3A STATE FOOTBALL: Despite loss, Priest River proves worth on big stage

Aberdeen 42, Priest River 12

ABERDEEN — It wasn't the outcome the No. 8 at-large Spartans wanted, but they pulled off something that only three other teams were able to do against the No. 1 at-large Tigers during the regular season — score 12 points or more — and broke multiple school records of their own in doing so.

Ranked as the No. 2 team in the state according to this year's MaxPreps rankings, the Tigers' defense was allowing just 6.25 points per game and had posted four shutouts heading into Saturday's 3A state play-in game at Aberdeen High.

In their 42-12 loss to Aberdeen, Priest River became just one of three 3A teams to score 12 points or more against the Tigers. The other two happen to be No. 3 ranked West Side, which won 14-12 over the Tigers, and No. 5 ranked Ririe, who were defeated 29-14 by Aberdeen. 4A American Falls, which defeated Moscow 24-16 in the opening round of the 4A state playoffs on Friday, posted 18 points in their season-opening 20-18 loss to Aberdeen.

"Aberdeen is well-coached defensively and we knew that going in," Priest River High head coach Alex Zepeda said. "We were hoping to score a little bit more because we know we have a good offense, but we did get more than most teams have, so that's a positive."

With the 12 points, Priest River broke the all-time points record for a single season. The Spartans scored 288 points this year, four more than the the previous record set in 2012.

The visiting Spartans, ranked No. 12 in 3A, had two touchdowns in the contest, both which came from senior Sawyer Staudt. Staudt, with 40 seconds remaining in the second quarter, scored on a 4-yard rush to cap off a 47-yard drive to cut the Tiger lead to 7-6. Sophomore Nate Fegert, who also had a huge stop for a 4-yard loss on a 3rd down and two on Aberdeen's first drive of the game, recovered a fumble with roughly four minutes remaining in the quarter to give the Spartans the great field position that eventually led to the touchdown.

In the fourth quarter, now down 35-6, junior quarterback Lucas Mathews hit Staudt for an 11-yard receiving touchdown with 5:11 remaining to bring the Spartans within 23. Earlier in that same drive, Mathews, who was 11-for-19 passing for 107 yards, hit freshman Layton Goins for a 41-yard strike to set things up nicely.

With that touchdown, Staudt improved his total touchdown count to 24 on the season, which ranks as first in 3A and second in the entire state of Idaho, just behind Lakeland's Love Weil. He also broke the Priest River all-time season rushing record set by Cameron Riley in 2012 of 1139 yards. With his 37 rushing yards today, Staudt eclipsed that mark with 1,146 rushing yards on the season.

The Spartans had a couple of other opportunities in the game, including a turnover on downs in the first quarter on the Tigers' 11-yard line and a failed onside kick that was recovered by junior Niki Porinchok on the Aberdeen 41-yard line in the third, but weren't able to capitalize on those possessions.

The Tigers, known for their ground game, scored 28 of their 42 points in the second half and completed just one pass as they rushed for six touchdowns and piled up 354 rushing yards. With the win, Aberdeen improves to 8-1 on the year and will head to the state quarterfinals set to take place on Nov. 8 or 9 against an opponent yet to be determined.

Priest River, which finished second in the Central Idaho League this year and and clinched the playoffs for the first time since 2012, compiled a 6-3 record on the season, their first winning season since 2013. It was the Spartans' fifth playoff appearance in school history.

"Just considering the step we took this year, having a JV schedule last year, and winning just two games over a five-year period the year before that, it's huge for Priest River," coach Zepeda said. "Of course, we're disappointed, wanting to win the whole thing, and especially today, but this was huge for our program. I'm super excited to get back to it this offseason. We're a super young team and the future is bright for us."

Priest River 0 6 0 6 — 12

Aberdeen 0 14 8 20 — 42

2nd quarter

AB — Alvarez 5 run (kick good), 8:57 

PR — Staudt 4 run (conversion failed), 0:40

AB —  Shackelford 2 run (kick good), 0:06

3rd quarter

AB — Shackelford 2 run (Beck conversion), 9:00

4th quarter

AB — Shackelford 4 run (conversion failed), 11:20

AB — Beck 2 run (kick good), 6:44

PR — Staudt 11 pass from Mathews (conversion failed), 5:11

AB — Alvarez 1 run (kick good), 3:44

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: PR — Staudt 9-37, Fegert 7-21, Goins 1-10, Kuprienko 3-6. AB — Shackelford 10-111, Beck 13-84, Ortiz 11-83, Alvarez 7-45, Foster 3-15, Jenkins 2-8, Driscoll 1-4, Serna Carillo 1-4.

PASSING: PR — Mathews 11-19-1-107. AB — Ortiz 1-3-0-20.

RECEIVING: PR — Goins 1-41, Staudt 5-36, S. Simcox 1-19, L. Simcox 1-6, Lamanna 2-5, Kuprienko 1-0. AB — Serna Carillo 1-20.

    Priest River High sophomore running back Colton Kuprienko stiff arms Aberdeen's Mitchell Elliott during Saturday's matchup.