On Shelley’s first offensive series of the night Friday against Snake River, quarterback Chad Leckington found a wide open Dalton Nelson down the seam for a 38-yard touchdown on fourth and 18.

    That was a sign of things to come from the Russets senior quarterback as he accounted for five touchdowns in Shelley’s 41-14 win over defending 3A state champion Snake River in Holt Arena.

    Leckington threw for four touchdowns and had an interception return for another score to lead the Russets.

    The play of the game may have come on Snake River’s series after Leckington’s first touchdown.

    The Panthers drove 77 yards to the Russets three-yard line where they faced and fourth and three. On that play Nate Martin was stopped six inches short of the goal line, turning the ball over to the Russets.

    “Our defense really stepped up, that was a real pressure situation,” Shelley head coach Travis Hobson said. “Had Snake scored it may have let them back into the game and may have shifted momentum more than we could control, and I think our defense stepped up and saved the game.”

    “We thought we had a good play call there and Shelley did a good job and stuffed it,” Snake River head coach Jeff Dalley said. “Maybe if we score there it is a different game, but it is hard to tell. We did not get any breaks and it wasn’t our night.”

    After that defensive stop the Russets put two more touchdowns on the board to go into the half leading 20-0.

    The first was a Leckington to McKay Cannon 70-yard touchdown pass where Cannon caught a short screen pass and weaved through the Panthers’ defense all the across the field, ending up in the endzone.

    Leckington score the next touchdown when he intercepted a floating Wyatt Wray pass, taking it 25 yards for the touchdown. Nelson’s pressure on Wray forced the floating pass.  

    “I keep telling people that our defense is underrated, it’s the heart of our team,” Hobson said. “People keep talking about our offense and how many points we score, but we are only scoring points because our defense is putting us on the field a bunch. Our defense is tough.”

    Leckington and the rest of the Shelley starters played late into the fourth quarter before being pulled. Before they left the field, Leckington led the Russets on three more scoring drives.

    He connected with Cannon again from 35 yards out and found Josh Gutierrez from 31 yards out. Gutierrez scored again on a one-yard run to finish the scoring.

    Snake River were able to score two second half touchdowns. The first was a Wray to Brett Parkinson 25-yard touchdown pass. The second came late in the fourth quarter from backup quarterback Kade Keller on a seven yard run.

    “I told the kids after the game that this senior class has been in two state title games and they have nothing to hang their heads on,” Dalley said. “This program has come a long way since I got here and the seniors have been a part of that. I am proud of them and they are a great bunch of kids. You hate to see them go out like this but someone has to lose and I guess tonight was our night.”

    Wray finished the night 10-of-24 for 111 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

    Parkinson was the leading receiver with 95 yards on four catches.

    Leckington finished his night 12-of-20 for 299 yards and four touchdowns. Cannon caught six passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

    With the victory Shelley improves to 10-0 and will travel to Gooding next week for the 3A state semifinals.

    “They are going to make us go there,” Hobson said about next week’s game. “We most likely play on Friday and they said we will go there. It’s a long bus ride for us.”

To see a photo gallery from this game, click here.