Mullan-St. Regis hammers Wallace
A problem most coaches would dream to deal with is a running game that produced an average of 31 yards per carry and wracked up six touchdowns in the game.
That is just what transpired in Mullan, Idaho Friday night when the co-op Mullan/St. Regis Tigers took on and whupped Mullan rival Wallace 54-22 in Idaho eight man football action.
The Tigers “Big Three” backfield players all average double figures in rushing yards per carry as the state finalists from last year jumped to an early 14-0 lead and never looked back.
The players who amassed the gaudy yardage totals were also instrumental in limiting the visiting Miners from just a few miles west on Interstate 90 with sparkling play on defense.
Leading the way was senior running back/linebacker Luke Trogden, a Mullan standount who ran for 159 yards on eight touches, an average of 19 yards per tote as he scored three touchdowns for the game. He also caught a pass for 15 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Trogden had 11 tackles, including two tackles for loss yardage as he and his teammates stifled the Miners’ offense and disrupted several plays before they reached the line of scrimmage.
St. Regis senior Adam Ball was also outstanding on both sides of the ball during the conference encounter. Ball ran for 61 yards on just three carries, one good for a touchdown as he averaged just over 20 yards per carry.
Ball also had 10 tackles, including one for loss as the Tigers’ defense wreaked havoc in the Wallace backfield throughout the game.
The offensive standout of the game, however, was junior quarterback Caleb Ball, brother of Adam, who had 105 yards rushing on four carries, good for 26 yards per run, and two touchdowns.
The younger Ball also amassed 70 passing yards on 3-for-7 throwing, good for another St. Regis/Mullan TD.
Even with those stats, the leading tackler for the game was the Tigers’ Blake Layton who had an eye-popping 16 takedowns, including three sacks and one tackle for loss.
Tigers co-coach Stetson Spooner, despite the statistical domination his team brought to play, tipped his hat to the visitors.
“We give credit to Wallace for one, making us earn every yard, score and tackle,” Spooner said. “They have made a huge improvement in their play and that showed today”.
By halftime the Tigers had built a 32-6 lead and reserve players began seeing valuable action on the field.
“With a stout defensive starting group it’s sometimes hard to not do the right thing early and keep those guys healthy,” Spooner said. “We want to play the younger players even when it could impact the veterans’ ‘on paper’ production. It’s a tough balance to figure out with guys who have eyeballs for next level play and honors while coaching with the character and class that we preach to our guys”.
And while reserves were getting valuable experience in the second half, it didn’t keep the score from growing as the co-op Tigers built a 46-14 lead by the end of the third quarter.
That offensive production, Spooner said, means that his top two runners, Adam Ball and Trogden, are sometimes limited in the number of carries they get each game as the coaches emphasize respect for opponents and playing the game with class.
“Two top-notch, All-State talents (Ball and Trogden) are often limited by our own success.”
And with several younger players such as Floyd Nelson, Alex Trogden and John Pruitt emerging as future leaders and outstanding players, the Tigers could well maintain their recent dominance of their conference. The team advanced to the state finals for eight-man Idaho football last year before losing in the championship game.
Each team added a touchdown and extra point in the fourth quarter to create the final 54-22 score.
The win improved St. Regis/Mullan to 1-1 on the year and 1-0 in conference play. The Tigers opened the season two weeks ago with a hard-fought loss to Thompson Falls, which is unbeaten at 4-0 in Montana league play this year.
Next up for the Tigers is home game (Mullan) this Friday, Sept. 24, against league foe Clark Fork, which also appears to be a better squad than last year.