Johnson, English spark Trojans
RATHDRUM - Due to illness and injury, the Post Falls Trojans knew if they were going to emerge from Corbit Field a winner on Friday, the victory was going to be on the heels of some strong play from their reserves.
Post Falls junior Tyson Johnson rushed for 216 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries, and senior quarterback Kyle English threw for one touchdown in a 42-7 win over the Lakeland Hawks at Corbit Field.
Johnson, who is starting for junior running back Marcus Colbert, who is out with a back injury and English - a transfer from Lakeland - was in for Matt Lickfold, who was hospitalized for three days this week with a severe throat infection.
"We knew with Matt out this week that we were going to have to run the ball," Post Falls coach Jeff Hinz said. "We kind of came out flat in the first quarter, but once we got our bearings, we kind of took off."
Hinz said that Lickfold was out indefinitely, but didn't rule him out for next week's 5A Inland Empire League opener at Lake City.
"He's got a severe bacterial infection," Hinz said. "We're not quite sure when he'll be back - but we're hoping for next week."
Lakeland (1-4) opened the scoring midway through the first quarter as Cory Thorne scored from two yards out to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead. Post Falls answered on their next possession as Johnson found the end zone from 2 yards out to even the score at 7-7 after the first quarter.
Post Falls (4-0) gained the momentum in the second quarter as senior Jose Chavez blocked a punt by Eric Cooper to set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Trevor Wood. English hit tight end Hayden Booth on a 9-yard touchdown pass to give the Trojans a 21-7 lead with 4:12 remaining in the half.
Johnson had 187 yards rushing in the second half as the Trojans outscored the Hawks 21-0 in the half to get the win.
"It was kind of crazy," Johnson said. "We came out looking to get a win. Our line did a great job of opening some holes in the second half and we ran the offense well."
Lakeland travels to West Valley on Friday.
"Our kids battled tonight," Lakeland coach Tim Kiefer said. "I'm extremely proud of them. The game was tough on us. We started having some difficulty running the ball. We're starting to get settled into our offense and the kids have shown at times what we're capable of. We've had some moments of brilliance, but need to be more consistent."
Post Falls 7 14 7 14 - 42
Lakeland 7 0 0 0 - 7
LL - Cory Thorne 2 run (Cody Vandever kick)
PF - Tyson Johnson 2 run (Scott Benner kick)
PF - Trevor Wood 7 run (Benner kick)
PF - Hayden Booth 9 pass from Kyle English (Benner kick)
PF - Johnson 51 run (Benner kick)
PF - Johnson 12 run (Benner kick)
PF - Wood 25 run (Benner kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - PF, Johnson 18-216, Wood 13-116, English 3-20, Pastras 6-47. LL, Kedish 12-71. Cederblom 7-27, Thorne 7-16.
PASSING - PF, English, 10-20-1-93. LL, Cooper, 12-30-2-163, Thorne 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING - PF, Pastras 5-42, Booth 3-29, Wood 1-1, Carter 3-19. LL, Grey 2-72, Thorne 5-54, Arno 4-21, Kedish 2-7, Campbell 2-24.