

"All three of my opening weights, I think they have to be favorites," Owen said.

They are 98-pounder Carlos Quinones (26-8), a freshman, 105-pounder Dylan Moll, a freshman with 24 wins, and sophomore state placer Craig Feistner, also with 24 wins this year, at 112.

Pirates Jacob Young (135), Mike Devlin (152) and Josiah Clairmont (285) should also have shots at being No. 1 seeds going in.

Added to Polson's fortunes are two really good backups at 98 and 105. They are sophomore Lucas Polk at 98 and freshman Taylor Martin at 105.

The MatCats, with the first full divisional lineup in Schaeffer's head coaching career, are feeling confident about their own chances as well.

They return three individual champions from last year - Seth McCall, Sal Baccaro and Justin Whitman - and they have a strong crew behind them to score points in the wrestlebacks.

"For me, this is the first year we're taking a full lineup. We're taking 19 kids. That's going to help out with some points," he said.

"We're feeling pretty good," Schaeffer said of his team.

"We've had some close matches with Libby, with Ronan and with Polson," he said.

"We're excited. We're itching to get back in there and compete. It's going to come down to those wrestlebacks to decide who's going to come out of there (as the team champion)," he said.

"It's going to be pretty scrappy in those wrestlebacks," he said.

Almost every weight class will have some hotly contested matches.

"Ronan has some solid kids - and they are going to mess some things up for people," he said.

The Chiefs have at least "five kids that are very, very solid. And they're going to be ready to roll. Libby has four kids who could walk away with a divisional title and Polson could have a few more divisional champions than other schools.

"I hope they represent themselves and the program to the best of their ability. They've worked hard. They definitely deserve it."

Northwestern A
Divisional

Saturday's Schedule
at Whitefish High School

Top 4 in each weight class advance
10:55 a.m. - National Anthem
11 a.m. - Round One-Round Seven
3:30 p.m. - Round Eight (3rd/4th, 5th/6th).
5 p.m. - Round Nine (Championship Finals).

Prices
All-Session - adults $10, students/seniors over 65 $6.
Championship round - adults $5, students/seniors over 65 $3.
No season passes will be honored for this tournament.

Last night in Lake County Sports (Feb. 3)

Two Eagle Boys 75, St. Regis 44

31 points.

That's how many points that the Eagles scored in the third quarter against St. Regis. Led by point guard Clay Malatare, who scored 12 of his career-high 33 points in this district matchup.

Malatare, who has been on an absolute tear as of late, helped the Eagles to their sixth win of the season, and their fourth district win.

TER - 11 - 19 - 31 - 14 - 75
St. Regis - 9 - 6 - 10 - 19 - 44

Eagles scoring - Clay Malatare 33, Skyler Rossbach 11, Marcus Brown 8, Wes Nowlen 7, T.J. Cutfinger 5, Artie Mendoza 4, Trevor Butterfly 4, Drew Payne 3

Seeley-Swan Girls 37, Charlo 36

The Lady Blackhawks jumped out to a 14-9 lead in the first quarter, and the Vikings battled back in this defensive battle.

Seeley-Swan post player Miranda Dupree was huge in the fourth quarter, scoring four points in a contest that came right down to the wire.

Young guard Jordan Ludeman was big for Charlo again, scoring 10 points.

Charlo - 9 - 8 - 11 - 8 - 36
Seeley - 14 - 5 - 12 - 6 - 37

Lady Vikings scoring - Jordan Ludeman 10,  Kinley Pope 9, Deondra Brown 9, Rachel Hoyt 5, Dawn Blevins 3

Sports schedule for this weekend

Friday, Feb. 4
Basketball
Polson Boys @ Ronan, 7:30 p.m.
Polson Girls @ Ronan, 6 p.m.
Charlo Boys @ T-Falls, 7 p.m.
Mission Boys @ Troy, 4 p.m.
Troy Girls @ Mission, 5:30 p.m.
Arlee Girls & Boys @ Hot Springs

Wrestling
Class B-C Divisionals @ Arlee

Saturday, Feb. 5
Basketball
C-Falls @ Polson Boys, 6 p.m.
Polson Girls @ C-Falls, 6 p.m.
Ronan Boys @ Libby, 4:15 p.m.
Ronan Girls @ Libby, 1:30 p.m.
T-Falls Girls @ Charlo, 6 p.m.
Mission Girls & Boys @ Seeley, 2 p.m.

