Handling the ball

COEUR d'ALENE - For a Post Falls Trojan who prefers the summertime fun while jet skiing on Coeur d'Alene Lake and surfing in southern California, senior Dalton Thompson sure seems at home in the fall and winter.

Thompson, 18, is a 6-foot-4, 180-pound, third-year starting guard on the Post Falls boys basketball team and he was a quarterback on the football team, breaking four school records.

He was part of the first Trojan boys basketball team in school history to win at least 20 games during the regular season. Last season, he was also part of the first football team in Post Falls history to qualify for the state 5A playoffs. The boys basketball team was ranked No. 1 in the final boys basketball media poll.

When he was 7, Thompson's parents, Richard Thompson and Suzanne Gorgas, got divorced while the family was living in Dalton's birthplace of Frederick, Md. Dalton's mother moved the boys to Blanchard at that time. When Dalton was in fifth grade, Suzanne moved him to Post Falls along with his two younger brothers, Drake and Lance. Drake Thompson is now in eighth grade and Lance is in sixth grade.

Dalton remains close with his father, who is a CEO of Day and Nite Doors, Inc., a garage door company located in Placentia, Calif. Richard lives nearby in Yorba Linda, Calif., located roughly 25 miles northeast of Dalton's beloved Orange County beaches and 11 miles northeast of Disneyland.

"I like going to the beaches," Thompson said. "I like being out on the water. I like seafood. Every chance I get, I might go grab some sushi with my father."

Thompson has already been accepted to Santa Monica (community) College, where he said he prefers to attend whether he plays there or not. He has been invited to walk on as a quarterback at the University of Idaho. He's also drawn interest from Eastern Oregon, Montana Tech, Carroll College, Montana Western, Whitworth and George Fox University for football, plus George Fox, University of Dallas, and Eastern Oregon for men's basketball. He possesses a 3.15 cumulative grade-point average.

"I want to transfer to UCLA or USC," Thompson said. "I've been talking with them (Santa Monica College) to see if I can play on their football and basketball teams. You never know what happens. My mom wants me to stay here, but I want to leave. Either one's a possibility. I'm going into accounting. It kind of came out of nowhere, I've always been good at math. I've taken trigonometry and statistics."

Suzanne works as a Kootenai County probation officer.

So mom must be pretty tough in disciplining her sons, right?

"A little bit, but she's not too hard on me," Thompson said.

And of course, mom's pretty proud of her oldest son.

"For a single mom raising three boys, I'm impressed with his passion," Suzanne said. "He'll go to the gym and work very hard. He's determined. He's definitely a good role model, his brothers love him. He's on the right path, he's a man of the house."

The Trojans (21-1) will host Lake City at 7 p.m. tonight in the championship game of the 5A Region 1 boys basketball tournament.

"Throughout the regular season, we've had some ups and downs," Thompson said. "I've never won a state game, so we really want to accomplish that."

Thompson is also the last link to the last Post Falls High boys basketball team that reached the state 5A championship game, losing in 2012 to Borah of Boise, 49-31, at the Idaho Center in Nampa. Back then, Thompson was a freshman who was called up to the varsity squad from the JV team to observe how they prepared and played. That team included Marcus Colbert, who now plays for Montana State, Seth Anderson, older brother of current Trojan Luke Anderson, as well as Michael Hillman and Luke Thoreson.

"Our team wasn't too deep back then," Thompson said of the 2012 squad. "Our guys were tired back then. It was a great experience. They showed me what it takes to get to that level. I roomed with him (Seth) at state. Marcus whooped up on me a bit in practice and he made me a better player."

Thompson is second on the team with 12 points per game and 14 per game in league play, a touch behind guard Max McCullough's 14.8 per game. Thompson is also second on the team with five rebounds per game and his three-point percentage is a steady 33 percent. Jack Millsap and Jake Blakney normally start on the team as well.

Thompson said he sees a few things with the current team that may be even better than that team. "We're a lot deeper than they were," Thompson said. "Their starting five was better, but we compare well, we have a lot of good players."

Post Falls boys basketball coach Mike McLean describes Thompson as a strong leader on this year's team.

"He's my most experienced player," McLean said. "He's been more vocal this year, he makes sure everyone is playing to their potential more often. Last year, we had those senior leaders like Nick Hall and Joey Pfennigs. His versatility is one of the best things about him. He can guard the point or inside, he's one of our better rebounders. He's got a dry, funny sense of humor. He's well-liked by his peers, he's focused and driven. He was a first team all-league player in his sophomore and junior years; he'll likely be on it for this season."

Tonight's winner advances to the state 5A tournament March 5-7 at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. The second-place team can also make it to state by winning a play-in game Saturday at Grangeville.

In football, Thompson set his records on a team that finished 5-5 and 2-1 in the 5A Inland Empire League, second behind Lake City. Post Falls lost 35-21 at Eagle in the first round of the state playoffs.

"The stands were packed (on the visitors' side)," Thompson said. "There must have been at least 200 people. As a team, we came together as a family. I felt I played well. A touchdown was called back with five minutes left (and the Trojans down 28-21). We would've (possibly) had the go-ahead score, because I know that we would've gone for two points. That was an awesome experience."

On Sept. 26, he had the most passing yards in a game with 359 yards against Lakeland, won 41-21 by Post Falls, in the Battle of the Prairie game. On Oct. 24 in a 36-35 thriller of a victory over Coeur d'Alene, he had the most total yards in a game with 426. He completed the most passes in a season with 122. In 2013 against Lewiston, he also scored the most touchdowns in a game with six. He was named 5A IEL offensive MVP.

"Dalton was a great leader on and off the field," Post Falls football coach Jeff Hinz said. "He was a great high school quarterback, did some very impressive things. What I thought Dalton did the best was extending the play when the play broke down. He would extend the play with escaping the pressure, he had great vision down the field, then he would see the open receiver and complete the pass. He would not just take off and run. His best game as a QB by far was the Cd'A game."

So for a senior who's at home in the summer, Dalton Thompson is pretty darn good during the other seasons as well.