Trojans bounce back, whip East Valley
POST FALLS - After two close games in the previous two weeks, the Post Falls Trojans took that next step on Friday night at Trojan Stadium.
Quarterback Dalton Thompson ran for 68 yards and four touchdowns and threw for 126 yards for Post Falls in a 33-7 nonleague win against the East Valley Knights.
After winning in its opener, Post Falls lost 26-20 at Skyview, then fell 37-27 to University at home last week.
This week, Post Falls (2-2) took control early in the first quarter and didn't look back.
"I just think our kids took a step forward tonight," Post Falls coach Jeff Hinz said. "We got that victory out of the chute against Sandpoint, then had a couple of tough losses. But we had a good shot in the game tonight."
Post Falls gained the momentum as Justin Farnsworth recovered an East Valley fumble, setting up the team's opening score with 4:54 remaining in the first quarter.
"It was a tough week on the kids because we had the lead (against University), and gave it back late in the game," Hinz said. "We just talked about knowing our assignments and being physical this week. Be simple, and that's what we went with this week."
Post Falls limited East Valley to 76 yards rushing, with Andrew Allen gaining 40 yards.
East Valley (1-2) had a chance to cut the deficit at halftime, but Post Falls linebacker Tom Roman blocked a 29-yard field goal attempt with 16.9 seconds remaining.
"I thought in the first half, we had some chances to keep it close," East Valley coach Adam Fisher said. "But we didn't execute when we needed to. We let it get away from us. Defensively, we just had some missed tackles and between that in the first half and not scoring at the end of the half, it got away from us."
Post Falls drove down the field at the start of the second half, capped by a 2-yard run by Thompson to take a 27-7 lead. Collin Hildreth put the finishing touches on the game with a 44-yard run in the fourth quarter for Post Falls, which finished with 237 yards rushing.
"We mixed it up really good on offense," Hinz said. "Overall, everyone played well and did well. Our receivers made some blocks and the guys got after it tonight on defense. We tackled a lot better and our guys rallied to the ball. It was a great job all around by our kids."
Hildreth had a team-high 79 yards rushing for Post Falls, all coming in the second half.
"Our offensive line is the strongest portion of our team," Thompson said. "When they can open those holes, our backs are good enough to find those holes and get those yards."
Post Falls travels to Lakeland and East Valley travels to Sandpoint next Friday.
East Valley 0 7 0 0 - 7
Post Falls 14 6 7 6 - 33
First quarter
PF - Dalton Thompson 2 run (kick failed), 4:54
PF - Thompson 15 run (Collin Hildreth pass from Zach Hillman), 8.9
Second quarter
EV - Alex Bowdish 6 pass from Connor Ramm (Bowdish kick), 6:07
PF - Thompson 10 run (pass failed), 3:37
Third quarter
PF - Thompson 2 run (Nathan Gregory kick), 7:50
Fourth quarter
PF - Hildreth 44 run (pass failed), 11:03
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - EV, Allen, 7-40, Ramm, 6-(-5), Sumpter, 10-32, Spendlove, 1-2, Berezay, 2-8. PF, Thompson, 12-68, Jackson, 10-55, Bailey, 4-35, Hildreth, 8-79.
PASSING - EV, Ramm, 15-28-0-132. PF, Thompson, 9-11-0-126.
RECEIVING - EV, Sager, 3-9, Bowdish, 5-37, Jacobs, 3-25, Allen, 1-34, Kempe, 1-3, Beitz, 1-12. PF, Nelson, 3-46, Koski, 4-54, Gering, 1-26.