ECHO — The Prairie City/Burnt River and Dayville/Monument/Long Creek football teams finally got to hit somebody other than their own teammates in their first action of the 2023-24 campaign, a football jamboree held in Echo on Saturday, Aug. 26.

The jamboree didn’t count toward the teams’ overall records and consisted of each squad running 36 plays in total. Prairie City/Burnt River head coach Todd Thompson acknowledged the strange dynamic, saying, “That part is different than how you’d normally manage a play.”

The Panthers played four games at the jamboree, the first against Echo. Thompson said the team ran some younger and older kids in eight plays against Echo, with Wes Voigt standing out on defense.

Dayville/Monument/Long Creek was next on the Panthers’ agenda, with 10 plays being run in that contest. Thompson pegged Ritter Rookstool as a standout against the Tigers and praised the improvement of Dayville’s squad this year.

“Dayville has gotten better, which is good to see,” he said.

Next the team faced off with league newcomers Wallowa. Thompson said the team played really well on defense in the series against Wallowa. Maison Teel had a touchdown pass and a touchdown rush during the play set.

The Panthers lined up for their final action of the jamboree against Jordan Valley, another league newcomer. Thompson said he had a lot of younger guys get some experience against Jordan Valley, adding that everyone got to play.

For Thompson, being restricted to 36 plays meant that there were plays the team would not get to run at the jamboree. As a result, he just got back to basics in his play choices.

“For us, we just chose to start off at square one,” he said.

Dayille/Monument/Long Creek’s coach could not be reached before press time.

Both teams have a five-day turnaround before they begin regular season action on Thursday, Aug. 31.

The Panthers are on the road against the same Wallowa team they saw at the jamboree. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Dayville/Monument/Long Creek will be on the road against another jamboree participant in Jordan Valley. That game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. Mountain time start.