St. Regis-Mullan slams Wampus Cats, 68-8

The plush grass on the football field in Mullan, Idaho may still be smoldering following the St. Regis/Mullan Tigers’ 68-8 scorching of the Wampus Cats from Clark Fork, Idaho Friday afternoon.

Eight-man football is known for offensive fireworks and gaudy stats that go with it.

But even in eight-man the numbers put up by the Montana-Idaho co-op Tigers were eye-popping to say the least.

Start with the 534 total yards of rushing. Three players who were instrumental in that rushing onslaught had more than 120 yards on the ground apiece, led by senior running back Adam Ball’s 185 yards on eight carries.

The Trogden boys, senior Luke and sophomore Alex, ran for 123 and 124 yards, respectively.

In a game the outcome of which was not in doubt almost before the starting whistle blew, junior quarterback Caleb Ball got the Tigers on the scoreboard with less than a minute gone in the game when he tossed a 60-yard scoring strike to brother Adam Ball, who was wide open and alone entering the Clark Fork end zone.

The successful point after touchdown run put the hometown Tigers up 8-0 with 11:11 to play in quarter number one.

After stopping a promising Wampus Cat drive on their first offensive series, the Tigers took over on downs at their own 35 yard line. A short time later, Caleb Ball found Luke Trogden for a 47-yard scoring pass, that along with another successful PAT try gave the Tigers a 16-0 with just over half of the first quarter still to be played.

Following the ensuing kickoff, St. Regis/Mullan halted another short Clark Fork drive when Caleb Ball intercepted a wounded duck pass by the Wampus Cats. That pick would eventually set up another Tigers’ score, this time on a 10-yard flip from Ball, who threw for three touchdowns in the game. A good point after and with 4:37 to go in quarter number one, the home team was up 24-0.

Once again, the swarming, hard-hitting Tigers’ defense got the ball back for their offense when they used a sack to force Clark Fork into a punt, which wobbled out of bounds on the Cats’ own 35 yard line.

Before the clock turned to zeros to close out the first, Adam Ball sprinted into the end zone from 35 yards out to put the Tigers up 30-0 at the conclusion of the opening 12 minutes of play.

In the opening minutes of the second quarter, Clark Fork finally stopped a drive by the Tigers and got the ball on their own 25 when a fourth down try for first down yardage fell short for the home boys.

In what was becoming a habit, the St. Regis/Mullan defense put the clamps on the visitors and forced a punt. A few plays later, Luke Trogden showed why he is getting serious looks from college recruiters when he blew past the Clark Fork line and sped 60 yards for yet another Tigers touchdown. At that point the score was 38-0

St. Regis/Mullan reserves then began making appearances for the home squad.

The senior Trogden would score again before halftime after a punt by Clark Fork. Luke T once again blew through the ragged Wampus Cats defense and raced 41-yards to paydirt and a 46-0 Tigers’ lead.

Much of the first half pummeling was due in large part to the improved play of the young St. Regis/Mullan offensive and defensive lines. Led by sophomores John Pruitt and Blake Knoll, a 5-11, 350-pound stopper in the middle, both lines turned in dominating performances on the day.

The second half opened with the Idaho Mercy Rule in play, keeping the clock running except for changes of possession because of a 40-plus point lead by the Tigers.

After taking the opening kickoff of the second half, Clark Fork quickly found itself in a punting situation. With the ball settling in at midfield, it took all of one play for Adam Ball to demonstrate why he is also a college recruiting target, as he danced through and around the Clark Fork defense on his way to a 50-yard touchdown run.

A successful PAT run by Alex Trogden put the Tigers ahead 54-0 with 7:49 to play in the third quarter.

And yet again the Tigers’ defense forced a turnover, this time a fumble which was recovered by Pruitt as the third quarter came to a close.

Just 90 seconds into the final quarter, St. Regis/Mullan lit up the scoreboard again and with 9:32 to go in the game the Tigers held a 60-0 lead.

Each team would tack on a touchdown in the fourth quarter as reserves from both sides saw experience-building playing time.

In addition to the staggering offensive numbers, several players from the winning team had attention-getting stats on defense, including six with at least five tackles each. Adam Ball was the leading tackler for the Tigers with seven.

The overwhelming win boosted St. Regis/Mullan to 3-1 for the year as teams head into the second half stretch run.

Next up for the Tigers is a road game Friday, Oct. 1 against Kootenai.