Lumberjacks fall to Duncan-led Hornets

POCATELLO — The last time that St. Maries faced Declo, the Lumberjacks won their first state 2A title in program history, also at Holt Arena.

That time was also the last time the Hornets had tasted defeat.

This time was a little different story Declo senior running back Keegan Duncan had 236 yards rushing and four touchdowns, three coming in the second half of a 49-6 win over the Lumberjacks in a state 2A football quaterfinal game at Holt Arena on Saturday.

“He’s just a special, special athlete,” St. Maries coach Craig Tefft said of Duncan, who started as a sophomore in the 2016 title game in Pocatello. “There’s a reason he’s committed to Boise State. He’s fast, can make cuts and run with power. We tried to slow him down, but he’s good.”

Tyler Lohman scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Kaden Hammond to cut the deficit to 22-6 in the third quarter for St. Maries, before Declo pulled away.

“I was extremely proud of our effort,” Tefft said. “Hats off to Declo. They’re good at every level. They’re the No. 1 team in the state for a reason. They’re the real deal.”

St. Maries finishes the season 6-4.

Declo (10-0) advances to the semifinal round next weekend to face West Side (10-0), which beat McCall-Donnelly in another quarterfinal game.

“We’ve got to find that thing to get us to the next round,” Tefft said. “We’re going to be young next season, but I’m happy with the season we had. We had kids playing with broken bones, but they just kept competing. I’m really proud of these kids.”

St. Maries 0 0 6 0 — 6

Declo 8 14 7 20 — 49

First quarter

Declo — Keegan Duncan 5 run (McCay Brashears run)

Second quarter

Declo — Ben Puentes 29 pass from Brashears (Abel Santana kick)

Declo — Brashears 20 run (7 kick)

Third quarter

SM — Tyler Lohman 21 pass from Kaden Hammond (conversion failed)

Declo — Duncan 55 run (Santana kick)

Fourth quarter

Declo — Duncan 25 run (Santana kick)

Declo — Duncan 39 run (Santana kick)

Declo — Luc Delavoye 9 pass from Silcock (kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — SM, Gibson 7-39, Hall 9-11, Gauthier 2-4, Larson 2-4, Daniel 1-2, Hammond 9-(-6), Sands 3-(-13). Declo, Duncan 16-236, Silcock 8-37, Matthews 6-34, Mallory 2-30, Delavoye 2-20, Duke 4-13, Christoperson 1-(-1).

PASSING — SM, Hammond, 10-24-2-91. Declo, Brashears, 5-10-0-52, Duncan, 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — SM, Lohman 3-49, Sands 2-27, Hill 1-16, Hall 2-6, Gibson 2-(-7). Declo, Puentes 1-29, Delevoye 2-27, Duncan 2-(-4).