4A

Preston 20, Rigby 7

RIGBY - It took the Preston football team more than three quarters, but it finally found enough offense to get past Rigby, 20-7, Friday on the road.

Brayden Shepherd scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 30-yard run with 8:43 remaining in the fourth quarter and finished with 102 yards on 15 carries. He teamed with Brandon Ostler, who ran 11 times for 132 yards, to give the Indians a dominant running attack.

"To have two running backs over 100 yards, that means our linemen and receivers were blocking well," said Preston coach Shawn Marlow.

Preston was coming off a 14-12 loss to 4A rival Pocatello a week before, and Marlow said that game carried over into this one emotionally.

"We came out flat. Our kids were bummed about that one," he said, "and that really affected us."

Ostler got the Indians out of their funk with an 11-yard touchdown run three minutes into the fourth quarter. But Preston's two-point run failed, so for a time, Rigby's first-quarter touchdown continued to hold up.

But then Shepherd got into the end zone, and with less than a minute left, Koltyn Hobbs caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Holton to ice the game for Preston. Holton completed 5-of-8 passes for 54 yards, that touchdown and two interceptions.

Now 2-1 on the season, the Indians will visit Shelley, the two-time defending 3A state champion, next week.