State 5A football playoffs: Rocky ousts defending champ Viks
MERIDIAN - For the first time since 2009, the state 5A football championship game won't have the boys in blue from Coeur d'Alene High in that game.
Rocky Mountain quarterback Christian Blaser ran for 228 yards and two touchdowns, and tailback Jake Roper added 165 yards and three scores - all coming from 1 yard out - as the Grizzlies beat the Coeur d'Alene Vikings 43-21 in the quarterfinals of the state 5A playoffs on Friday.
Coeur d'Alene won state titles in 2010 and 2011, finished second in 2012, and won again in 2013.
Rocky Mountain (8-2) visits Highland (10-0) of Pocatello in a semifinal game next weekend.
Coeur d'Alene finishes 7-4.
"I'm very proud of the way our kids battled," Coeur d'Alene coach Shawn Amos said. "They just kept fighting, no matter what, and that's what makes you proud as a coach. Rocky, they were the better team tonight and earned it. They've got a good chance down the road."
After forcing a Rocky Mountain punt, Coeur d'Alene drove right down the field, as quarterback Austin Lee hit Ryan Walde on a 48-yard pass, and Lee scored two plays later to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead.
Rocky Mountain evened the score on an 80-yard touchdown run as Blaser took an option run and ran untouched to the end zone.
Following a Coeur d'Alene punt, Rocky Mountain took a 14-7 lead when Roper scored on a 2-yard run.
The Vikings' Brad McCormick recovered a fumble on the 5-yard line with 7:09 remaining as Rocky Mountain was driving to increase its lead.
Roper scored from 1 yard out to give the Grizzlies a 22-7 lead following a two-point conversion.
Roper scored his third touchdown of the half with 58 seconds remaining to give Rocky Mountain a 28-7 lead at the half.
Coeur d'Alene opened the third quarter with a 50-yard pass from Lee to Colton Johnson, then Lee hit Drew Berger on a 15-yard screen pass to cut the deficit to 28-14.
Coeur d'Alene finished with three turnovers in the game, compared to two for Rocky Mountain.
"We battled back, but didn't have enough answers," Amos said. "We turned the ball over in the run game and they just played at a higher level that we did tonight."
A missed field goal by Rocky gave Coeur d'Alene new life, but an interception by Brandon Ferguson halted the drive at the Rocky 40-yard line.
Blaser scored on his second touchdown run, going untouched from 15 yards out to give Rocky Mountain a 35-14 lead.
Rocky Mountain attempted a fake punt on its own 3-yard line, but had it stuffed, giving the Vikings the ball with 10 minutes remaining.
Two plays later, Lee hit Brian Skinner on a 3-yard pass to cut the deficit to 35-21 with 9:15 remaining. Rocky took advantage of good field position on the onside kick, hitting on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Blaser to Ryan Gillespy to make it 43-21
"The kids did a good job of preparing mentally and physically for this game tonight," Amos said. "We just fell short. We're proud of this group of guys. They came together the last few weeks and when we suffered some adversity, it pulled them closer together instead of further apart."
Coeur d'Alene 7 0 7 7 - 21
Rocky Mountain 14 14 7 8 - 43
First quarter
Cd'A - Austin Lee 2 run (Brennen Barber kick)
RM - Christian Blaser 80 run (Jonah Dalmas kick)
RM - Jake Roper 1 run (Dalmas kick)
Second quarter
RM - Roper 1 run (Blaser run)
RM - Roper 1 run (run failed)
Third quarter
Cd'A - Drew Berger 15 pass from Lee (Barber kick)
RM - Blaser 14 run (Dalmas kick)
Fourth quarter
Cd'A - Brian Skinner 3 pass from Lee (Barber kick)
RM - Ryan Gillespy 44 pass from Blaser (Devyn Christian run)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - Cd'A, Lee, 13-33, Le 2-5, Green, 6-28, Berger, 4-3. RM, Roper, 28-165, Blaser, 22-228, Christian, 9-61, McKenney, 1-4.
PASSING - Cd'A, Lee, 19-36-1-198. RM, Blaser, 6-9-0-71, Beard, 7-8-0-76.
RECEIVING - Cd'A, Schneider, 2-9, Walde, 3-69, Bonacci, 4-13, Green, 4-22, Johnson, 2-57, Seibold, 2-31, Berger, 1-15, Le, 1-20, Skinner, 1-3. RM, Sheldon, 5-75, Dotson, 1-8, Gillespy, 2-42, Roper, 2-7, Christian, 1-(-3), Kraft, 2-18.