Coeur d'Alene thumps Meridian

MERIDIAN - The Coeur d'Alene High football team has played in the past four state championship games, and it has some work ahead of it before it gets a chance to play in a fifth straight title contest.

But if the Vikings play like they did in the first half of their playoff-opening win, they shouldn't be counted out.

Coeur d'Alene rolled out to a 24-point lead at halftime and went on to a dominating 55-33 win over the Meridian Warriors on Friday night.

"We were really efficient," Vikings coach Shawn Amos said.

The win allows Coeur d'Alene (7-3) to advance to the state quarterfinals, where it will face Rocky Mountain (7-2) of Meridian in another contest played in the Treasure Valley. Rocky Mountain won the 5A Southern Idaho Conference Pod A championship to earn a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

"They're big, physical," Amos said of Rocky Mountain. "A lot of teams, compared to us, are big up front, and that's what we've gotten used to. It will be a real challenge. They're the No. 1 seed coming out of here."

But if the Vikings have all their weapons - and that's a big if after several players left Friday's game with injuries - they can be dangerous.

Quarterback Austin Lee threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns to lead a potent Vikings offense attack. He also ran for a 2-yard score.

And while Lee and his gang of playmakers were doing their work on the offensive side of the ball, the defense was doing its part on the other side.

In fact, Meridian's offense didn't generate a first down until fewer than 5 minutes remained in the first half.

The Warriors scored twice in the first half. One of those plays came on a 38-yard interception return by Chase Labbe. The other TD came after Meridian ran back a kickoff 89 yards.

Otherwise, the Coeur d'Alene defense completely stymied Meridian's offense in the first half.

"They got a pick 6 on us and a big return," Amos said. "But our kids didn't panic and they kept playing. ... That's a good sign when you're on the road."

Another good sign was the way his offense was clicking. Four players other than Lee scored touchdowns in the game as Coeur d'Alene built a 52-14 lead by the end of the third quarter.

"Our offense is on a roll right now," Lee said.

And it's an offense that is spreading the ball around: Nine different receivers recorded double-digit receiving yards. Meanwhile, running back Drew Berger piled up 143 yards on the ground.

"It is fun," Lee said. "That's what's so good about this spread offense. There are so many options."

The only problem Friday night was that some of those options were taken away by injuries.

"We lost about four of them," Amos said. "We were pulling bodies out of the stands by the end of the thing."

The good news is that the Vikings have a week to heal up before making another trip to southern Idaho.

"If we can get everybody back we'll be good to go," Amos said.

And, maybe, just maybe, the Vikings can get the two more road wins they need to return to the state championship game.

"Hopefully," Amos said, "it's a long November."

Meridian 14 0 0 19 - 33

Coeur d'Alene 17 21 14 3 - 55

First quarter

Cd'A - Austin Lee 2 run (Brennen Barber kick)

Cd'A - FG Barber 22

Mer - Chase Labbe 38 interception return (Ruslan Galushkin kick)

Cd'A - KC Hutchings 36 pass from Lee (Barber kick)

Mer - Parker White 3 pass from Noah Baxter (Galushkin kick)

Second quarter

Cd'A - Drew Berger 1 run (kick failed)

Cd'A - Jonny Plum 19 pass from Lee (Barber kick)

Cd'A - Berger 50 run (Lee run)

Third quarter

Cd'A - Gibson Green 1 run (Barber kick)

Cd'A - Green 13 run (Barber kick)

Fourth quarter

Cd'A - FG Barber 24

Mer - Nathan Morton 49 pass from Baxter (Ruslan kick)

Mer - Parker White 8 pass from Baxter (kick failed)

Mer - Hayden Harris 5 pass from Baxter (kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Cd'A, Berger 10-143, Le 9-59, Green 5-39, Lee 4-13, Pierce 4-8, Bonacci 1-(-3). Mer, Kreft 18-64, Baxter 2 (-1)

PASSING - Cd'A, Lee 20-31-1-307, Yankoff 1-2-0-12. Mer, Baxter 17-38-2-216.

RECEIVING - Cd'A, Schneider 5-83, Plum 4-67, Hutchings 1-36, Daniels 1-35, Skinner 2-24, Walde 2-22, Johnson 2-22, Doering 1-12, Richards 1-10, Green 1-4, Bonacci 1-2. Mer, Hollingsworth 5-92, Morton 3-65, White 4-28, Hope 3-17, Harris 2-14.