Northwest Christian 42, Bonners Ferry 39

CHATTAROY, Wash. — It wasn't the result the Badgers wanted, but it certainly was quite the football game.

Senior Keenan Maas amassed 50 carries and a school record 395 rushing yards to go along with five touchdowns as the Badgers' fourth quarter comeback bid was just a couple of feet away from coming to fruition Friday night in a non-league loss to the Crusaders at Riverside High.

Maas, who had a game of 295 rushing yards his junior year in a 42-22 win over Kellogg, scored on a run of six yards in the second quarter, five yards in the third quarter, and on runs of five, 10, and five yards in the fourth in what was a historic performance.

"Keenan's resiliency to keep carrying in the fourth quarter — most normal humans would have quit, but he just kept digging," Bonners Ferry High head coach Danny Swift said. "To carry the ball 50 times and average nearly eight yards a carry is just absurd."

Senior Conrad Hiatt, the Badgers' primary fullback who typically carries a large workload, went down on the fifth play of the game, changing Bonners Ferry's game plan significantly. 

Swift said his offensive line, which consists of Austin McLaughlin, Jake Solt, Kai Aitken, Taylor Dodd, James Morgen and Logan Desmerais, played a big part in Maas' ability to run so many times, noting he wasn't often touched until five yards beyond the line of scrimmage, especially in the fourth quarter.

"They were unbelievable," Swift said about his offensive line. "They bought in. I love getting to coach these kids. I'm very blessed to have the opportunity to coach them. It's special, there is no egos; it's all about the team."

In the fourth, the Badgers trailed 35-20 at one point, mainly due to four turnovers, which included a pick six, and allowing a kickoff return for a touchdown. Despite that adversity, they clawed their way back into the game. As time expired, Bonners Ferry's 46-yard field goal attempt had the distance, but was just left of the uprights.

"We believe in him, love him," Swift said of junior kicker Aaron Tadlock. "He took it hard, but to even have the nerve to make that effort was just phenomenal. Couldn't be more proud."

Junior Cooper Higgins caught a career-high six passes for 73 receiving yards, senior Sulay Abubakari had two catches for 37 yards and scored the Badgers' second touchdown of the game off a 16-yard pass from junior quarterback Alex Stolley. Stolley was 12-for-21 passing for 118 yards on the night.

On defense, Bonners Ferry, which outscored Northwest Christian 19-7 in the fourth quarter in the midst of a 45-minute injury delay, had seven tackles for losses, three of which were sacks. McLaughlin, a junior, had a 15-yard sack while senior Daric Vincent and Dodd found the quarterback for a loss of six yards.

The Badgers ran 87 offensive plays and totaled 570 yards of offense on the evening.

Junior running back Easton Scarborough added 35 rushing yards on eight carries for Bonners Ferry (2-2), which hosts Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls, Wash. for their home opener Friday.

Bonners Ferry 0 14 6 19 — 39

Northwest Christian 14 7 14 7 — 42

Bonners Ferry Scoring Plays

2nd quarter

BF — Keenan Maas 6 run (Tadlock kick)

BF — Sulay Abubakari 16 pass from Alex Stolley (Tadlock kick)

3rd quarter

BF — Keenan Maas 5 run (kick no good)

4th quarter

BF — Keenan Maas 5 run (Tadlock kick)

BF — Keenan Maas 10 run (kick no good)

BF — Keenan Maas 5 run (two-point no good)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

BF — Maas 50-395, Scarborough 8-35, Solt 2-19, Stolley 6-3.

PASSING

BF — Stolley 12-21-1-118.

RECEIVING

BF — Higgins 6-73, Abubakari 2-37, Allred 2-5, Solt 1-3.