Silver Valley Sport Recap: Oct. 22-28
Courtesy photo Eli Bishop and Dorsey Pearson represent the Wallace High School swim team at the Idaho High School Districts 1 and 2 Championship Swim Meet, held Saturday at the University of Idaho Swim Center.
Courtesy photo The Mullan Tigers, rocking pink socks for the month of October, grabbed a quick team picture Friday before dominating their final game of the season, a 62-26 win over visiting Lewis County.
Courtesy photo Coach Steph Brunner gives her squad some advice before they take the floor during the 3A State Tournament. The Wildcats lost their first two matches.
By JOSH MCDONALD
Staff Reporter
Mullan High School
Football
MULLAN — The Mullan-St. Regis Tigers capped off their thrilling season with a 62-26 win over the Lewis County Eagles.
The Tigers finished their season on a three game winning streak and went 4-0 in their home contests.
Mullan finally had the full services of their all-state receiving back Skye Gallaway, who finished with three touchdowns in the game.
St. Regis junior Ian Farris continued his meteoric rise as he notched two kickoff return touchdowns and a rushing score.
Mullan’s defense was the story of the game, though, as they grabbed five interceptions, two from senior Chandler Holling (one for a score).
“This was a complete team effort,” coach Stetson Spooner said. “Defense and special teams kept us in it early and set the tone.”
Mullan is essentially double dipping as they play in the blended North Star and White Pine Leagues (collectively known as the White Star League), and they finished in second place in North Star League play, but fourth in White Star Conference play where the top three teams went to the state playoffs.
“We finished second in league with a matching record with Clark Fork, but they beat us head-to-head so they get the well-earned nod,” Spooner said. “We have a lot to build off of and we plan to do so.”
Mullan will co-op with St. Regis again next year, which bodes well for both teams as they look to get back into the playoffs.
Kellogg High School
Volleyball
MERIDIAN — It wasn’t the storybook ending they would have hoped for, but the Kellogg Wildcats went down to the 3A State Volleyball Tournament and gained some positive experience.
In the opening match, the Wildcats took on Snake River and despite seemingly having the advantage in overall play, Snake River parlayed the experience factor into a quick, 3-set win (20-25, 15-25, 20-25).
The loss put the Wildcats in the losers bracket, but still allowed them a shot to get back into contention. To advance, Kellogg would need to get past the Parma Panthers.
Parma seemed to find every gap in the Wildcats defense and the Wildcats couldn’t stop the bleeding, once again falling in three sets (12-25, 24-26, 10-25).
This was the Wildcats’ first state trip in 21 years and should potentially be a building block for a team that will return the majority of its roster, including their two all-league players, Cierra Brandt and Jaron Figueroa.
Football
Fruitland 63, Kellogg 7: There are times when you go into a matchup knowing full well the task you are facing is one that is going to required near perfect if you want to succeed.
The Wildcats were in one of these situations this last weekend in Fruitland.
On the road against one of Idaho’s premier football programs, the Wildcats were heavy underdogs.
It was essentially the snowball effect for Kellogg.
Fruitland used quick scores and forced turnovers to put a lot of points on the scoreboard quickly and before the Wildcats knew it, the game was out of hand.
Kellogg will go into the offseason with a lot of question marks about next season as they will graduate nine seniors, many of whom played on both sides of the ball.
Cross Country
LEWISTON — Kellogg runner Jared White put forth an excellent effort at the 3A State Cross Country Meet, but still fell short of the top finishers.
Coming in at number 39, White ran a solid 17:53.4.
Top finisher and Sugar-Salem’s own Kooper Williams ran an impressive 15:23, which was among the top times in all of the classifications.
Wallace High School
Swimming
MOSCOW — Two Wallace High School swimmers continued to shave time from their events at the North Idaho District Swim Meet at the University of Idaho on Saturday.
Sophomore and second-year swimmer Eli Bishop posted personal-best times in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle competitions of 30.57 and 1:16.88, improvements from the first meet of the year of 35.68 and 1:27.08.
First-year freshman swimmer Dorsey Pearson turned in times in the 100 and 200 meter freestyle of 1:17.77 and 2:43.79, improving in those events from the start of the season at 1:31.68 and 3:05.43.
"These kids have shown steady progression all year. I think there was only one time between them when they didn't PR because of a little hiccup in a flip turn," said Wallace swim coach Ed Chilgren.
The coach pointed out that the previous week at a meet in Coeur d'Alene, Pearson became the first swimmer in the program's nine-year history to compete in and complete a 500 meter freestyle competition.
"He established a time that will be a school record until the next times he will beat it in the years to come," Chilgren said.
Looking toward next season, the coach hopes to attract additional dedicated, hard-working athletes to the team, which is fortunate to utilize the Mullan Pavilion for practice and travels with the Lake City High School team to events outside of Coeur d'Alene.
Chilgren emphasized the importance of having the resource of Bob Wood, the coach of the dominant Lake City team, which boasts more than 40 swimmers in their program.
Chilgren also mentioned the outstanding efforts made this season by Wallace volunteer coach Braydon Peyer, who competed for the team for four years while in high school.
"This is the first full season that swimming has been recognized by the Idaho Athletic Association and sponsored by the state," Chilgren said about the sport's growing popularity.