Spartan Roundup: Football nearly notches first victory, soccer teams secure wins

PRIEST RIVER — Self-inflicted wounds proved to be the difference for Priest River football in a 13-8 defeat to Oroville, Wash., on Saturday at PRLHS.

Sloppy conditions made it difficult for both teams to hold onto and move the ball. Priest River fumbled four snaps and the Hornets recovered two balls the Spartans put on the turf.

The Spartans forced a pair of Oroville turnovers and racked up their most yards on offense this season, but they were only able to convert four trips inside the Hornets' 10-yard line into one touchdown.

Head coach Jared Hughes said untimely penalties and missed assignments put the Spartans behind the sticks all game. Priest River had nine penalties for 80 yards.

"This was a tough loss," he said. "While we had some good performances statistically, we just couldn't get out of our own way ... This week in practice, we will be focusing on sustaining our blocks as we had several plays that were one block away from breaking it big."

Kameron Salesky had another impressive game on the ground, rushing for 83 yards on 26 carries. He also punched in the Spartans' only touchdown of the game in the second quarter. Matyus McLain converted the two-point conversion attempt to give Priest River an 8-0 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, the Hornets scored a pair of touchdowns — a 75-yard run and 30-yard pass — and never looked back.

Outside of those two big plays, Hughes felt like his defense played pretty well.

"We actually held them for negative yards if you take those two plays away," he said.

McLain led the defense with 11 tackles, including six for loss and a pair of sacks. He also had an interception that he returned to the 6-yard line.

"Matyus McLain was a beast," Hughes said.

Deegan Goins tallied nine total tackles, two for loss and one sack. Salesky secured eight tackles and Brady O'Brien forced a fumble.

Quarterback Michael Johnson finished 6 of 12 for 76 yards and two interceptions. Hughes said it was Johnson's best game of the year. McLain caught three passes for 44 yards and Conor Berns had a pair of receptions for 28 yards.

Priest River (0-3) will play its fourth nonleague game of the season at 7 p.m. Friday when they head to Eastern Washington University to face Manson, Wash.

"This will be a fun opportunity for our kids to experience playing on turf and another opportunity for our kids to pick up our first win," Hughes said.

Oroville 0 0 13 0 — 13

Priest River 0 8 0 0 — 8

Second quarter

PR — Kameron Salesky 2-yard run (McLain run good)

Third quarter

OR — Kolo Moser 75-yard run (kick no good)

OR — Hernandez 30-yard pass from Moser (kick good)

PRIEST RIVER INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Salesky 26-83, McLain 6-18, Bowen 4-7, Berns 2-6, Goins 2-4, Johnson 7-0.

PASSING — Johnson 6-12-2-78.

RECEIVING — McLain 3-44, Berns 2-28, Salesky 1-6.

Girls soccer

The Spartans took down the Post Falls junior varsity team 4-1 at PRLHS last Thursday to secure their second victory of the season.

"The ladies diligently pressed the whole game and were rewarded for their efforts," head coach Rob Lawler said.

Freshmen Hadassah Davis and Lizzie McCracken scored goals in the opening half and Marley Burgess-Duquette and Kiersten Davis found the back of the net in the final 40 minutes. Cheyenne Thompson and Burgess-Duquette each recorded assists.

Priest River outshot the Trojans 14-3. Lawler said his team really clamped down defensively.

"On the defensive end, Haley Braae and Rebecca Sedbrook shared the sweeper position, supported by stopper Elisheva Davis and a cohort of wing defenders, keeping the ball out of the penalty box and making it a light night for keeper Brooklyn Best," he said.

The Spartans (2-5-1, 0-3-1 IML) were scheduled to travel to St. Maries on Tuesday, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the St. Maries Joint School District.

"Staff and student absences have reached a level that is not sustainable," the school district posted on their Facebook page. "After consultation with our local health care providers, all schools in the district will switch to remote learning on Wednesday, Sept. 22. All athletic practices and events ... will be canceled. A tentative return to face-to-face instruction has been set for Monday, Oct. 11."

Priest River boys soccer and volleyball were also supposed to head to the Lumberjacks on Tuesday for games.

Because the soccer matches are league contests and St. Maries can't play, the Spartans will be awarded victories for both, according to Priest River Athletic Director Mike Condie.

Priest River girls soccer (3-5-1, 1-3-1 IML) heads to Riverside, Wash., on Thursday and hosts Bonners Ferry next Tuesday.

Volleyball

Priest River suffered a three-set defeat to Coeur d'Alene Charter last Thursday, 25-16, 25-20, 25-21. The loss dropped the Spartans to 0-2 in Intermountain League play.

"We had great moments, just struggling to gel as a team and finish games," head coach Meagan Mize said. "Hoping some changes this week will bring some new energy."

Across two IML matches last week, Ona Rose led the team with 10 kills, Allyson Barton and Addisen Kingery each had nine and Abigail Shockey tallied two. Desarai Humphrey recorded 36 assists.

The Spartans (0-5) will be searching for their first set win of the season when they head to Wallace at 6:30 p.m. today, Timberlake at 7 p.m. Thursday and a tournament at Lakeside on Saturday. They host IML rival Kellogg next Tuesday.

Cross country

On Saturday, Priest River competed in the Bonners Ferry Invite. The Spartans didn't have enough runners to post a team score on the boys or girls side, but four athletes ran a 5K.

In the boys varsity race, Dylan Lord posted a time of 19:13 to finish 13th out of 28 runners. Ethan Korff ran his first 5K of the fall, placing 25th with a 21:17.

Freshman Tanner Bowers took 11th in the boys junior varsity race with a PR of 22:46.

Annie Morrell captured 14th in the girls varsity race.

Priest River hosted its sole home meet of the season on Tuesday, but results were not available at press time. Results from the Ivan Benson Invitational will be printed in Thursday's paper.

The Spartans head to Pinehurst Golf Course on Thursday, Sept. 30 to participate in the Ben Castro Invitational.

Boys soccer

Priest River soared to a commanding 8-2 home victory over Orofino last Thursday.

Bradley Gleason scored four goals and Shane Gamber tallied three goals and an assist. Zach Engelson scored the other goal for the Spartans.

Bowen Fegert notched a pair of assists and Everett Hannah assisted on Gleason's third goal.

Head coach Daryl Hall said it was a great game for his squad.

Priest River outshot Orofino 22-7 and Luke Butler made six saves in net.

With Tuesday's forfeit by St. Maries, the Spartans (4-3, 3-2 IML) have now won three straight. They host Immaculate Conception Academy on Monday.

First half — 1, PR, Bradley Gleason (unknown), 16:00. 2, PR, Shane Gamber (Bowen Fegert), 31:00. 3, PR, Gamber (penalty kick), 37:00. 4, PR, Gamber (Fegert), 39:00. 5, PR, Zach Engelson (unassisted), 40:00. Second half — 6, PR, Gleason (Gamber), 58:00. 7, OR, Connor Protratz (unassisted), 62:00. 8, PR, Gleason (Everett Hannah), 64:00. 9, PR, Gleason (unassisted), 70:00. 9, OR, Connor Protratz (unassisted), 71:00.

Shots — Orofino 7, Priest River 22.

Saves — Orofino, unknown 9; Priest River, Luke Butler, 6.