St. Regis/Mullan football ranked No. 2 in Idaho 8-man

By CHUCK BANDEL

Mineral Independent

They have overcome mountains, time zones, virus outbreaks, smoke-filled skies, different playing rules and recently, early season wintery weather.

In so doing, a really good football team has emerged from the agreement that joined gridders from St. Regis, Montana and Mullan, Idaho into the second-ranked 8-man football team in the state of Idaho.

The pact that unites two schools in two different states was needed to allow either school to field enough players to compete.

Now, under the leadership of St. Regis coach Jesse Allan and Mullan coach Stetson Spooner, two football crazed mentors, the Tigers are once again heading into the upcoming Idaho playoffs with momentum and talent coming together as one.

“We are obviously fast and athletic,” Allan said in describing the Tigers’ success this year. “That’s definitely been a key to our success.”

Allan also credits improved play on both sides of the front lines as a big factor in overcoming a disappointing midseason loss to Shelby, Montana. That game was hastily arranged to plug a covid-related hole in the schedule.

“Before I brag too much about the studs we have, our defensive and offensive lines have really stepped up their play since the Shelby loss,” Allan added. “They have taken on the challenge we gave them of setting the tone up front and allowing our secondary and linebackers to make plays.”

Going into this past weekend’s scheduled game with Kootenai, Idaho, which was ultimately cancelled due to the heavy, early Fall snowstorm that disrupted travel and activities throughout the region, the Tigers co-op sported a 6-1 record and were ranked second in the latest 1AD2 polls.

Only unbeaten and untied Dietrich stands ahead of St. Regis/Mullan.

This weekend the team will conclude its regular season schedule with a game against Clark Fork, Idaho, Saturday afternoon in Mullan.

St. Regis Athletic Director Shaun Ball, who has two sons on the Tigers squad, praised the efforts of players and coaches.

“They have really developed into a good team,” Ball said. “We lost a key player early on in the Shelby game and it hurt our defensive effort. It was 16-14 before the injury.”

The game changing injury was suffered by Adam Ball, a standout running back and linebacker who as a junior has drawn interest from several college recruiters, including Montana State and Montana.

Adam and his younger brother, Tigers sophomore quarterback Caleb Ball, share the team lead in rushing touchdown this season with 10 each.

Adam also has four pass receptions for 41 yards and one TD.

In addition to Caleb’s running touchdowns, he has thrown 14 touchdowns and completed 28 of 52 passing attempts so far this year.

Another pair of brothers, Riley and Luke Trogden from the Mullan side of the border, have also been standouts on offense and defense.

Luke is second in rushing yardage with 665 yards on 60 carries, including nine touchdowns and a sparkling 11 yards per carry. He also averages 10.5 tackles per game, second only to Adam Ball's 12 tackles per contest.

Luke has also caught nine passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 30 yards per catch.

Caleb Ball leads the team in rushing yards with 687 on 41 plays, a whopping 17 yards per carry.

Meanwhile, Riley Trogden has averaged seven tackles per game, snagged four interceptions to lead the team, and has six forced fumbles. Riley is an all-League Safety.

Allan said while the offense has been explosive, defense and making plays has been an area the team focuses on.

“Defensively we preach making big plays and we have 20 combined fumble recoveries and interceptions on the year”.

All of these sparkling statistics come despite routinely playing non-starters from the third quarter on, Allan said.

A win against Clark Fork this week will most likely secure a host role in the first round of the playoffs beginning the weekend after this one.

The Tigers routed Clark Fork 72-38 three weeks ago in a road matchup.