Cats win thriller in Polson

The Columbia Falls football team took first place in the Northwest A conference last Friday in one of the best regular season games in years. Runningback Nate Thompson and the Cats’ unheralded offensive line continue to have their way with opponents, as Thompson rushed for 266 yards on 37 carries in a 25-20 come-from-behind win against Polson.

In the first quarter Thompson ran 69 yards for a touchdown and then Cole Jones rumbled in from seven yards on the Cats’ next possession to give Columbia Falls an early 13-0 lead.

The Cats then stifled a Polson drive after Kaleb Johnson intercepted a Vince DiGiallonardo pass in the end zone. Polson would drive almost to the end zone again, but on fourth and goal, Johnson stopped the Polson runner just short of the goal line, stopping the drive.

The Pirates, who were undefeated going into the game, scored late in the second quarter on a 51-yard run by DiGiallonardo.

In the third, the Cats added another touchdown when Dan Jones rumbled in from seven yards out to make it 19-7.

But then Polson mounted a comeback. DiGiallonardo picked off an errant long pass by Cats quarterback Austin Barth and returned the interception more than 50 yards. The Pirates would convert the turnover into a touchdown to make it 19-14. On the ensuing possession the Cats had to punt, but the snap went over Thompson’s head. He recovered it, but was tackled at the Cats five yard line.

Polson would score on the ensuing drive, but would miss the two-point conversion on a dropped pass to make it 20-19.

The Cats would punt on the ensuing possession, but then stifled a Polson drive on the Cats’ 23 yard line with about 5:35 left. The Cats drove down to Polson’s 36 with 1:53 remaining. On third and 12 from the Polson 36 yard line, Barth connected with Johnson to get a crucial first down.

Thompson then rumbled in the end zone from 11 yards out. The two point conversion failed, but it wouldn’t matter. On Polson’s last possession, DiGiallonardo hit a receiver across the middle for a nice gain, but he coughed up the ball and Kodiak Gimble recovered the fumble with 41.2 second left.

The Cats ran out the clock and secured the victory.

“This is historic,” said coach Bill Coleman after the game. He noted that over the years, the Cats have had a hard time beating Polson. Their goal this season is to win the division, and knocking off a quality team like the Pirates was “huge.”

“When you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” he said.

While official school rushing records are hard to come by, it appears that Thompson has broken the school rushing mark.

Thompson has 1,357 rushing yards on the season. According to Hungry Horse News archives, four previous runningbacks in school history have rushed for more than 1,000 yards, including  Steve Kracher, Chris Newman, Mark Lingle and Neil Brunett. Lingle and Newman rushed for more than 1,000 yards each in 1976. Kracher broke the 1,100 yard mark in 1971, Brunett rushed for 1,063 yards as a junior in 1980. But Thompson is on pace to rush for 1,750 yards if he maintains his current pace.

The Cats had 446 yards of offense against the Pirates, rushing for 330 yards. Barth threw for 116 yards and did an excellent job of running the offense, Coleman said.

Coleman blamed himself for Barth’s one interception, saying they should have run the ball on that play instead of throwing a long pass.

The Cats have a bye week and then play Whitefish away Oct. 15 and Ronan at home Oct. 22. Both games start at 7 p.m.

While the win in Polson was big, Coleman wasn’t looking past the remaining regular season.

“It’s just one rung in the ladder,” he said.

Columbia Falls 13 0 6 6 - 25

Polson 0 7 7 6 - 20

CF - Nate Thompson 69 run (Austin Barth kick)

CF - Cole Jones 7 run (kick failed)

P - Vince DiGiallonardo 51 run (Kyle Bagnell kick)

CF - Dan Jones 7 run (kick failed)

P - Sheldon Fisher 12 pass from DiGiallonardo (Bagnell kick)

P - DiGiallonardo 5 run (pass failed)

CF -Thompson 11 run (run failed)