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Sports
b r i e f ly Almira/Coulee-Hartline in football finals BELLINGHAM – Almira/Coulee-Hartline beat Lummi 60-6 to advance to the finals game of the state 1B football tournament. They will play Sunnyside Christian at the Tacoma Dome Friday, Dec. 1, for the state 1B championship.
Newport basketball opens Dec. 6 NEWPORT – Newport boys and girls basketball have their season openers Wednesday, Dec. 6, at Newport. The girls game will start at 5:45 p.m., with the boys starting at 6:30 p.m.
Newport to wrestle at Reardan REARDAN – Wrestling will get underway for Newport High School in an away tournament against Reardan this Friday, Dec. 1, time to be determined. Read more about the Newport Grizzlies’ wrestling team in The Miner’s upcoming winter sports preview.
Selkirk opens against Priest River PRIEST RIVER – The Selkirk Rangers boys basketball team will open their season Friday, Dec. 1, with a game at Priest River. They will return home for a game with Chewelah the next night, Saturday, Dec. 2 and finish the three game home stand Tuesday, Dec. 5 against Valley Christian. The Friday game starts at 2:30 p.m., the Saturday game at 3:30 p.m. and the Tuesday game at 7 p.m.
Lady Spartans start basketball season PRIEST RIVER – The Priest River Lamanna High School girls basketball season is underway. The Lady Spartans played North Idaho Christian Nov. 16 and Wallace Nov. 21, but results were not available at press time. They host Deer Park Thursday, Nov. 30 to play at 5:30 p.m., Selkirk Friday, Dec. 1, at 5:30 p.m. and Sandpoint Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 5 p.m. The Spartans then travel to Newport Wednesday, Dec. 6, for a 5:45 p.m. game. The Spartan gym is unavailable for play until Jan. 1, so home games will be played at the Priest River Elementary School gym.
9B
Griz fall to defending state champs By Don Gronning Of The Miner
MOSES LAKE – The Newport Grizzly football team’s historic season came to an end at the hands of defending state 1A champions Royal. They beat Newport 35-7 Saturday, Nov. 25, at Moses Lake. “The kids played with a lot of heart,” Newport coach Dave Pomante said. “They got beat by a better team.” Royal is well coached, athletic and had solid fundamentals, Pomante said. “I think they had won something like 39 straight going into the game,” he said. That was the 10th longest winning streak in the nation. They had shut teams out eight times so far this year. The Royal Vikings were well aware of Newport QB Koa Pancho. “They gave him a lot of attention,” Pomante said. A player was assigned to ‘spy’ on Pancho, covering him man to man. That shut down Pancho’s running game. He had a negative 39 yards rushing. Royal wasn’t able to totally shut down Pancho, however. He still
Miner photo|Michelle Nedved
Newport quarterback Koa Pancho scrambles to avoid a sack while looking to make a play downfield.
threw for 185 yards and a touchdown. He was picked off once. “He’s very poised, he threw well,” Pomante said, despite Royal pressure that resulted in Pancho being sacked six times. “It could have been 12,” Pomante said, but Pancho is elusive. “He kept us in it.” Jacob Kirkwood caught the nine-yard touchdown pass. Newport’s
Priest River cagers starting season PRIEST RIVER – The Spartans boys basketball team opened their season with a game against Wallace Tuesday night, Nov. 28, after the newspaper deadline. We’ll have results next issue. The Spartan gym is unavailable for play until Jan. 1, so home games will be played at the Priest River Elementary School gym. The Spartans will host Deer Park Thursday, Nov. 30 and Selkirk Friday, Dec. 1, both at 7 p.m. and Sandpoint Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 6:30 p.m.
NOVEMBER 29, 2017 |
Miner photo|Michelle Nedved
Newport’s Tug Smith catches a kickoff Saturday against Royal in the State 1A Football Semi-Finals.
