Silver Valley Sports Recap Oct. 1-7
Courtesy photo/ Hannah Cote sets up for a pass during the Tigers win over Kootenai last week.
Courtesy photo Kellogg’s senior soccer players and their families celebrate during a senior night ceremony on Thursday. The Wildcats hosted Priest River in their final regular-season contest, with the Spartans winning 3-0.
Photo by Josh McDonald Jaron Figueroa sets the ball up for her teammates during Kellogg’s Oct. 2 win over Coeur d’Alene Charter.
Photo by Josh McDonald Kristen Kopf uses her knee to keep the ball away from a Priest River defender during their match last week at Teeters Field.
Kellogg High School
Football
KELLOGG — When it comes to football, it’s conference play that matters.
The Kellogg Wildcats realized that and took advantage of a big first quarter on their way to a 35-20 win over Bonners Ferry in both teams’ Intermountain League opener.
In front of a raucous homecoming crowd, Wildcat Shea Curran knocked through five extra points as well, making her the first female Wildcat to score points in a football game.
The game opened up with consecutive Wildcat touchdowns as Brandon Miller and Justin Waller found the end zone early.
On the ensuing Badger drive Wildcat Tyler Oertli picked off quarterback Aaron Scott and took it to the house to give the Wildcats a 21-0 first-quarter lead.
The game slowed down from there as both teams clamped down defensively, but not before Bonners Ferry got on the board just before intermission.
Following the halftime the Badgers were exponentially more aggressive and made the Wildcats work for every little gain.
Kellogg struggled to hold onto the ball in the late stages of the game as they were trying to put a bow on what was an otherwise excellent showing from a much-improved Wildcat squad.
“I think we thought we had them beat early on — we kinda eased up,” Kellogg quarterback Raiden Rickets said. “Fortunately our defense held when it needed to.”
The Wildcats have two regular season games left before the postseason — hosting Timberlake this Friday, then traveling to Priest River.
If they win one of those two games they will nab a playoff spot. If they win both they will host a playoff game and have a first round bye.
“We have been looking forward to league play all season,” Rickets said. “We feel like we have improved every week, but we have been using our other games as practices to get ready for our league play. We want to host that first game.”
Kellogg (2-4) will face their steepest test in league play when they host IML rivals Timberlake this week for senior night.
That game will kick off at 7 p.m. at Teeters Field.
Volleyball
Kellogg d. Cd’A Charter: The Wildcats got a big win over Coeur d’Alene Charter (25-21, 25-20, 25-10) in an Oct. 2 Intermountain League match at Andrews Gymnasium.
Coach Stephanie Brunner was incredibly pleased with her team’s performance and happy to see them get back on track after a rough string of games.
“The girls played great tonight,” Brunner said. “I’m very pleased with their attempt at trying some of the things we have been working on in practice. It really paid off — they were succeeding gaining momentum and playing at our tempo. Especially the third game.”
Jaron Figueroa was big for Kellogg as she played the role of game manager to keep the Wildcats on track, but there were a few standout Wildcats.
“Jaron was huge for us tonight. She had a handful of amazing saves and great court awareness,” Brunner said. “I couldn’t have been more happy with her play. Cierra Brandt also had a great game. She was adjusting to the ball and putting down a lot of good hits. She played extremely consistent.
“Erin VanHoose player amazing as our libero. She gets to so many balls, some that aren’t even hers, and keeps the ball in our possession. She covers the court so well and it helps our offense tremendously.”
Kellogg d. Priest River: The Wildcats topped the host Spartans in four tight sets (25-23, 25-21, 27-29, 27-25) on Thursday to extend their winning ways.
“My girls had great court awareness and played huge at the net,” Kellogg coach Steph Brunner said. “We had tons of blocks on the ball; however, Priest River was very good at getting it back up.”
Freshman Hailey Cheney finished with 8 kills and 8 blocks to lead the Wildcats.
Soccer
St. Maries 5, Kellogg 2: Two first-half goals by senior Taeya Sheppard gave the Wildcats a 2-1 halftime lead in Monday’s 3A district soccer opener, but St. Maries’ Bethan Suchoski tallied four goals to help the Lumberjacks advance in a match played at Sunrise Rotary Fields in Rathdrum.
Kellogg senior goalkeeper Shea Curran had 11 saves for the Wildcats, who finish their season at 4-8.
Priest River 3, Kellogg 0: The Wildcats couldn’t get it done on senior night as they fell to the Spartans on Thursday in a chilly Intermountain League contest.
Kellogg allowed two goals in the first half despite some stout defense, and then gave up one in the final half.
Wallace High School
Volleyball
Wallace d. Genesis Prep: The host Miners defeated Genesis Prep in three sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-18) in North Star League competition on Oct. 2. Following the game Coach Anali Spooner was impressed with the play senior leaders of Hayley Oertli and Maggie Howard.
Clark Fork d. Wallace: The visiting Miners couldn’t make it two in a row as they fell to the league-leading Wampus Cats in three sets (8-25, 16-25, 23-25) on Thursday. No further information was received.
Swimming
COEUR d’ALENE — The Wallace swim team competed at the Kroc Center in Cd’A on Saturday. Swimmers Eli Bishop, Dorsey Pearson, and Izayah Jaramillo all set personal records at the event.
Football
Troy 38, Wallace 26: The Miners fell to 1-5 on the season and 0-4 in Whitepine League play as they fell to the host Trojans on Friday night.
Mullan High School
Volleyball
MULLAN — The host Tigers defeated Kootenai in three sets (25-19, 25-13, 25-13) on Oct. 2 to earn their second win of the season. Coach Dawn McKinnon was pleased with her team’s win over a league opponent and saw a few things she really liked.
“I thought we served the ball really well,” McKinnon said. “We played the ball smartly tonight. I’m happy with the win."
Lakeside d. Mullan: Alyssa SiJohn had 18 assists for the Knights in a 25-9, 25-11, 25-5 win over the Tigers in an Oct. 4 North Star League match at Ron Miller Court.