Spartan boys soccer team wins pair of games; football team wins thriller
(Photo by ERIC PLUMMER) Sophomore Amber Johnston pays homage to the great Zola Budd by running barefoot on Saturday during the Sandpoint Invitational. Budd, an iconic distance runner from South Africa, was famous for racing barefoot.
(Photo by ERIC PLUMMER) Sophomore setter Harlee Meek feeds one of her hitters in earlier season action. The Spartans swept the Panthers twice recently in league play, and will host Kellogg on Thursday night.
(Photo by MARY MALONE) Bradley O’Brien, left, and Cole Thompson converge on a tackle in earlier season action. The Spartans had a comeback to remember on Friday.
PRIEST RIVER — The young Spartan boys soccer team had its best week of the season recently, posting a pair of quality wins.
In a 3-1 nonleague win over Upper Columbia Academy JV recent, the Spartans peppered the goal with 31 shots, controlling possession and creating plenty of offense.
“The boys played very well and found their offensive rhythm while dominating the match throughout both halves. For a team of eleven with more than half freshmen, we have been complimented by coaches of the opposing team on how well they are doing and how much heart they have,” said head coach Rob Lawler. “I could not ask for a more dedicated team who strives to improve every practice.
Erik Deem got the start in the goal and had an outstanding performance. Lawler expects him to be a great asset as he gains experience between the pipes.
The Spartans followed it up with a 3-2 win over Orofino, generating 15 shots on goal. The Spartans built on previous momentum to make it two in a row, after erasing an early 1-0 deficit.
“We refused to let an opponent’s lead take us out of the game,” claimed Lawler. “This was a very exciting week for the Spartan boys soccer team.”
In the 49th minute, Bowen Fegert dropped a pass to Evan Barnes, who chipped a shot in just under the cross bar to cap a pretty goal. Three minutes later a handball was called against Orofino in the penalty box and resulted in a PK, with Fegert converting for a 2-1 lead. In the 68th minute, Cameron Bell scored off an assist from Fegert for a big insurance goal, as Orofino closed the gap with seven minutes left.
n Huge comeback leads Spartans past Maniacs
OROFINO — It would have been easy for the Spartans to mail it in while trailing the Maniacs 18-0 in the fourth quarter of a thrilling nonleague football game on Friday night in Orofino. Instead they clawed back to score 20 unanswered points for a wild 20-18 win.
The Spartans (2-3) capitalized on some mistakes by Orofino (2-4) in the fourth quarter and staged a furious comeback, capped when Keegan Hegel romped in for a six yard touchdown to tie the game at 18-18 with 40 seconds left.
The Spartans opted to go for two, with quarterback Robbie Anselmo hitting Brett Gordon for the deciding points.
Priest River hosts Timberlake on Friday night in a big Intermountain League clash.
n Parkes, Rantala lead Spartans at Sandpoint meet
SANDPOINT — Cameron Parkes clocked a 16:49 to finish fifth overall, leading the Spartan boys on Saturday at the Sandpoint Invitational cross country meet at Travers Park.
The time on the flat 5K course moves Parkes up to No. 2 on the all-time Spartan cross country list. The strong team showing now has the boys ranked No. 4 in the 3A ranks on Athletic.net.
“His stomach got to him in the last mile, but I am sure that he would have stolen the school record if he could have continued his dominate race,” described head coach Lance Clark of Parkes. “I really feel that if all the boys come out to race at districts this year, they could take home a league championship.”
Jordan Phillips was 21st (18:37), Graden Hanes 40th (20:13) and Kyler Lord 40th (20:53) for the varsity boys. Both Travis Mathews and Kaden Fulton got a top 10 medal in JV and ran personal bests by over a minute, and Coner Berns had a personal best.
In the girls race, the Spartans top 3 runners posted personal bests, with both Annika Rantala (7th) and Erika Swoboda (16th) moving up the top 10 of the all time list at PRLHS. Rantala is now 4th all-time, being only one second off 3rd with a time of 20:49 on Saturday, and she is currently the top freshman and sophomore on the top 10 lists. Swoboda is now 8th all-time on the list and 3rd on the freshman list with her time of 21:42.
Sharnai Hogan was 27th in 22:32, followed by Izzie Schmidt in 28th and Amber Johnston in 30th for the scoring Spartans.
“We had some strong performances from our other girls who are getting stronger every week. I can’t wait to see what they can do next week,” said Clark. “The girls have their work cut out against the league champions (Timberlake), but there is always a chance. They are improving fast.”
The Spartans are in Lewiston on Saturday.
n Randolph, Pankoke, Meek lead Spartans in sweep of Panthers
Priest River swept Coeur d’Alene Charter 25-19, 25-18, 25-17 in recent Intermountain League volleyball action.
Natalie Randolph tallied 10 kills and six aces, Harlee Meek 25 set assists, Maggee Pankoke 17 digs, and Cassidy Prudek and Dalanee Cook one block apiece.
The Spartans then traveled to St. Maries, where the host Lumberjacks beat the Spartans 25-15, 13-25, 25-18, 25-18 in nonleague play.
The Spartans then traveled to Coeur d’Alene to whip Charter again by the scores of 25-18, 25-18, 25-18.
The Spartans host Kellogg on Thursday night in an IML clash.
n Wednesday Night Looper Bowling League
Results for 9/26
1, Club Rio, 80-25.
2, Pin Ups , 60-45.
3, Woodwise, 50-50.
4, Diamond Lake Deli, 43.5-63.5
5, Les Schwab, 35-46.
6, McCroskey Defense, 24.5-64.5.
High Scratch Game: John Hastings, 231.
High Handicap Game: Thomas White, 245.
High Scratch Series: John Hastings, 634.
High Handicap Series: John Hastings, 676.
n Lucky Ladies Bowling League
1, Pooch Parlor’s Golden Girls, 12-4.
2, Ballsy Broads, 11-1.
3, No Pins Left Behind, 8-8.
4, Sparklers, 7-9.
5, Morning Glories, 5-11.
Last Week’s Top Scores Scratch Game Scratch Series Handicap Game Handicap Series
High scratch game — Jen Hudson, 184.
High scratch series — Jen Hudson, 504.
High handicap game — Cindy Klein, 237.
High handicap series — Roberta Clausen, 668.
Converted Splits: Betty Balison 5-7, Roberta Clausen 2-7, Darlene Dinwoodie 3-5-10, Jan Edgar 3-6-7-10, Vicki Nolting 5-6-10, 3-10, Liz Pope 3-10.