JV football team doing well

Courtesy photos Eli Richards has plenty of protection as he throws downfield during the Badgers’ 48-6 win over Priest River in an Oct. 12 junior varsity game.

Kyle Smith leads Wilson Newel (5) upfield during the Badgers’ 22-12 junior varsity victory over Kellogg on Oct. 5.

by Corey Richards Contributing Writer
| October 25, 2018 1:00 AM

Kyle Smith leads Wilson Newel (5) upfield during the Badgers 22-12 junior varsity victory over Kellogg on Oct. 5.

BONNERS FERRY — The Bonners ferry Badgers JV football team crushed the Priest River Spartans 48-6 on Friday, Oct. 12, improving their record to 4-3.

The boys started off on fire as quarterback Eli Richards connected with wideout Joel Cowley for a 65-yard touchdown pass on their first offensive play.

On the next offensive series the Badgers — using three different backs Kyle Smith, Wilson Newell and Mitch Falck — drove the ball 40 yards before Mitch Falk ran off tackle for 25 yards for a TD and Eli Richards connected with Brian Durrett for a two point conversion.

The Badgers got the ball back right away with a strong defensive stand to put the BFHS offense on the field, driving the ball with a combo of run and pass plays, with Durrett taking a handoff around the end for a 15-yard score.

The Badgers quickly got the ball back with a 35-yard interception return by Kaden Brewer. Richards dialed in Conner Calahan for a 15-yard touchdown pass, putting the Badgers up 26-0 just before the half, but it wasn’t over yet.

The defense came alive, putting the Spartans back deep on their own 5 yard line. A hard hit by Bo Bateman and Hunter Carpenter, jarred the ball loose as it hit the ground and Calahan was there to pounce on it in the end zone for a defensive touchdown.

The Spartans found themselves in trouble again deep on their own end. The Badgers next scored a 2-point safety as a whole host of Badgers piled on the Spartan running back in the end zone, giving Bonners Ferry a 34-0 halftime lead.

The Badgers came back on the field with Smith taking the reins for the offense and the Badgers scored quickly with a 25 yard run by Cowley and Smith passing to Durrett for a two-point conversion.

The Badgers defense held strong with Brewer taking another pick to stop the Spartan offense and Cowley also getting an interception and returning it for a touchdown to end the scoring for the Badgers.

Awesome play by the whole Badger team. The Boys are really coming together both on Defense and Offense. The Badgers had more than 300 yards rushing with five different running backs, and Richards threw for more than 100 yards to four different receivers.

The Bonners Ferry Badgers JV football team also took on the Kellogg Wildcats on Oct. 5 and came out on top, winning 22-12 for their third victory of the season.

Touchdowns were scored by Wilson Newell on a 6-yard run, and Mitch Falck on 12-yard and 5-yard runs. Eli Richards also connected on passes to Conner Calahan for a pair of two-point conversions.

The young Badger team rushed for more than 250 yards, between Newell, Falk and Richards. Richards threw for more than 70 yards, connecting with Joel Cowley for two big pass plays.

The offensive line consisting of Dillion Collier, Zak Miller, Nathaniel Varelman, Bo Bateman, Hunter Carpenter and Jackson Rickter made big holes for the running back. The defense held on the Wildcats’ final drive, with big plays made by Calahan, Kyle Smith and Brian Durrett. Consisting of 18 freshmen on the team, the boys just keep improving each week and growing a lot in skills and strength, as most of them are showing up at 6:45 a.m. twice a week for weight lifting at the school.

Keep an eye out for the Badgers football teams next year through www.bfbadgers.com.