Ronan falls to Malta 31-27

(From wire reports)

MALTA – Senior halfback Jade Olson rushed for 270 yards and two touchdowns as Malta defeated the Ronan Chiefs 31-27 Saturday afternoon in a Class B semifinal game.

Malta, which improved to 11-0, led 31-13 before the Chiefs rallied in the final two quarters.

Ronan quarterback Robbie Gauthier hurt the Mustangs time and again through the air in the final two quarters. In the closing minutes, the Chiefs drove deep into Malta territory. But Gauthier’s fourth-down pass in the end zone fell incomplete.

Gauthier passed for 271 yards in the second half as the Chiefs rallied.

Ronan (8-3) outgained Malta 435-385 as Gauthier completed 22 of 28 passes for 318 yards. He was picked off twice.

Ronan - 7 - 0 - 6 - 14 -- 27
Malta - 0 - 21 - 10 - 0 -- 31

Ronan - Jack Humphreys 6-yard run (Leo Michelin kick)
Malta - Kaden Bedwell 24-yard pass from Kendall Denham (Dalton Brookie kick)
Malta - Jade Olson 5-yard run (Brookie kick)
Malta - Olson 3-yard run (Brookie kick)
Malta - Brookie 37-yard field goal
Ronan - Jake Skelton 1-yard run (kick failed)
Malta - Olson 61-yard run (Brookie kick)
Ronan - Skelton 3-yard run (pass failed)
Ronan - Carsten Barch 36-yard pass from Robbie Gauthier (Marcus Hungerford pass from Gauthier)

Daily Inter Lake Article on Polson volleyball

Here's a write-up from Dixie Knutson of the Daily Inter Lake about Polson's run in the Class A state tournament. It has some good insight from Lady Pirates' head coach Jan Toth and also talks about Whitefish's exit from the tournament.

Click here for the article. 

Polson volleyball bows out of the state tournament

Polson battled to the very end, but had their season wrap up in the second day of the Class A State tournament on Friday after a 3-1 loss to Billings Central in a loser-out matchup. The Lady Pirates went 1-2 in the tournament and capped off their fourth-straight trip to Bozeman and their second-straight conference championship.

Billings Central 3, Polson 1
25-20, 22-25, 25-15, 25-15
The Lady Pirates showed balance in their attack, with three different players getting an impressive number of kills, but they couldn't get past Billings Central to extend their season in a 3-1 loss. Ashley Johnson (14), Heidi Rausch (10) and Kenzie Clay (9) combined for a monster-like performance in kills for Polson.

The Lady Rams used large runs to put down the Lady Pirates. In the first game with everything tied at 10-10, Billings Central went on a 10-4 run to take a commanding lead. They would go on to win 25-20.

In the second set, thing were tight the entire way before Polson scored the last three points for the 25-22 victory. Things were also close in the third match and both teams were tied 15-15 before the Lady Rams went on a 10-0 run to win the match.

In the fourth and deciding match, things were tied 8-8 but Billings Central outscored the Lady Pirates 17-7 the rest of the way for the victory.

Shalaina Duford was her usual wonderful self out on the volleyball court, notching 34 assists and 21 digs. Showcasing Polson's awesome defense were three other players in double-digit digs: Riley Kenney (17), MaCall Banner (15) and Mackenzie Banner (15).

Polson 3, Hamilton 2
21-25, 26-24, 25-27, 25-15, 15-12
It was an early-morning thriller for the Lady Pirates as they came from behind in the fifth set to knock Hamilton out of the Class A State Tournament. Polson had four girls in double-digit kills in the 3-2 victory, led by Riley Kenney with 15.

While Hamilton won the first set 25-21, thanks to a 7-1 run midway through the game, Polson bounced back in the second stanza by going on a 10-0 run to gain the 20-14 lead and they held on for the extra-points 26-24 victory.

The third set went into extra points too, but Hamilton won that one 27-25. It appeared they might upend the Lady Pirates in the tournament but Polson won the fourth game 25-15.

In the thrilling fifth set, Hamilton had the 10-5 lead, but the Lady Pirates went on a improbable 10-2 run to win the match.

Shalania Duford had an eye-popping 49 assists, and the Lady Pirates defense was just as impressive. Duford had 33 digs, Mackenzie Banner had 29 and Macall Banner had 20.

The win moved the Pirates on in the bracket against Billings Central.

Belgrade 3, Polson 2
19-25, 17-25, 25-20, 27-25, 15-11
Kenzie Clay and Riley Kenney both had eight kills, Heidi Rausch had 4 blocks and Mackenzie Banner had 28 digs but it just wasn't enough and the Lady Pirates were downed in five sets in the first round of the Class A State Tournament.

After defeating Belgrade 25-19 and 25-17 in the first two games of the match, Belgrade won the third 25-20 and won rather controversially 27-25 in the fourth game. Polson had a match point overturned in that match by the officials. The momentum would carry on to the fifth game for Belgrade and they would win 15-11 for the match.

Shalaina Duford had 28 assists in the game.

The loss sent Polson to an early-morning (10 a.m. so early by journalist standards) matchup against Hamilton.

NOTE: Whitefish, also from the Northwestern A conference went 0-2 in the state tournament.

Here are some photos from the game... you can buy the full-sized prints here.

Click on "Read More" to see the full gallery.

10-C All-conference volleyball teams

Here are the 10-C all-conference teams and as you can see there are plenty of Lake County representatives on the list. Charlo's Dawn Blevins and Kinley Pope were also named to the All-State team as well.

All-Conference
First Team
Dawn Blevins - Charlo
Kinley Pope - Charlo
Kaitlynn Koke - Superior
Nicole Stroot - Superior
Cary Chamberlain - Superior
Cortney Dix - Arlee
Whitney Malatare - Arlee


Second Team
Ashley Blaylock - Superior
Alyssa Foster - Hot Springs
Rachel Hoyt - Charlo
Deondra Brown - Charlo
Julianna Spencer - St. Regis
Arianna Jones - St. Regis
Alex Green - Hot Springs

Honorable Mention
Shanny King - Hot Springs
Hannah Retallick - Hot Springs
Mahalia Hendren - Arlee
Jordyn Wilkinson - Noxon
Kimmy Marich - Noxon

Leader Sports Report Episode Two

Here is the second episode of the Leader Sports Report. We talk about how Dylan is the bad luck reporter, the unfair ranking of Boise State in football, an NFL mid-season reporter and Brandon's hatred towards Gonzaga. We also run through all the local Lake County sports as well. Enjoy!


Leader Sports Report Episode2 by Brandonwhansen