only touchdown came in the third quarter. Adam Moorhead kicked the extra point. That brought the score to 21-7. But Royal was relentless, marching down the field and answering with a touchdown on their possession. They followed it up with another TD in the fourth quarter. Newport received the opening kickoff at the start of the game but was forced to punt. Royal drove down the field on their possession. When Newport held them, it appeared they were going to have to settle for a field goal. They set up to kick on fourth and six, but faked the kick. Newport stopped the runner short of the goal, on the one-yard line, but Royal scored on the next play. Newport took the kickoff and was driving, completing some passes, when Pancho was intercepted. He had to come back and make the touchdown saving tackle on the five-yard line. Royal punched it in on the next play. Royal didn’t score again until late in the
second quarter, when they completed a fouryard touchdown pass. Newport went into the half trailing 21-0. The Pancho-Kirkwood pass play in the third quarter was Newport’s only touchdown. Royal only gave up 45 points all season, including the Newport touchdown. Royal outscored their opponents 663-45. Newport had 169 yards of total offense, to 409 for Royal. Newport picked up more passing yards than Royal – 187 to 185. But Royal had the answer for Newport’s running game. They held the Grizzlies to a negative 18 yards rushing, while they gained 224 yards on the ground. Pancho completed 18 of 27 passes, with a touchdown and an interception. Tug Smith had a good game receiving. He caught seven passes for 101 yards. Owen Leslie caught four passes for 35 yards, Kirkwood caught four passes for 28 yards and a touchdown, Danny Bradbury caught two passes for 17 yards and
Rylan Hastings caught a pass for six yards. On defense, Bradbury led the way, with 10.5 tackles, including seven solo tackles and seven assists. Leslie had six tackles, including four solos and four assists. Smith had six tackles, Johnny Miller had four and a half tackles, Pancho had four, Kade Zorica had four, Hastings had three, Robby Owen had two and a half, Kai Bowman had one and a half. The Grizzlies will lose a dozen seniors next year, but Pomante says he will likely be back and there is a good group of underclassmen coming up. Pomante said the reason the upperclassmen were so good this year was they spent time in the weight room in the off season. Newport finished the season with a 10-2 record. They had a 6-1 Northeast A League record. Pomante says the players represented themselves, their school and the community well throughout the season.
Jamboree offers wrestlers glimpse into season ahead By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner
PRIEST RIVER – Wrestling season is gearing up at local school districts, and no place was it more apparent than the Takedown Jamboree at Priest River Lamanna High School Saturday, Nov 25. The Spartans and Selkirk Rangers, along with wrestlers from Sandpoint High School took to the mats in a non-league, casual meet to get some valuable practice time in with fellow athletes
before the competitive season begins. “It’s just an opportunity for wrestlers to get some one-on-one time outside of practicing with their own teammates, to let them get a taste for competition,” said Priest River wrestling coach Jesse Hellinger. He added that the Spartans have every intention of holding on to their Intermountain League championship title that they secured last year. Priest River will attend the Blizzard Tournament
at Kellogg High School Friday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 9, at 9 a.m. Selkirk senior Ryan Issakides was a state 1B/2B state champ last year, wrestling at 106 pounds. He returns to the Rangers roster this year. Wrestling coach Keith Saxe was not available for comment before press time. Selkirk High School has an away tournament at Liberty Saturday, Dec. 9 at 9:30 a.m. Newport High School
was not at last Saturday’s jamboree due to lack of practice, according to Newport wrestling coach Adrian Bojorquez. Newport will have their first jamboree against Reardan on Friday, Dec.
s p o rt s c a l e n d a r Thursday, Nov. 30 Priest River Girls Basketball vs. Deer Park: 5:30 p.m. – Priest River
Tuesday, Dec. 5 Priest River Girls Basketball vs. Sandpoint: 5 p.m. – Priest River
Friday, Dec. 1
Priest River Boys Basketball vs. Sandpoint: 6:30 p.m. – Priest River
Selkirk Boys Basketball vs. Chewelah: 3:30 p.m. – Selkirk Priest River Girls Basketball vs. Selkirk: 5:30 p.m. – Priest River Priest River Boys Basketball vs. Selkirk: 7 p.m. – Priest River
Saturday, Dec. 2
Miner photo|Sophia Aldous
Open Gym, Adult Basketball: 7 a.m. - Newport High School
Priest River Boys Basketball vs. Deer Park: 7 p.m. – Priest River Newport Wrestling vs. Reardan: TBD - Reardan
A Selkirk wrestler goes after a Priest River opponent at last Saturday’s Takedown Jamboree.
1 (TBD). See more information about all the local high school wrestling teams and other winter sports in The Miner’s Winter Sports Preview, coming out in December.
Selkirk Boys Basketball vs. Valley Christian: 7 p.m. - Selkirk
Wednesday, Dec. 6 Newport Girls Basketball vs. Priest River: 5:45 p.m. – Newport Newport Boys Basketball vs. Priest River: 6:30 p.m. – Newport
208-448-2311
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ThE mineR
Newport Griz make history
T
his was quite the year for the Newport Football team, making their first trip to the second round of the state tournament in the school’s history.
