Playoff bound
<p>The Coeur d'Alene High mascot Victor the Viking waves his spirit sword to motivate the crowd Friday as the CHS varsity football team battled the Trojans on their home turf. The Vikings earned a key 41-14 win.</p>
<p>Post Falls High cheerleader Tommy Elder tries to motivate the crowd with a megaphone Friday as their varsity football team hosted the Coeur d'Alene Vikings.</p>
<p>Coeur d'Alene High's Jake Matheson goes up for a catch at the 50-yard line only to have it broken up by Damon Gonzalez from Post Falls during the second half of Friday's game.</p>
<p>Post Falls High's Tyson Johnson tries to spin for additional yardage as the Coeur d'Alene Viking defense closes in to end the play Friday.</p>
POST FALLS - The start wasn't bad. The finish was even better for the Coeur d'Alene Vikings.
Chad Chalich hooked up with Matt Lambert on a 71-yard pass play on Coeur d'Alene's first play from scrimmage, and the second-ranked Vikings scored the last 16 points to finish off a 41-14 victory over fourth-ranked Post Falls in 5A Inland Empire League play Friday night before an estimated crowd of 2,000 at Trojan Stadium.
"It was a better start than (last week at) Lewiston," Coeur d'Alene coach Shawn Amos said. "Post Falls is a good football team, so to win like that, that shows a lot for us. We're playing well when we need to."
Coeur d'Alene (7-1, 2-0 5A IEL) clinched a playoff berth with the win and eliminated Post Falls (6-2, 0-2) from playoff contention. Coeur d'Alene plays host to fifth-ranked Lake City (6-2, 2-0) next Friday for the league title. And the winner will be the host in the first round of the state playoffs in two weeks, when the two teams will meet again.
Zach Keiser rushed for 212 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries for Coeur d'Alene, including a 33-yarder on the Vikings’ second possession to make it 14-0. Coeur d’Alene led 17-0 at halftime and 25-0 early in the third quarter.
“These guys are definitely not someone to start slow on; they can put some points up pretty quick,” Keiser said. “So we just had to jump on them early, and we came back in the second half and put it to them. So it was a great win.”
Coeur d’Alene totaled 488 yards of offense, including 334 on the ground. Post Falls totaled 207 yards.
We needed to do that (start fast) and we did,” Amos said. “These kids, they’re a competitive group, they take coaching well. They respond; they don’t think they have all the answers. We’re trying to get better every week.”
Post Falls was stopped three times in the first half on fourth down in Viking territory, including once on fourth and 2 from the Coeur d’Alene 8.
“Coeur d’Alene up front controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football,” Post Falls coach Jeff Hinz said. “If you would have said we’d have fourth and 1 three times and we wouldn’t get any of them, I would have said ‘no way.’ We didn’t get any momentum going in the first half.”
Post Falls tried to grab the momentum with an onside kick to start the third quarter, but an inadvertent whistle before the Trojans recovered forced a re-kick. Coeur d’Alene got it and Keiser later ran 29 yards for the 25-0 lead.
Post Falls battled back, as quarterback Matt Lickfold ran 5 yards for a touchdown, then passed 15 yards to Tyson Johnson to pull the Trojans within 25-14 with 4:51 left in the third quarter.
Post Falls got the ball back late in the quarter, but two sacks by Viking Keagan Dunn forced a punt, and Coeur d’Alene turned that into a touchdown on Keiser’s 7-yard run. On Post Falls’ next possession, a low snap skidded past Lickfold from the 12, and he kicked the ball out the back of the end zone for a safety. After the free kick, the Vikings scored four plays later when Chalich rolled left and hit Drew Turbin for a 10-yard score with 7:03 left to complete the scoring.
“That shows a lot,” Amos said of his team’s play in the fourth quarter. “We’ve been in all sorts of games; I think that really has helped us. There isn’t a situation we haven’t been in.”
Coeur d’Alene 14 3 8 16 — 41
Post Falls 0 0 14 0 —14
Cd’A — Matt Lambert 71 pass from Chad Chalich (Parker Wilson kick)
Cd’A — Zach Keiser 33 run (Wilson kick)
Cd’A — FG Wilson 35
Cd’A — Keiser 29 run (Keiser run)
PF — Matt Lickfold 5 run (Scott Benner kick)
PF — Tyson Johnson 15 pass from Lickfold (Benner kick)
Cd’A — Keiser 7 run (Wilson kick)
Cd’A — Safety Lickfold kicked ball out of end zone
Cd’A — Drew Turbin 10 pass from Chalich (Wilson kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Cd’A, Keiser 18-212, Chalich 12-95, Turbin 1-7, Martinez 8-36, Team 2-(16). PF, Johnson 12-45, Lickfold 19-20, Wood 8-40, Team 2-(-42).
PASSING — Cd’A, Chalich13-23-1-154. PF, Lickfold 10-22-1-144.
RECEIVING — Cd’A, Lambert 3-84, Matheson 4-38, Turbin 5-30, Keiser 1-2. PF, Carter 2-73, Pastras 6-46, Booth 1-10, Johnson 1-15.