‘Fine gold’ tempers Colfax homecoming

After a three-win run in the NE league, Colfax Bulldogs Friday sustained a non-league loss when they hosted Orofino, or “fine gold” in Spanish.

The visitors from the Central Idaho League took control of the ground game and also executed a sharp passing game to roll out a 48-6 win in a rare appearance on the Colfax schedule.

Coach Galen Kuykendall’s Orofino team rambled for a 27-0 lead at halftime in the runaway win.

Lone score for the Bulldogs came at the top of the fourth quarter when they put together a nine-play drive which ended with a 10-yard pass to Keith Gfeller from Mark Webber.

Now 3-2 on the season, the Bulldogs will travel to Spangle Friday night to face Liberty. The Lancers will host after sustaining a 30-34 loss to Davenport in the NE last Friday.

Coach Mike Morgan noted a key to the Liberty game will be stopping the passing attack keyed by quarterback Match Burnham.

“He’s deadly accurate,” Morgan said, noting the Lancer junior has the ability to drop back under pressure and still hit his receivers.

Morgan estimated Burnham and the Lancers pass on about 70 percent of their plays.

“We have to keep up the pressure on him,” Morgan said. Coupled with the required up-front pressure will be coverage of the Liberty receivers by the Colfax defensive backs.

Liberty will host Colfax after posting a 2-2 record in the league. Their wins have been over Springdale and Northwest Christian. In additon to last week’s close loss to Davenport, they have also lost to Reardan.

After the Liberty game, the Bulldogs will face two league crunchers against Reardan and the LRS Broncos.

The final weeks mark a countdown to the playoff grid with the top five from the NE facing the top five from the SE in inverse order. Morgan noted that the format can make for tough first hurdles on the state playoff trail.

This year, just the top two finishers in the NE race will host in the crossover round.

Last Friday, Orofino came to Colfax after rolling out a 5-0 record in the first half of the Idaho season and then sustaining a big loss last week to Grangeville in the Central Idaho League.

Morgan said the Orofino coaches noted after the game that part of their big club’s blastoff at Colfax probably reflected frustration after being derailed by Grangeville.

Morgan and Kuykendall over the years have talked about booking a non-league game. The Colfax coach noted he began to have second thoughts when he saw the size of the visitor line.

“I picked the wrong year,” Morgan noted after the loss. He also noted five Colfax turnovers played a big part in the lopsided score.

Orofino rolled up 316 yards on the ground at Colfax with Tyler Schwartz, a sophomore, booking 177 yards on 19 carries. Schwartz scored the first TD on a five-yard lunger after Orofino staged a 10-yard drive in the first quarter.

Junior Drake Kuykendall booked a 5-14 passing night for another 67 yards for the Orofino offense.

Bottom line for the Colfax rushing game was 34 yards on 20 carries.

Most of the Colfax offense came on air shots with Webber hitting 15 of 31 for a total of 180 yards. Austin Getz had five of the snags for 68 yards, and Gfeller had three for 49 yards.

Colfax rushing stats reflected the Orofino domination of the trenches. Levi Hardy booked 58 yards on 14 carries, but three of the Bulldog carriers ended up with minus yards against Orofino for a net total of 34 yards.

In other scores around the league Lind/Ritzville/Sprague rolled past Springdale 41-12 with a 27-point blast in the first quarter, and Reardan defeated Northwest Christian 53-20.