When the other team had problems putting together a varsity lineup, the football coaches at St. Regis-Mullan, Idaho co-op saw it as an opportunity to get some good playing time for the younger guys.

And while the outcome was most likely what the varsity score would have been, the game was played as a Junior Varsity contest, which was won by the co-op Tigers 56-6 this past weekend in Harrison, Idaho, home of Kootenai High School.

“We ended up playing the game with JV players,” said St. Regis coach Jesse Allan. “We didn’t dress our 11 varsity players. We do have some young guys with some talent. They played a good game for sure”.

The young Tigers jumped out to an early lead in the altered contest, rolling to a 20-6 advantage at the end of the first quarter. They continued adding to the lead by outscoring the host team 16-0 in quarter number two to secure a 36-6 halftime lead with the varsity regulars getting some extra rest before the upcoming Idaho football playoffs.

The co-op’ers pitched a defensive shutout in the second half, while adding 20 more points to their total to produce the final 56-6 score.

Sophomore Kaleb Park had a solid game at quarterback for St. Regis-Mullan, rushing for one TD and passing for 100 yards and two scores.

And utility player Josh Atkinson also had a good night, running for 75 yards on just two carries and one touchdown. He also returned a kick for a touchdown.

Five other players scored for the Tigers during the game.

The St. Regis-Mullan varsity gets back in action this weekend with its final regular season game, a Senior Night home game in Wallace Friday evening beginning at 3 p.m.

They will then await word of a playoff opponent for the next weekend.

St. Regis-Mullan has been ranked as high as number two in Idaho 8-player football polls this season.