Week 1 Newport 29 Priest River 8 The Grizzlies opened their season against cross-country rival Priest River, getting a 29-8 win Sept. 1. Tug Smith caught a pair of Koa Pancho passes for touchdowns. Pancho rushed for a touchdown, as did Matt Reel. Jacob Tanner and Lance Knight each had a sack for Newport.
Week 2
Week 3 Newport 25 Chewelah
The Grizzlies shut out Chewelah, with Kade Zorica and Adam Moorhead getting interceptions. Pancho hit Smith with a TD pass, scored twice on short runs and hit Smith with another TD pass. Danny Bradbury played his first game of the season for Newport after recovering from an ankle injury. He led Newport tacklers.
Week 4 Newport 48 Medical Lake 0 Newport shut out another Northeast A League team. Smith broke a 79-yard punt return for the Grizzlies first score. Pancho didn’t play this game, setting out with an injury. Moorhead played QB, completing eight of 11. He threw touchdown passes to Owen Leslie and Smith and rushed for one. Reel rushed for two TDs and Bradbury rushed for one.
Week 5 Colville 28 Newport 14 Newport started October at home with
The Grizzlies, in fact, made it to the semi-finals, losing Saturday to the reigning state champion Royal Vikings. The record-breaking season was especially meaningful for
their only regular season loss. The tone was set when Colville returned the opening kickoff 60 yards for a touchdown. Newport’s offense fired up in the second half, with 6 feet, 1 inch, 180 pound sophomore Jacob Kirkwood scoring on a 29-yard run. Exchange student Greyson Le kicked the extra point.
Week 6 0
A game with Okanogan was canceled because of smoke from wildfires.
0
November 29, 2017 |
Newport 35 Riverside
Newport bounced back from the Colville defeat with a solid shutout of Riverside. Bradbury intercepted a pass and returned it 40 yards for a TD. Robby Owen contributed to the win an interception and four tackles. Smith also had an interception. Pancho hit Leslie and Kirkwood with touchdown passes and rushed for two TDs himself. Newport had 350 yards of total offense to Riverside’s 65.
Week 7 Newport 20 Lakeside 16 Newport had to come from behind to win one of their closest games of the season when they visited Lakeside. The Grizzlies trailed 20-6 at halftime. Pancho scored on three short runs to give Newport the win.
Week 8 Newport 19 Freeman 0 Newport shut out another Northeast A League opponent when they beat Freeman 19-0. The game was a defensive battle the first half, with neither team able to score. Pancho got the Griz on the scoreboard in the third quarter with a pair of touchdown runs. Bradbury scored the Grizzlies final touchdown on an 11-yard run. Newport had 300 yards
Great Job Grizzlies!
the families whose kids are second generation Grizzlies. Following is a look back at the season and the community’s tribute to the 2017 Newport Grizzlies.
of offense while holding Freeman to 39 yards.
Week 9 Newport 27 Deer Park 25 Newport’s defense against extra point attempts made the difference when they beat Deer Park in the last regular season game. Smith knocked down an extra points pass that would have tied the game and Bradbury blocked two extra point kicks earlier. Pancho put Newport on the scoreboard with an 88-yard run. Newport’s second touchdown came on a 52-yard Pancho to Leslie touchdown pass play. Pancho ripped off a 39-yard touchdown run and Bradbury scored on a short run to round out Newport scoring. Newport had 409 yards of offense to 300 for Deer Park.
Week 10 Newport 47 Cascade 21 Newport started November hosting a crossover playoff game with Cascade, the No. 3 team from the Caribou Trail League. An early snowstorm left Newport’s field covered with five inches of snow, but it didn’t stop the Grizzlies. Pancho hit Kirkwood with a touchdown pass in the first quarter. Pancho would score two more rushing TDs in the first half and
Kirkwood scored again, this time on a 27-yard run. In the second half, Pancho hit Kirkwood on an 85-yard touchdown pass play. Bradbury made a 39-yard touchdown run. Moorhead caught a 50-yard pass for Newport’s seventh touchdown. Newport ended up with 479 yards of offense, compared to Cascade’s 290.
Week 11 Newport 13 Zillah 6 Newport beat Zillah to advance to the quarterfinals of the 1A state football tournament, the farthest the school had been in a state football tournament up until that time. The teams played a close first half, with Newport’s only score coming on a seven-yard Kirkwood run. Moorhead kicked the extra point and the score was 7-6 going into halftime. After the half, Smith broke another big kickoff return, this one 80 yards for a touchdown. That was it for scoring and Newport got the win. Coach Dave Pomante credited Newport’s defensive line – Robbie Owen, Brad McMeen, Owen Leslie, Jacob Tanner and Brady Corkrum – with playing well. See recap, 8B
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5B
Great Year!
