Spartans stumble at Orofino

OROFINO — The Priest River football team couldn't keep up with Orofino last Friday night and fell 26-0 to the Maniacs.

Injuries were the story for the Spartans who trailed 26-0 at the half.

"Once again it was a struggle to get going on offense," head coach Jared Hughes wrote in an email. "We lost four of our five starting offensive linemen for the game and it showed. The younger kids who had to step in were overwhelmed by Orofino's blitzing."

In the first half, Priest River only had four total yards on offense. In the second half, the Spartans settled down and made some progress, but not enough to mount a comeback.

Priest River (0-4) forced Orofino to commit five turnovers in the game. Hughes said the Spartans defense kept them in it the whole night. Junior Kameron Salesky led the team with nine tackles, senior Coby Rogers tallied seven total tackles and junior Jordan Nortz had two interceptions.

Unfortunately, the Spartans turned the ball over six times and only had 62 rushing yards on 34 carries. Two of the Maniacs touchdowns came courtesy of interceptions.

Friday night’s homecoming football game against Orofino has been canceled due to an athlete at Orofino testing positive for COVID-19, according to the Lewiston Tribune.

Priest River 0 0 0 0 — 0

Orofino 13 13 0 0 — 26

First quarter

Orofino — Joe Sparano 35-yard interception return (kick good)

Orofino — Kai Naranjo 10 yard pass from Manuel Mickle (kick blocked)

Second quarter

Orofino — Naranjo 6 yard pass from Mickle (kick good)

Orofino — Reid Thomas 15-yard interception return (kick blocked)