No. 2 Vikings erupt in 2nd half
LEWISTON — It wasn’t aesthetically pleasing.
In fact, Coeur d’Alene’s first half was essentially the antithesis of what it was entering in its initial 5A Inland Empire League bout.
Still, though, junior Coeur d’Alene Chad Chalich and his offensive cohorts weren’t fazed by the four turnovers which led to an aberrant nine-point output at intermission.
The second-ranked Vikings (6-1, 1-0)didn’t need to make any substantial adjustments for its second-half eruption, which led to a 44-3 win which spoiled Lewiston’s homecoming at Bengal Field.
Chalich, who passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two, knew his club just had to clean a few things up. Nothing more, nothing less.
“We knew what we needed to do,” Chalich said. “We just kept our heads up and kept doing and what we’ve been doing all season. Our defense and offensive line played great the whole game.”
On the Vikings’ first drive, however, their offense looked like a unit which knocked off top-ranked Capital and third-ranked Vallivue in consecutive weeks. Coeur d’Alene needed just six plays to reach the end zone after Zach Keiser scored from 3 yards out.
It proved to be the only drive of the half Coeur d’Alene finished idealistically.
Lewiston answered on the following possession with a 28-yard field goal by Cameron Berglund to cut the Vikings’ lead in half at 6-3.
Both teams were then struck by a bevy of maladies, as eight of the next nine possessions included a turnover.
The Vikings, who picked off Lewiston quarterback Beau Kerns three times in the first half, were able to tack on a Parker Wilson 25-yard field goal in that span which led to its 9-3 halftime lead.
Coeur d’Alene was able to get in the red zone three times in the aforementioned window, but Lewiston’s defense blocked a field goal, recovered a botched snap and intercepted Chalich.
Lewiston (4-3, 0-2) had a chance to take its first lead of the game after marching the Coeur d’Alene’s 5-yard line late in the second quarter, but defensive back Keagan Dunn sniffed out a Kerns pass and returned it 60 yards to thwart the drive.
Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos was far from impressed with the early effort considering the circumstances.
“For it being our first league game, we didn’t start off well at all,” Amos said. “I thought we’d do a lot better to start. It was a learning experience, though. We were able to play through it.”
Did they ever.
Coeur d’Alene’s multifaceted attack was coupled with a staunch defensive effort putting up 37 unanswered points in the second half, scoring on each possession until the conclusion.
Keiser, who garnered all-IEL honors last season, rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
When the Vikings went to the air, Chalich hooked up with receiver Matt Lambert on 44-yard touchdown strike and Jake Matheson on a 55-yard touchdown bomb.
Matheson led a stable of pass catchers after hauling in six passes for 112 yards.
“I thought our defense played well for the most part,” Lewiston coach Emmett Dougherty said. “But they were on the field way too long. Coeur d’Alene outweighs us 100 pounds across the line, so they wore us down.”
Coeur d’Alene, which plays at Post Falls next week, forced seven turnovers.
Coeur d’Alene 6 3 14 21 — 44
Lewiston 3 0 0 0— 3
CdA — Zach Kaiser 4 run (kick failed)
Lewiston — Cameron Berglund 32 field goal
CdA — Parker Wilson 26 field goal
CdA — Zach Kaiser 4 run (run failed)
CdA — Matt Lambert 44 pass from ChadChalich (Watson from Chalich)
CdA — Chalich 3 run (Wilson kick)
CdA — Jake Matheson 55 pass from Chalich (Wilson kick)
CdA — Chalich 2 run (Wilson kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Cd’A, Zach Kaiser 16-128, Matt Lambert 3-27, Chalich 9-74, Colin Comack 2-10. Lew, Tyler Broemeling 7-38, Lucky Gaskill 2-14, Ryan Humphrey 2-23, Tyler LaPlante 1-1, Peter Bakker 1-12, Kerns 6-4.
PASSING — Cd’A, Chad Chalich 22-28-1-276. Lew, Beau Kerns 13-27-4-172.
RECEIVING — Cd’A, Jake Matheson 6-112, Martinez 1-13, Drew Turbin 5-33, Deon Watson 2-20, Matt Lambert 4-74, Comack 1-1.