Northwest Notes
Coeur d’Alene QB Yankoff
invited to Elite 11 Finals
Coeur d’Alene High senior quarterback Colson Yankoff recently received an invitation to the Elite 11 Finals, scheduled for June in Los Angeles.
The annual event draws the top rising senior quarterbacks from across the country.
Yankoff recently verbally committed to the University of Washington.
Erickson inducted into
Montana Football Hall of Fame
BILLINGS, Mont. — Former Idaho football coach Dennis Erickson was inducted into the second class of the Montana Football Hall of Fame last weekend.
Erickson, who lives in a lakefront home on Lake Coeur d’Alene, played quarterback at Montana State in the late 1960s, and later was a graduate assistant for the Bobcats.
He coached one year at Billings Central Catholic High, then left for assistant coaching stints at Montana State, Idaho, Fresno State and San Jose State, before getting his first college head coaching job at Idaho in 1982.
Erickson then had several stops as head coach in college and the NFL. He was an assistant coach at Utah the past four years before announcing his retirement in December.
Erickson’s son, Bryce, recently completed his first season as head football coach at Lake City High.
Empire battle Nebraska for
top spot in Intense Conference
SPOKANE — The Spokane Empire (4-1) will host the Nebraska Danger (3-2) in Week 7 of the Indoor Football League tonight at 7 (ESPN 700, 105.3 FM) at the Spokane Arena.
The two teams met twice during the 2016 IFL season, with Spokane coming out victorious in the regular season matchup in Grand Island and then securing a position in the United Bowl after a 55-44 win over the Danger in the Intense Conference Championship.
Nebraska is tied with Spokane for the Intense Conference lead thanks to two wins over the Colorado Crush and a third victory over the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles. The Danger’s two losses have come from the top two teams in the United Conference — the reigning IFL champion Sioux Falls Storm and Wichita Falls.
Spokane and Nebraska are both 3-0 in the Intense Conference.
Nebraska quarterback Derrick Bernard has passed for 533 yards and 14 touchdowns, with five interceptions. He has rushed 41 times for 201 yards and is the IFL leader with 11 touchdowns on the ground.
2016 All-IFL and Empire starting defensive back Robert Brown Jr. will once again get to line up across from his twin brother Rob Brown, who is an offensive specialist for Nebraska. In four games with the Danger this season, Rob is second on the team in rushing (23 carries, 114 yards, two touchdowns) and receiving (17 receptions, 118 yards, two touchdowns).
The Empire has recorded a league-high 12 sacks so far this season but will face a Danger front that has given up the fewest sacks with only one in six games.