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6B
| November 29, 2017
ThE mineR
Koa Pancho stretches for Newport’s first touchdown of the year in a game with Priest River the first week of September. It was the first of 19 r Pancho in 2017. He also threw for a dozen touchdowns.
Congrats Grizzlies!
Auto • Home • Renters • Business Miner photo|Sophia Aldous
Sadie Halstead Middle School students ride their float down Main Street in Newport during the Homecoming Parade. People were especially enthusiastic about this year’s football team.
Bruce A. Hunt, Agent
509-447-3428 309 South Washington Ave. • Newport bhunt@farmersagent.com
Congratulations Newport Griz!
Miner photo|Don Gronning
Right: The band played at Newport home football games, no matter the weather. Here a pair of musicians play during the snow bowl, when Newport’s field was covered in five inches of snow.
Congrats on a Great Year! SELKIRK SELKIR
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ThE mineR
Miner photo|Don Gronning
Newport coach Dave Pomante took over as head coach and guided the Grizzlies to state. Pomante has coached nearly 40 years at the high school and collegiate level.
Miner photo|Don Gronning
November 29, 2017 |
7B
Way to Go Griz!
rushing touchdowns for
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Mi Pueblo AUTHENTIC MEXICAN FOOD Miner photo|Don Gronning
Above: Kai Bowman, Tug Smith and Adam Moorhead close in on a Riverside running back. Newport shut out Riverside 35-0 for homecoming. Miner photo|Michelle Nedved
Right: Grizzly cheerleaders led enthusiastic fans throughout the year.
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8B
| November 29, 2017
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Congratulations Newport Grizzlies!
ThE mineR
2017 Newport Grizzlies No. name 2 Troy Hill 3 Tug Smith 4 Johnny Miller 5 Adam Moorhead 6 Ryan Hastings 8 Dan Gentle 9 Kade Zorica 10 Koa Pancho 15 Teigen Prange 20 Keagan Stott 21 Johnny Goodman 22 Grayson Le 24 Cody Warner 25 Micheal Owen 32 Matt Reel 34 Braden Anderson 44 Danny Bradburry 50 Brady Corkrum 51 Kai Bowman 54 Brad McMeen 57 Jacob Tanner 62 Robbie Owen 65 Gus Newman 70 Lance Knight 72 Zac Crosswhite 74 Mike Rowe 77 Robert Moss 79 Luke Nichols 80 Owen Leslie 81 Tyler Ward 88 Jacob Kirkwood
height 5’ 9” 5’ 9” 5’ 8” 5’ 11” 5’ 9” 5’ 11” 5’ 9” 5’ 11” 5’ 8” 5’ 8” 5’ 7” 5’ 6” 5’ 7” 5’ 11” 5’ 10” 5’ 6” 5’ 11” 5’ 10” 5’ 10” 5’ 10” 5’ 9” 6’ 4” 5’ 9” 6’ 1” 6’ 2” 6’ 1” 5’ 11” 6’ 2” 6’ 1” 5’ 3” 6’ 1”
weight position 160 TE/LB 150 WR/DB 140 RB/DB 160 WR/DB 150 WR/DB 140 QB/DB 170 RB/DB 180 QB/DB 140 QB/DB 130 RB/DB 145 WR/DB 125 K 125 WR/DB 150 RB/DB 175 RB/LB 140 RB/LB 195 RB/LB 195 OL/DL 185 OL/LB 210 OL/DL 200 OL/DL 190 OL/DL 190 OL/DL 200 OL/DL 165 OL/DL 220 OL/DL 180 OL/DL 260 OL/DL 180 TE/DL 120 WR/DL 180 WR/DB
grade 10 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 9 9 10 12 11 9 11 10 11 12 12 12 11 12 10 11 12 11 11 10 12 11 10
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recap: From Page 5B
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Week 12 Newport 21 Colville 7 Probably the biggest win of the year came Nov. 17 when Newport played Colville at Gon-
zaga Prep in Spokane. It was a close game, with both teams scoring rushing touchdowns in the first half to cap their opening drives. After that it was a defensive battle and the score was
7-7 at the half. Defenses continued to dominate the second half, with neither team scoring in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Pancho combined with Moorhead for a 45-yard TD
pass play. With less than two minutes to play, Pancho scored on a 21yard run. In the game’s final moments, Smith picked off a Colville pass to cement the win, the biggest of the year.
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