MOSCOW — Idaho football coach Paul Petrino said if he had to play a game today, former Coeur d'Alene High star Chad Chalich would be his starting quarterback.

But alas, the Vandals’ opener — and Petrino’s debut as Idaho coach — isn’t until Aug. 31 at North Texas, leaving time — as well as an incoming junior college quarterback in the fall — between Chalich and the No. 1 position when the games start to count.

“I thought I was more confident in the pocket, throwing the ball,” said Chalich, a redshirt freshman, who passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for two more, in Idaho’s spring football game Friday night before several hundred fans at the Kibbie Dome. “But there’s always areas to improve on, and I’m going to go watch film and see where I need to improve on. I’m going to keep getting better and learn this offense.”

“I would say Chad played the best, but I don’t think you have to name a No. 1 quarterback yet,” Petrino said of Chalich, who has been competing with senior Taylor Davis for the starting job throughout the spring. Quarterback Josh McCain comes in in the fall. “They need to keep improving and keep battling. If we had to play today, Chad would be the quarterback, but there’s a lot of time. You can really improve in the summer.”

For the record, the Silver, consisting mostly of starters on offense and defense, defeated the Gold, which consisted mostly of backups, 54-12. Chalich played mostly on the Silver team, going up against the No. 2 defense. He went up against the No. 1 defense on two series, including one in the fourth quarter when the No. 1 offense went up against the No. 1 defense. On that one, he directed his side on a well-run TD drive, capped by his 10-yard scamper.

Overall, the teams got off 160 plays and played nearly a full game. Petrino called it with 2:37 left after Chalich connected deep with a wide-open Roman Runner on a 50-yard TD play. Stat wise, it was tremendously one-sided as the Silver team ran for 404 yards and passed for 347, while the Gold team rushed for 28 yards and passed for 163.

“It was good to see some big plays being made,” Petrino said. “We saw some of the guys that had been dominating on defense did it again today. … I just think overall we got better. We kept improving, we got tougher.”

Junior Jahrie Level was Chalich’s favorite target on Friday night, catching nine passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. 

Junior college transfer Jerrel Brown, who was able to get a head start by coming in for spring ball, rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Kris Olugbode, another juco back who has impressed in spring ball, carried just once for two years because he was “banged up,” Petrino said. Senior James Baker took advantage of the available workload and totaled 87 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries.

“We all bring the same toughness,” Brown said. “We all bring power and speed. We’re all similar backs. We all come in fresh, and we've got to do our thing. We’re just going to be the best running back trio we can.”

Defensive lineman Quinton Bradley led the No. 1 defense, racking up 2.5 sacks and two tackles-for-loss against the No. 2 offensive unit. Jayshawn Jordan caught a deflected pass for an interception of Chalich, and Austin DeCoud, who moved to safety from quarterback this spring, picked off Davis, who played mostly for the Gold team.

Redshirt freshman receiver Deon Watson, another former Coeur d’Alene star who played mostly for the Gold team, caught five passes for 34 yards.

Jesse Davis, a regular the past two seasons at defensive tackle, played on the offensive line in Friday’s scrimmage. Petrino said the Vandals are not deep in some areas — one being the offensive line — and he's trying to get the best guys on the field.

“I miss Jesse,” junior defensive end Maxx Forde said. “He makes me look good when we lined up together on defense. I miss Jesse, and going against him is not fun either.”

With no kicker on the team until Austin Rehkow from Central Valley comes on board in the fall, no PATs or field goals were tried.

SCORING PLAYS

Silver — Jahrie Level 43 pass from Chad Chalich

Silver — James Baker 2 run

Silver — Chalich 27 run

Gold — Jake Manley 4 run

Silver — Level 38 pass from Chalich

Silver — Baker 3 run

Silver — Baker 1 run 

Silver — Jerrel Brown 1 run

Silver — Brown 8 pass from Taylor Davis

Gold — Chalich 10 run

Silver — Roman Runner 50 pass from Chalich

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

(Combined, as several players played for both teams)

RUSHING — Taylor Davis 12-54, Jake Manley 12-26, Andrew Williams 3-7, Jerrel Brown 22-159, Chad Chalich 18-96, James Baker 13-87, Marquan Major 1-3, Kris Olugbode 1-2, Anthony Neyer 1-0.

PASSING — Chalich 24-45-1-338, Davis 13-26-1-165, Neyer 3-5-0-7.

RECEIVING — Deon Watson 5-34, Manley 4-29, Major 4-49, Tanner Kauffman 2-11, Mike LaGrone 1-59, Jerrel Brown 3-10, Roman Runner 7-93, Jahrie Level 9-169, Maurice Trotter 2-20, Jared Klingenberg 2-13, Clayton Homme 1-23.