Ririe survives challenge from New Plymouth, advances to 3A semifinals

POCATELLO — The Ririe Bulldogs came into their quarterfinals matchup with the Plymouth Pilgrims averaging 37.6 points per game.

Behind one of the state’s top rushing attacks and one of its leading individual rushers, Ririe (10-0) earned the 3A bracket’s top seed. But the Pilgrims (7-4) were game for the challenge, slowing senior Kolter Lewis and the Bulldogs, and had a chance for a late game-winning score.

But a pair of dropped passes on their final possession cost the Pilgrims, as Ririe escaped Thursday night’s playoff showdown with a 20-18 victory.

Touchdown drives came fast at the start, with Lewis guiding his Bulldogs on an 80-yard game-opening possession. The senior tailback capped the drive with a one-yard scoring run, then added on the two-point conversion.

A shoo-in for 3A Player of the Year, Lewis averaged 172.1 yards per game on 9.1 yards per carry during the regular season, finishing as the state’s No. 3 rusher with 1,549 yards. His 25 touchdowns runs were second in the state.

New Plymouth made adjustments after that first Ririe possession though, keeping Lewis out of the endzone the rest of the game and even forcing a rare fumble from the powerful ball-carrier.

Ririe’s running back No. 2, Garrett Van Noy, created more problems for the Pilgrims, pounding in a short touchdown run in the second and adding a long scoring run early in the third quarter, giving the Bulldogs a 20-12 lead following an onside kick recovery to start the second half.

New Plymouth didn’t just depend on stopping Ririe, they came out swinging offensively as well.

The Pilgrims matched Ririe’s opening touchdown drive with one of their own. They matched Van Noy’s first score with another touchdown, then did it again after his second.

As the game reached the fourth quarter, the difference was a missed New Plymouth extra point and a pair of filed two-point conversions, coupled with Lewis’ successful two-pointer at the end of Ririe’s eight-minute game-opening drive.

And after stopping the Bulldogs on a fourth and short, New Plymouth had the ball back down by just two, 70 yards from a game-winning touchdown and just under five minutes to traverse that ground. They were unsuccessful, though, handing possession back to Ririe.

The Bulldogs pounded out a pair of first downs before bleeding the clock dry.

Ririe gets an extra day of rest before beginning preparation for a semifinal matchup against the winner of Friday’s Aberdeen-Priest River game.