Priest River 76, Salmon 0

PRIEST RIVER — It was Lucas Mathews' day to have a day.

The Priest River High senior quarterback passed for a school record seven touchdowns, accumulating 294 yards in the process, as the Spartans socked the Savages by a school record 76-point margin in their season opener Saturday at the newly-renovated Spartan Stadium.

Mathews, who completed 19 of his 26 attempts, tallied six touchdown passes before halftime, tying the previous record.

His main targets were senior Braden Leach and Layton Goins. Leach hauled in five receptions for 115 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown in the third, while Goins caught six passes for 65 yards and collected three of the first four receiving touchdowns of the game. The standout two-way player added a 62-yard rushing touchdown to end the night in what was a four-score affair for the rising sophomore star.

Colton Kuprienko was also active with four catches for 93 yards and a 50-yard receiving touchdown that came just before halftime. In addition, the junior running back ran for a 2-yard touchdown to open up the second half, converted six two-point conversions, and had an interception in the first quarter that set up a Spartans possession at the Savages 32-yard line.

Niki Porinchok got in on the action with a 5-yard receiving touchdown to end the first. On defense, the 6-foot, 5-inch 210-pound senior led the way with two sacks and eight tackles. Senior Linden Rainwater also took down the opposing quarterback for a sack on the evening.

Sophomore Jacob Best and junior Kane Berns were two other Spartans with touchdowns. Best's came on a 1-yard rush after Priest River High freshman Gunner Neil blocked a punt that went out of bounds at the one-yard line. Berns' came on an 8-yard pass during the 3-minute mark of the second quarter.

Overall, the Spartans recorded 494 yards of total offense compared to the Savages' 83 yards. The 76 points scored was a new school record, with the old record coming last season in a 64-26 win over Kellogg.

"I told Salmon's coaches, we were there two years ago," Priest River High head coach Alex Zepeda said. "I told them their kids should keep their heads up and keep working hard. Hopefully that's the message they can take from this."

Zepeda said he thought his team looked pretty good, but as a coach, he knows there are some things to improve upon with the Badgers coming to town next week.

"This offseason we spent a lot of time on pass protection and passing concepts... understanding who's hot, who's not and when to throw on a certain coverages," coach Zepeda said. "Bonners Ferry will be a tough test, but this team's football IQ is in a good place."

Priest River (1-0) will host Bonners Ferry for a non-league matchup this Friday.

Salmon 0 0 0 0 — 0

Priest River 24 22 22 8 — 76

1st quarter

PR — Goins 6 pass from Mathews (Kuprienko run), 8:52

PR — Goins 10 pass from Mathews (Kuprienko run), 7:05

PR — Porinchok 5 pass from Mathews (Kuprienko run), 2:14

2nd quarter

PR — Goins 8 pass from Mathews (Kuprienko run), 11:19

PR — Berns 8 pass from Mathews (two-point no good), 3:01

PR — Kuprienko 50 pass from Mathews (Kuprienko run), 1:05

3rd quarter

PR — Kuprienko 2 run (two-point no good), 10:45

PR — B. Leach 50 pass from Mathews (Kuprienko run), 5:21

PR — Best 1 run (Best run), 2:16

4th quarter

PR — Goins 62 run (Goins run), 3:05

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

PR — Goins 4-77, Fegert 8-66, Kuprienko 5-34, Mathews 1-12, H. Leach 1-6, Best 1-2. SAL — Thimons 15-40, P. Phillips 17-0, Baumer 6-6, T. Phillips 1-8.

PASSING

PR — Mathews 19-26-7-294. SAL — P. Phillips 4-16-0-17. T. Phillips 2-6-0-12. 

RECEIVING

PR — B. Leach 5-115, Kuprienko 4-93, Goins 6-65, Porinchok 2-11, Berns 1-8, H. Leach 1-2. SAL — P. Phillips 2-12, Platz 2-14, Thimons 2-3.