PREP FOOTBALL: Kuprienko, Staudt lead Priest River to fourth straight win

Priest River 48, Orofino 15

PRIEST RIVER — Sophomore Colton Kuprienko returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown and added two other scores, senior Sawyer Staudt rushed 15 times for 265 yards and four touchdowns, and the host Spartans picked up a convincing 48-15 homecoming win over the visiting Maniacs at Priest River High on Friday.

It was a big day for Kuprienko, who ran for an 18-yard rushing touchdown later in the first to put Priest River up 22-0 and caught junior Lucas Mathews' only completion for a 89-yard receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter to cap off the scoring on the night.

"He's a heck of a player," Priest River High head coach Alex Zepeda said of Kuprienko. "Once Sawyer graduates, I fully expect Colton to take over the reigns. I'm excited for his future."

Staudt also scored two of his four touchdowns in the first quarter on rushes of 62 and 70 yards to give the Spartans an early 28-0 advantage. He later scored his 15th and 16th rushing touchdowns of the season in the second and fourth quarters in what was arguably one of his best career games to date.

"We really got off to a hot start in the first half," coach Zepeda said. "Sawyer broke the school record for rushing yards in a game set by Brian Nelson in 2008 and was ranked No. 1 in the state for rushing touchdowns according to MaxPreps heading into this week, so that's pretty huge."

The Spartans' defense was also stellar in the contest. Sophomore Nate Fegert, who rushed three times for 46 yards on offense, recovered a fumble with 2:37 remaining in the third quarter while junior Gavin Griesemer, who also had a tackle for a loss, recovered a fumble of his own in the fourth with 2:11 remaining on the clock. Junior Brady Hatten recorded three tackles for losses and a sack, the majority of which came on the Maniac's first two drives, to set the tone early for the Spartans. Junior Niki Porinchok added two tackles for losses.

"We started losing our focus a bit in the second half and made some mistakes, but overall it was a really good game for us,” coach Zepeda said.

Priest River (4-2) travels to St. Maries on Friday.

Orofino 0 7 0 8 — 15

Priest River 28 6 0 14 — 48

1st quarter

PR — Kuprienko 86 yard kickoff return (two-point good), 11:45

PR — Staudt 62 run (two-point good), 9:19

PR — Kuprienko 18 run (two-point no good), 3:23

PR — Staudt 70 run (two-point no good), 1:16

2nd quarter

ORO — Conelly 5 pass from Crockett (Harrison kick), 3:45

PR — Staudt 30 run (two-point no good), 1:00

4th quarter

PR —  Staudt 63 run (two-point good), 7:59

ORO — Johnny Starrs 72 run (two-point good), 6:56

PR — Kuprienko 89 pass from Mathews (kick no good)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING: PR — Staudt 15-265, Fegert 3-46, Kuprienko 3-19, Mathews 4-10, Goins 1(-2). ORO — Starrs 15-134, Conelly 13-38, Harrison 9-23, Crockett 4(-14).

PASSING: PR — Mathews 1-4-1-89. ORO — Crockett 2-7-1-8.

RECEIVING: PR — Kuprienko 1-89. ORO — Conelly 2-8.

Wallace 40, Clark Fork 6

SILVERTON — Wallace senior Julian Davis had eight catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns for the Miners in a North Star League win over the Wampus Cats at Sather Field. 

The game was called at halftime after injuries resulted in the Wampus Cats being down to six players. The teams finished the first half playing 7-on-7 until another player was injured. 

Freshman quarterback Cooper Miller had six carries for 120 yards and a touchdown and junior Alex Grubbs 10 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown for Wallace (6-1, 3-1 NSL), which hosts Coeur du Christ next Friday. 

Sophomore Tom Butler had an 8-yard rushing touchdown, the first of his career, for Clark Fork (0-5, 0-4) which faces Lakeside at the Marimn Health Coeur Center in Worley next Friday. 

Lewiston 37, Sandpoint 27

SANDPOINT — In a 5A Inland Empire League match at War Memorial Field, the host Bulldogs suffered a 37-27 loss to the visiting Bengals on Friday.

Full results and recap will be reported on in a future edition of the Daily Bee.

    Priest River High junior Linden Rainwater (50) and sophomore Donovan Badlwin (53) tackle an Orofino running back during Friday night's matchup.