If there were any doubts about the soul of this 2021 St. Regis/Mullan co-op football team following a hard-fought loss to 44-26 Thompson Falls in their season opener last week, they were false doubts.

The Tigers showed that loss was in the rear view mirror and the road ahead was theirs for the taking as they opened Idaho 8-man football play with a crushing 72-20 win over Lakeside Friday night in Mullan.

They also showed that feared injuries to their big three backfield starts, Adam and Caleb Ball and Luke Trogden were behind them.

All three limped out of the Thompson Falls game with what turned out to be leg cramps.

They are healthy now.

The Tigers scored early and often in this game, jumping out to a commanding 30-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

They continued to build on that lead in the second quarter, when they added 28 points to their total while surrendering 14 points to Lakeside, whom they defeated in a special one score takes all playoff game last year.

The score at halftime was 58-14 in favor of the co-op dudes.

Things only got worse for Lakeside in the second half as Mullan/St. Regis scored six in the third quarter to build their lead to 64-14 with one quarter to go. The Tigers added eight points in the final frame to win going away.

The victory evened the Tigers’ season record at 1-1. They host rival Wallace this Friday in Mullan.