MELBA — A battered Priest River Spartans' defense lined up for a 3rd-and-1 with just over a minute remaining, with their historic season in balance. 

Stopping the Melba Mustangs' offense meant another chance to chase the school's second-ever playoff win, but anything more than a yard would snuff out the remaining hope. Melba snapped the ball, ran off the left side and easily picked up the first down, clinching a narrow 28-22 win in the 3A State quarterfinals on Friday. 

"Super proud of the way the kids fought all the way to the end," Priest River head coach Alex Zepeda said. "We were getting beat up front on both sides of the ball, but at the same time, a couple of players here or there and it's a whole different ballgame, so super proud of them." 

Much of the scoring in this game came in the first half as Melba rode their dominant trenches to three long drives that ended in 1-yard touchdowns. Priest River responded with two scores of their own early, captained by junior quarterback Jacob Best. 

Priest River had to lean on Best as Melba bottled up both of their star running backs, Colton Kuprienko and Nate Fegert. To his credit, Best responded with his best game of the year and completed 24 of his 29 attempts to the tune of 231 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. 

"He's comfortable now, he understands the offense and his reads," Zepeda said of Best. "This one sucks and the season ending the way it did was tough, but all you can do is look forward, and I'm excited for him." 

While Best did his best to stave off Melba's hungry front, the Mustangs got the better of him at the end of the first half. Melba forced a fumble up 22-14 and quickly turned around to score a touchdown to make it 28-14 heading into the halftime break. 

The vaunted Spartans defense reappeared in the second half, holding Melba scoreless even after Best's lone interception and a turnover on downs. Junior safety Layton Goins was a force on defense, recording 13 tackles, while Best caught an interception late in the fourth quarter to keep the Spartans in the game.  

On offense, Best and Goins were a dynamic duo that drove the offense. The two connected 13 times for 109 yards, including a 35-yard pickup on 4th-and-10 late in the game, and a touchdown.  

"He was another one of the kids that got the injury bug this week and played through it and played tough," Zepeda said of Goins. "It takes a couple of weeks to process the whole season once it's over, but I'm already visualizing what next year is going to look like and what we need to do to get better and win these quarterfinal matchups when we get here again." 

Zepeda told his team after the game that the loss doesn't define the Spartans' historic season, which saw them claim their first playoff win in school history, score the most regular season points in school history, 319, and allow the fewest points in a season, 90. 

Priest River ends the 2026 campaign with a 7-3 overall record. Zepeda said he's confident this team has the returning pieces to make another run in the state playoffs next year. 

"This loss doesn't define the season and the careers that these kids had," Zepeda said. "We told them to hang their heads up and for the freshmen, sophomores and juniors, remember this feeling because it sucks, and let's get back to work after the holidays."  

Melba 15 13 0 0 — 28 

Priest River 7 8 0 8 — 22 

First quarter 

MHS — Noah Wiersma 1-yard rush (2-point conversion pass successful), 8:08. 

PRL — Layton Goins 14-yard pass from Jacob Best (2-point conversion run unsuccessful), 4:00. 

MHS — Rhett Franklin 60-yard rush (Ferring PAT good), 2:15. 

Second quarter 

PRL — Colton Kuprienko 2-yard rush (Goins pass from Best, conversion successful), 11:50. 

MHS — Wiersma 1-yard rush (Ferring PAT good), 8:00. 

MHS — Franklin 1-yard rush (2-point conversion unsuccessful), 2:34. 

Third quarter 

None. 

Fourth quarter 

PRL — Madden Redinger 15-yard pass from Best (Best rush, conversion successful), 4:30. 

Priest River statistics: 

Rushing: PRL — Nate Fegert 7-7, Colton Kuprienko 6-18-1, Jacob Best 6-17, Layton Goins 1-5. 

Passing: PRL — Best 24-29-231-2-1, Kane Berns 0-1-0. 

Receiving: PRL — Goins 13-109-1, Madden Redinger 4-27-1, Berns 3-64, Fegert 3-24, Kuprienko 1-2.