Bonners Ferry 26, Priest River 14

PRIEST RIVER — In a game between former Intermountain League rivals, Bonners Ferry High junior Risten Allred and senior Keenan Maas delivered.

Allred, a 6-foot 3-inch defensive back, hauled in two first-quarter interceptions, Maas rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries and the visiting Badgers used a 19-0 halftime start to defeat the Spartans in a non-league game Friday night at Spartan Stadium.

"We came into the game knowing Priest River could really air it out," Bonners Ferry High head coach Danny Swift said. "With our help over the top, we were able to slow that down. Those early picks from Risten were huge plays and set the tone. We forced them into taking it to the ground and it really played into our strength, our front seven."

As for Maas, who accounted for 174 of Badgers' 292 total yards of offense, Swift said he's really added to his game this offseason and has the ability to take any play the distance.

"Just a great kid, and we try as hard as we can to not overuse him, but sometimes you just have to keep giving the ball to your best guys, and he's definitely one of those," coach Swift said.

Junior quarterback Alex Stolley settled in nicely after a jittery debut against a tough Lakeland squad, ranked tied for fifth in 5A in the latest media poll. The 5-10, 185-pound right-hander threw for 118 yards and touchdown on 8-for-14 passing on the night.

"Alex is getting more and more comfortable throwing the ball," coach Swift said. "He made some great plays and the offense was really humming."

Stolley hit junior Cooper Higgins, who caught two passes for 28 yards, for a 16-yard touchdown pass. He also connected with senior Sulay Abubakari for a 36-yard reception and hit Allred for a 31-yarder. His main target, however, was Conrad Hiatt.

The senior athlete had quite the outing, collecting four passes for 23 receiving yards and running back an 82-yard kickoff for a touchdown. Standing at 5-foot 11-inches and 185 pounds, he also paced the defense with a team-high 12 tackles, including a sack for a 17-yard loss. Senior Spiro Petras added nine tackles of his own while senior Daric Vincent tallied eight, including a sack for a 7-yard loss. Junior Hunter Campbell jumped on a loose ball for a fumble recovery.

"We knew we were going to have to be tough on defense; just a great game — a grinder," coach Swift said. "It's as good as we've played defense in a long time. We cramped up there a little bit at the end, but played smart and ran things out with the clock. I told the kids before the game, we're taking this season one game, even one rep at a time. This was a proving game for us... I think we showed North Idaho and the state of Idaho that we can play some football."

For Priest River, junior Colton Kuprienko led the charge, rushing 19 times for 131 yards and a touchdown. The 5-8, 175-pound two-way player also caught two passes for 31 yards and a touchdown and netted a fumble recovery on defense, one that was caused by sophomore Layton Goins.

Goins was a favorite target of senior quarterback Lucas Mathews, who completed 8 of his 16 passes for 72 yards and a score. Goins had four of those catches for a team-high 41 receiving yards on the night.

Priest River High head coach Alex Zepeda said a slow start coupled with some team sickness didn't equate to a winning formula.

"Penalties killed us; we just couldn't get anything going offensively," coach Zepeda said. "It felt like every time we got some momentum, we had a penalty."

Zepeda said despite the loss, his team fought hard, especially in the second half. He said his Spartans never had an ounce of quit in them.

"They played a much better second half," coach Zepeda said. "Bonners Ferry has some dudes, and we knew that going in. I think they have a really good shot to win their league this year. Overall, I think sometimes losing is good for you... I'd classify this as a good loss. We're going to refocus for what is probably the biggest game of the year this next week and bring our A game."

Junior Nate Fegert added 56 rushing yards on seven carries and senior Niki Porinchok compiled six tackles, three of which were for losses, for Priest River (1-1), which hosts defending champs Grangeville for their first 3A Central Idaho League matchup of the season on Friday.

Bonners Ferry (1-1), which also got 44 rushing yards on 10 carries from Hiatt, will head to St. Maries next week for another non-league matchup.

Bonners Ferry 13 6 7 0 — 26

Priest River 0 0 6 8 — 14

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

BF — Maas 23-174, Hiatt 10-44, Petras 2-0, Stolley 4-(-1). PR — Kuprienko 19-131, Fegert 7-56, Goins 5-9, Berns 1-5, Mathews 1-2.

PASSING

BF — Stolley 8-14-1-118. PR — Mathews 8-16-1-72.

RECEIVING

BF — Abubakari 1-36, Allred 1-31, Higgins 2-28, Hiatt 4-23. PR — Goins 4-41, Kuprienko 2-31, B. Leach 1-2, Fegert 1-(-2).

    Priest River High junior Colton Kuprienko stiff arms Bonners Ferry High senior Giovanni Faraoni during Friday night's contest.