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Don Gronning
Drops first round playoff game to Aberdeen Tigers
PRIEST RIVER – Priest River head football coach Alex Zepeda understood the Spartans were going to have to pass early and often if they were going to beat No. 5 ranked Aberdeen in a state playoff game at Priest River Saturday, Nov. 8.
“We knew if we were going to win it, it was going to have to come through the air,” Zepeda says. “We had some missed opportunities early – a few drops and turnovers that put us behind.”
While the Spartans were within striking range until late in the fourth quarter, they lost 28-12.
The game started with Priest River’s Colton Kuprienko returning the opening kickoff to the 46-yard line. The Spartans converted on a fourth down play to keep the drive alive, then lost a fumble after a pass play that Aberdeen recovered on its own 21-yard line.
Priest River’s defense stopped Aberdeen’s first drive, forcing a punt. The Spartans got a first down near midfield but gave up an interception that was returned into Spartan territory.
Aberdeen had a big run to the 9-yard line. Aberdeen quarterback Isaac Driscoll, who had intercepted the pass earlier, put the Tigers on the scoreboard first with a 2-yard run. Aberdeen followed up with a 2-point rushing conversion.
The Spartans couldn’t get a first down after the kickoff and had to punt. The Tigers then broke a big 74-yard touchdown run on third down. The Spartan’s stopped a 2-point rushing conversion. The first quarter ended with Aberdeen up 14-0.
Zepeda says the Tigers’ offense, while not complicated, was well executed.
“Aberdeen’s offense is a shotgun version of the single wing, so you see a lot of “super counter” looks where they’re pulling three of four linemen,” he says.
In the second quarter, the teams exchanged punts. Then the Spartans held on a fourth and three play, getting the ball on downs on Aberdeen’s 34yard line.
Aberdeen picked off another Spartan pass on their own 10-yard line. But the Spartan defense held, getting the ball back on downs at the Aberdeen 18-yard line. Quarterback Luke Matthews connected with Layton Goins for an 18-yard touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the first half. The Spartans’ 2-point conversion failed.
The first half ended with the Spartans trailing 14-6.
The Tigers started the second half with a big kickoff return, with Goins saving a touchdown by bringing the runner down on the 27-yard line.
Aberdeen capitalized five plays later on a 7-yard rushing touchdown, with a successful 2-point conversion run to go up 22-6.
After the Spartans were forced to punt, Aberdeen’s ground game ate up a lot of time in the third quarter, grinding out three and four yards a play.
“To put that in perspective, we only had three offensive plays in the third quarter,” Zepeda says. “Still, I thought we battled, made some key stops, and kept them uncomfortable.”
One of those key stops came when they stopped the Tigers on fourth and goal from the 4-yard line.
Priest River’s pass game started to work in the fourth quarter, with Matthews completing passes to Nate Fergert, Kane Berns and Layton Goins. The Spartans offense moved the ball from their own 4-yard line to Aberdeen’s 7-yard line.
Matthews capped a 96-yard drive when he hit Goins with a 7-yard TD pass to bring the score to 28-12.
Aberdeen started then went into a time-consuming drive that resulted in a 12-yard TD run. The Spartans stopped the 2-point conversion.
Priest River came back with a drive that got to the Aberdeen 11-yard line before another pass interception put an end to the game.
Goins was the Spartans’ player of the game, catching seven passes for 128 yards, including 70 on the fourth quarter touchdown drive. He also had 16 tackles, including two for a loss. Braden Leach was in on 13 tackles, including four solo tackles. Donvan Baldwin had a tackle for a loss. Brady Hatten had 1.5 tackles for a loss.
Matthews threw for 219 yards, completing 16 of 30, with two touchdowns and three interceptions. In addition to Goins, he completed passes to Leach, Berns, Fergert and Kuprienko.
Kuprienko got most of his yards pass receiving and on kickoffs. He had 129 all-purpose yards on the game, with 89 coming from kick returns. He had 20 yards rushing and 17 yards receiving Despite the loss, Zepeda was happy with the season.
“Our boys brought home the school’s first league title in 68 years, scored the most points in a single season (308), and broke several individual and team records along the way,” Zapeda wrote in an email. “As a head coach, I couldn’t be more proud of this group — especially our seniors. They completely changed the culture of Priest River football, and I’m going to miss coaching them.”
