Priest River plays Aberdeen at home Saturday

PRIEST RIVER – The Priest River Spartans host their first state tournament game Saturday, Nov. 8, when they take on Aberdeen at 1 p.m. at Priest River.

“Aberdeen is probably the bestcoached defensive team in 3A,” Priest River coach Alez Zepeda says. He says defensively, they have allowed an average of three yards per carry. “Offensively, they’re pretty simple, but in a very disciplined and efficient way.”

The Aberdeen Tigers are coming off a 28-6 win over the Melba Mustangs Saturday, Nov. 1. Aberdeen is in southeast Idaho, so they will have a long trip to Priest River. They had to win the playin game with Melba to qualify for the state tournament. Priest River didn’t have to play, as they were the Central Idaho League champion.

The Tigers and Spartans played last year in the state tournament, with Aberdeen getting a 42-12 win after Priest River made the long trip to play there for a play-in game. Aberdeen went on to the semifinals, where they lost to West Side, the eventual state 3A champion.

This year Aberdeen is ranked No. 4 in the state among 3A schools, with a 7-4 record. They finished No. 3 in the tough 3A Southeast Idaho League, behind Delco and West Side. The Spartans are ranked No. 15, with a 5-4 record.

Zepeda is optimistic about Priest River’s chances.

“Our boys are tough, and I know that if we execute at a high level, we can come away with a win,” he says. “The guys are competing hard in practice, and we’re excited for this one.”

Priest River is in the midst of a record year, with their first league title since 1957 and a solid running game, along with a senior quarterback, Luca Matthews.

Matthews has been averaging 136.8 yards per game passing. He has 1,094 passing yards for the season, with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Sophomore Layton Goins is the Spartans’ top receiver, with and average 56.6 yards per game receiving, to go with 509 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on the year. Senior Braden Leach caught 20 passes on the season, including three touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown.

Junior Colton Kuprienko has been a standout running back for the Spartans this year with five games in which he averaged more than 100 yards rushing. In the last game of the regular season he broke the single game rushing record, with 265 yards. He’s been averaging 132 yards a game running the ball, with 924 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. Kuprienko also had 198 yards and two touchdowns receiving. He missed two games and left another early with an ankle injury. He’s better now.

“Colton is doing much better health wise, and the bye week came at a perfect time for us,” Zepeda says.

Another junior, Nate Fergert, had a good year rushing, averaging 82.8 yards per game, with 745 yards and nine rushing touchdowns on the season.

On defense, Leach picking off three passes on the year, seniors Braiden Hatten had 5.5 quarterback sacks, and Niki Porinchok had five sacks. He also had an interception. Other Spartans who picked off passes include sophomores Madden Redinger and Jacob Best, who each had one interception, as did juniors Kuprinko and Donovan Baldwin.

Goins was the team’s top tackler with 67 tackles, including 35 solo tackles from his linebacker position. Senior Gavin Greismer, a tight end, was in on 59 tackles, including 20 solo tackles. Junior safety Haiden Leach wasn’t far behind with 51 tackles, including 26 solo tackles.