St. Maries is 2-8 against Grangeville since October of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Lumberjacks will host the Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m.
Last Friday, St. Maries was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 31-27 to Timberlake. While the Lumberjacks didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Tigers 13-8 in the first quarter.
Jack Barta
| 08/30/25 vs Salmon | 139.9 |
| 08/22/25 @ Non Varsity Opponent | 128.2 |
| 09/26/25 vs Timberlake | 117 |
| 09/12/25 vs Kellogg | 102.2 |
| 09/19/25 @ Moscow | 79.4 |
| + 1 more games |
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jack Barta, who threw for 277 yards and four TDs. His passing game has become a key predictor of St. Maries' success: the team is 2-1 when his passer rating is 110 or higher, but only 1-2 otherwise. Aiden Yearout helped Barta out on the ground, rushing for 141 yards on only 14 carries.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Grangeville). They claimed a resounding 58-2 victory over Orofino. The win was some much needed relief for the Bulldogs as it spelled an end to their four-game losing streak.
Grangeville's win came from a few key players St. Maries will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Troy Long, who picked up 107 receiving yards and a pair of scores. Gage Smith was another key passer, throwing for 125 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Grangeville proved: they limited Orofino to a paltry 0.1 yards per carry. The Bulldogs' ground attack was stronger, having averaged 5.1.
Grangeville didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Hollis Elliott, Luke Stark, Long, and Tate Schumacher picked up one apiece.
St. Maries' defeat dropped their record down to 3-3. As for Grangeville, their victory bumped their record up to 3-4.
St. Maries was dealt a bruising 64-34 loss at the hands of Grangeville when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Thankfully for the Lumberjacks, Cooper Poxleitner (who rushed for 243 yards and five TDs while picking up 10.1 yards per carry, and also picked up 42 receiving yards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
