Portions of an article by JOHN HEGLIE Special for the Leader
Almost a dozen Western A football players from Polson and Ronan were acknowledged with postseason honors for their athletic performances on the gridiron this past fall. Polson had seven named to the honors list: two allstaters, four second-team noms and an honorable mention. All-state accolades for the Polson Pirates went to sophomore southpaw signal- caller Jarrett Wilson and junior receiver Colton Graham. The tandem rewrote the school record book for passing and receiving yardage, appended their names among statewide top 10 lists, and were nationally ranked among the upper echelon of teams posting the MaxPreps.
Wilson broke the school passing record twice in the same season: his season opener debut on the road at Columbia Falls, and a 500-yard performance at home against Butte Central. His over 3,100 passing yards vaulted him into second place among the all-time Class A list for season passing along with appending his name multiple times to the top tier list for single- game yardage, according to Class A statistician Brian A. Reed.
Graham set the school reception record in the season opener against the Wildcats and almost broke the record again at home against Butte Central — if not for adownfield holding infraction that reduced his net gain. Graham’s 1,000 yard-plus season was tops among Class A receivers and was accomplished despite not seeing action in two games.
Second-team junior Xavier Fisher was the second leading receiver for the Pirates. According to Reed, Fisher’s eclipsing of 200 receiving yards against Butte Central in conjunction with comparable yardage by Graham was the first time two receivers had caught passes for over the double- century mark in the same game.
Second-team junior defensive end Braunson Henriksen was a second leading tackler on the team, recovered a fumble while forcing three others, and regularly brought havoc to the backfield.
Second-team sophomore linebacker Trent Wilson was the leading tackler for the Pirates with 79 total tackles. His defensive portfolio this past season included a pick-6, a blocked PAT and a fumble recovery.
Second-team senior jack-of-all-trades Boston Goode did a little bit of everything for the Pirates: backfield rusher, complimentary receiver and punter. In the secondary he recorded four interceptions, at least four pass deflections and was third leading tackler among the team. Goode culminates his prep career with more than 1,200 total yards of offense, factoring in his sophomore season filling in as quarterback. This was the second all-conference acknowledgement for Goode, an honorable mention punter last season.
Senior center Ethan Cunningham was conferred with honorable mention recognition for his crucial role in anchoring the offensive line.
2020 WESTERN A football postseason honors
POLSON – (A-S): Jarrett Wilson QB, Colton Graham WR; (2ND-TM): Xavier Fisher WR, Braunson Henriksen DE, Trent Wilson OLB, Boston Goode S; (HM): Ethan Cunningham C.