Wrestling
Northwestern A Divisionals @ Whitefish
Class B-C Divisionals @ Arlee

Tuesday, Feb. 8
Basketball
Mission Boys @ Plains, 4 p.m.
Plains Girls @ Mission, 4 p.m.
Alberton @ Arlee Boys, 7 p.m.
Alberton @ Arlee Girls, 5:30 p.m.

Charlo Girls 47, Arlee 20

Charlo Girls 47, Arlee 20
It's that awesome Charlo defense again. The Lady Vikings held the Scarlets to eight first-half points, then followed that up by allowing just one point in the third quarter.

Kinley Pope was her regular awesome self, getting a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. The win improved Charlo's district record up to 7-0 on the season and 12-1 overall.

Arlee - 4 - 4 - 1 - 11 - 20
Charlo - 17 - 8 - 8 - 12 - 47

Scarlets scoring - Mahalia Hendren 6, Skyla Perry 5, Whitney Malatare 3, Karleigh Bolin 2, Kristyn Adams 2, Tiffany O'Neill 1, Jenna Pablo 1

Lady Vikings scoring - Kinley Pope 19, Dawn Blevins 11, Kelsie Blevins 6, Deondra Brown 5, Jordan Ludeman 3, Rachel Hoyt 2, Trinda Foust 1

A look at Arlee's upset of Charlo

Arlee has been playing some great basketball lately, so heading into Tuesday night's game against Charlo, you could sense that things meant a lot to both teams.

With the Vikings undefeated at 14-0, the Warriors wanted to get a victory before the upcoming district tournament. They wanted to gain that confidence and plant that seed of doubt in Charlo's head.

Arlee had a great game plan. They outrebounded the Vikings for three quarters, didn't allow senior post Chance Rosenbaum to hurt them in the interior and had a convincing 37-21 lead after three quarters.

However, Charlo hit five three-pointers in the fourth and Arlee struggled from the free-throw line to make things very, very interesting in the fourth quarter. They also did what they've done all season, dominated the post with their rebounding.

However, they just couldn't quite get the comeback and Arlee knocked off the undefeated.

What does it mean? Well...

This is going to be one heck of a district tournament. I think Charlo comes away with some confidence they came back, and I think Arlee comes away with confidence because they won the dang thing. The Warriors hadn't had their entire team together for most of the season but now things are coming together and they're dressing their full roster.

Also factor in how dangerous Two Eagle is, and how Noxon manages to stay in games, and we have ourselves a regular March Madness situation.

Here's the box score from the game.

Arlee - 7 - 14 - 16 - 11 - 48
Charlo - 12 - 6 - 3 - 23 - 44

Warriors scoring - Trae Burland 17, Kasey Bridgewater 8, Thomas McClure 7, Jesse Pfau 7, Junior Sansavere 7, Beau Couture 2

Vikings scoring - Chance Rosenbaum 12, Chico Stipe 11,  Kolton Andrews 8, Stephen Delaney 7, Dillion Delaney 6

Polson vs. Eureka update in basketball

Sorry this is a bit late, Mondays and Tuesdays are always crazy for us newspaper folk as we lay out the pages and try to meet deadline. Just pretend like this happened last night :D

Polson Girls 69, Eureka 28
This one wasn't even close as Breanne Kelley had 21 points in the FIRST HALF as the Polson Lady Pirates romped to a 69-28 victory over the Class B Lions.

Polson's first half was impressive as they put in 44 points, cruising to victory in this make-up game. Heidi Rausch also had a great outing, puting up ten points. Junior Riley Kenney had 12.

Eureka - 7 - 7 - 8 - 6 - 28
Polson - 19 - 25 - 12 - 13 - 69

Lady Pirates scoring - Breanna Kelley 21,  Riley Kenney 12, Heidi Rausch 10, Jonna Grant 7, Mackenzie Banner 5,  Mariah Hamel 4,  Jordan Quinn 2, Jessica Bagnell 2

Here are some photos from the game...

And if you missed it... here is the boys update...

Polson Boys 92-48
Wow. Polson blew past Eureka behind Louis Mohr's 23 points as the Pirates improved their record to 9-4. Polson had the 41-26 lead at halftime, and then things got really bad for the Lions.

The Pirates turned up their defensive intensity, holding the Eureka to to 22 second half points while scoring 51.

Polson - 18 - 23 - 26 - 25 - 92
Eureka - 11 - 15 - 13 - 9 - 48

Pirates scoring -  Louis Mohr 23, Sheldon Fisher 15, Cody Fischer 14, Kyle Bagnell 14, Tyler Krell 10,  Vince DiGiallonardo 8, Zac Camel 5, Will Davey 3,

SKC Game Photos from today...

Here are some photos from today's games against Stonechild Community College at SKC...