Viks lose lead late

POCATELLO — Ultimately, the prep-star-studded matchup between two of the best teams in Idaho, Highland and Coeur d’Alene, wasn’t meant to mean a whole lot in terms of the big picture.

But there was plenty revealed in Highland’s 24-21 comeback win Saturday night at Holt Arena.

What’s obvious is the offensive firepower of both teams. Vikings quarterback Gunnar Amos was 17 for 32 with 274 yards and three touchdowns. Highland quarterback Tommy Jewell was 20 for 35 for 182 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

But it was Thad Hansen’s 2-yard I-will-not-be-denied plunge into the end zone that capped off the Highland rally.

“I thought we showed a lot of character coming out in the second half,” Highland coach Gino Mariani said. “(The offense) stepped up. They stepped up and did a good job.”

But for Jewell and the Rams (4-0), the start to the game was slow going.

The Vikings (1-3) enjoyed a hot start as they took the first possession and drove right down the Rams’ throat to score on a 25-yard toss from Amos to Chase Blakley.

After Highland settled for a field goal following a third-down stuff, the Vikings made them pay again. Amos routinely stood still in the pocket with minimal pass rush to take apart the Highland secondary. He found Kolby DeHaas streaking down the right sideline for his second touchdown throw of the game.

The Vikings were in full pillage mode, and the Rams were struggling to keep up.

“It was an epic battle and that was kind of what we were expecting with Highland,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said. “It’s awesome for us to kind of battle with these guys.”

With relentless tranquility, Amos continued to find open receivers, who in turn found a lot of green in front of them. It all culminated in another touchdown throw, this time to Johnny Plum, who caught it at the five, bounced off a tackler and waltzed into the end zone.

But as the clock winded down to halftime, Jewell and the Highland offense refused to be put away. The senior quarterback twice Houdinied his way out of sure sacks to sprint up the field. With 15 seconds left and on the Vikings’ 10-yard line, Jewell escaped the pocket and raced to the right before lowering his shoulder and bulldozing his way to score, narrowing the Viking lead to 21-10.

“At halftime, we knew what speed we needed to come out and play at,” said Hansen, who finished the night with 87 yards on 17 carries. “We had to come back, so we knew if our defense does good, we still had to put points on the board.”

The slow Highland start couldn’t be avoided in the second half. Jewell’s luck evading pressure ended as he was brought down for a 10-yard sack on third down to force the Highland punt.

But sluggishness is contagious, and Amos bobbled a snap to lose eight yards. He then overthrew a wide-open receiver to give the ball right back to the Rams.

It was the rough offensive second-half play that doomed the Vikings.

“(The Rams) were able to make some drives of their own, which gets the ball out of our hands,” Shawn Amos said. “You can’t waste a drive.”

The Rams quickly shook off the inconsistency of its first possession in the third quarter, and Jewell found Christian Aktinson running a post into the middle of the field and put the ball in his hands for the 23-yard touchdown reception.

Highland had scored 14 unanswered points and was back in the game. And after a Coeur d’Alene three-and-out and a 26-yard punt return by Highland’s Greg Gwinn, the Rams were poised to score again. A defensive holding call on a gutsy fourth-and-seven incompletion extended the drive. The Rams couldn’t capitalize on the Vikings miscue, and it resulted in a blocked field goal that would’ve cut the Coeur d’Alene lead to one.

Following a three-and-out, Highland got the ball back on its own 25. After driving to midfield, Jewell threw his first pick of the game to Coeur d’Alene’s Alec Seibold at the Viking 1-yard line.

After both teams traded punts, Highland’s offense took the field at the Viking 44-yard line with 4:20 remaining. Two Thad Hansen rumbles that went for 12 and 14 yards, respectively, set the Rams up inside the Coeur d’Alene 12. Then on a key fourth-and-goal inside the Viking 2-yard line, Thad Hansen took the handoff and was stopped at the 1-yard line. But as he came down, he outstretched his hand across the plane to score. With no timeouts left and two minutes on the clock, a stop would’ve given the Vikings the win.

“I had the mentality that I wasn’t getting stopped,” Hansen said.

With 80 yards between the Vikings and victory, Gunnar Amos threw two incompletions to make it third and 10. An ineligible receiver penalty made it third and 15. Another incomplete pass after Amos was flushed from the pocket made it fourth down.

Scrambling again, Amos found Chase Blakley for the 35-yard gain. After two more head-spinning runs out of the pocket, Amos continued to work his way down the field.

But he ran out of time, and with eight ticks left, Brennan Barber came out to try a game-tying 46-yard field goal, but the kick was wide left to complete the Highland comeback.

“It was really just two closely-matched teams battling it out (and) slugging it out,” Shawn Amos said.

“It’s good for us to be in a close game like that so we know where we are down the road,” Hansen said.

Coeur d’Alene plays host to Minico of Rupert on Friday.

Coeur d’Alene 14 7 0 0 – 21

Highland 3 7 7 7 – 24

Cd’A — Chase Blakley 25 pass from Gunnar Amos (Brennan Barber kick)

High – FG Dallan Rodriguez 40

Cd’A — Kolby DaHaas 39 pass from Amos (Barber kick)

Cd’A — Jonny Plum 30 pass from Amos (Barber kick)

High — Tommy Jewell 10 run (Rodriguez kick)

High — Christian Atkinson 23 pass from Jewell (Rodriguez kick)

High — Thad Hansen 2 run (Rodriguez kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Cd’A, Gibson Green 6-29, Jonny Plum 5-22, Gunnar Amos 5-16, Ty Holgate 3-9, Addison Johnson 1-0. High, Thad Hansen 17-87, Tommy Jewell 11-24, Christian Atkinson 4-35.

PASSING — Cd’A, Gunnar Amos 17-32-0-274. High, Tommy Jewell 20-35-1-182.

RECEIVING — Cd’A, Jonny Plum 5-51, Kolby DaHaas 3-80, Chase Blakley 3-72, Addison Johnson 3-24, Cameron Doering 2-22, Ty Holgate 2-19, Gibson Green 2-7. High, Thad Hansen 7-73, Kaden Ockey 5-44, Christian Atkinson 4-29, Mitch Haber 1-13, Tyler Judy 1-10, Tamalii Campbell 1-4.