Tappero leads Cardinals over Orofino 40-31

Medical Lake head football coach Wes Hobbs had a questions as his team approached their season opening game last Friday against visiting Orofino, from Idaho.

When the horn sounded following the Cardinals 40-31 victory over the Maniacs, many of those questions were answered.

Foremost among Hobbs' concerns was how his offensive line might come together with a blend of just two veterans and plenty of fresh faces. And then how they might handle a large Orofino defensive front.

Senior running back Jackson Tappero's 254 rushing yards answered those.

"We had to come up with an offensive line to match our skill kids and I think they answered the call," Hobbs said.

Medical Lake (1-0) and Orofino (1-1) traded touchdowns in both of their first two possessions.

Tappero scored on an eight-play drive on the Cards' first possession. When kicker Taylor Masteller's point-after bounced off the left upright and through, it was 7-0 with 7 minutes, 39 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

The Maniacs went 95 yards on their first possession with Drake Kuykendall's pass over the middle being juggled multiple times by John Walker. He controlled it in the end zone with 4:53 left in the first quarter, trimming ML's lead to 7-6 when the 2-point try failed.

With burning clock time their specialty, Medical Lake embarked on a 65-yard drive that consumed 4:26. Tappero scored from the 1-yard line with 21 seconds to go in the first quarter for a 14-6 lead.

It took Orofino just four plays - two of those losing six yards - but it was Walker again that snuck behind the Medical Lake secondary. Kuykendall found him all alone down the right sideline for 54 yards. Brother Josh Walker's run on the conversion tied it at 14-14 with 11:14 left in the half.

Then the defense took over on both sides. Medical Lake had their ensuing 12-play drive halted by Brendon Judd's interception and return, but an Ian O'Brien sack of Kuykendall stopped Orofino's drive after just four plays.

After a short punt, Medical Lake started in great field position at their own 43 and it took just two plays and a personal foul penalty to move the ball to the Maniacs' 30-yard line.

That's where Tappero hauled the ball - and a bunch of prospective tacklers for 10 yards - before he shed them on the way to a 30-yard touchdown. Brayden Hale's run for 2-points made it 22-14 with 3:38 left in the half.

Things did not get better for the Maniacs in the second half. The Cards got more of a pass rush on Kuykendall and his passes continued to fall incomplete.

Medical Lake got a 37-yard run from Tappero on their first play and took the ball to the Orofino 30. A pass interference call moved the ball to the 15. Dawson Lack scored on the drive's eighth play and the Cardinals led 28-14.

Another three and out by Orofino gave the ball back to Medical Lake which launched an 11-play drive that chewed 5:45 off the clock. Tappero's fourth touchdown, a 5-yard run with 43 seconds gone in the fourth quarter, made it 35-14 .

"He had a good night," Hobbs said of Tappero. "The great thing is he's playing four downs on defense, (he's) a two-way player."

With reserves taking their turn in a variety of positions, Orofino took advantage. They scored twice in the fourth on runs by Judd and Tyler Schwartz - 16 points including a pair of 2-point conversions - sandwiched around a Jacob Sutton 9-yard touchdown run for Medical Lake with 3:02 to play that pushed the Cardinals' lead to 41-22.

Medical Lake enjoyed a 413-328 advantage in total yards. Cory Wagner finished 4 of 8 passing for 50 yards, 47 of those to speedster Tellas Johnson on three catches.

Medical Lake takes on another Idaho foe this Friday with a trip to St. Maries and a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Lumberjacks are 1-1 with a 41-0 win over Kellogg and a 49-7 loss at Freeman last Friday.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].