Add it to the list of zany prep football games
Coeur d’Alene’s wild 37-34 comeback victory over Borah on Friday night — highlighted by a long pass that bounded off one Viking receiver and into the arms of another, for a 52-yard gain — was the latest in a growing list of wacky playoff games involving Coeur d’Alene teams.
Here’s some others that come immediately to mind:
Nov. 13, 2009: Eagle 25, Coeur d’Alene 21, state 5A semifinals: A couple inches of snow fell during the day in Coeur d’Alene, snow blowers and snow shovels cleared the field prior to game time, snow fell lightly during parts of the game, and the field was a muddy mess by game’s end.
The conditions helped the Vikings contain Eagle quarterback Taylor Kelly, who had verballed to Nevada, but wound up signing with Arizona State.
Still, Coeur d’Alene led the favored Mustangs 21-19 late in the fourth quarter.
On third and 1 at the 50, Eagle planned to run a quarterback sneak. But the snap skidded through the legs of Kelly. Running back Dillon Lukehart picked up the ball and rumbled 46 yards to the Viking 4, and scored the go-ahead touchdown on the next play.
“Eagle’s a very good football team, and we hung right with them,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said after the game. “The only disappointing thing is to lose it on a fumbled snap. But it was a great battle. My kids, I was very proud of them. I don’t see anything to be ashamed of.”
“This game was a tossup, and obviously we got extremely lucky,” Eagle coach Paul Peterson said. “We had some good fortune for us tonight, and we’ll thank our lucky stars.”
2009 marked Coeur d’Alene’s first playoff appearance since 2006. The Vikings haven’t missed the playoffs since.
Nov. 13, 2010: Coeur d’Alene 28, Capital 24, state 5A semifinals: The Vikings jumped out to a 21-6 lead in the first half. But the Eagles came back and led 24-21 late in the fourth quarter.
That’s when Drew Turbin raced in off the edge and blocked a Capital punt with less than three minutes remaining, giving the Vikings the ball at the Eagles 21.
Six plays later, quarterback Chad Chalich bulled into the end zone from 2 yards out with 29 seconds remaining, and Coeur d’Alene was back in the state title game for the first time since 2004.
It was Coeur d’Alene’s second blocked punt of the game.
“We knew that Capital was going to tighten up the middle after we blocked that first punt,” Turbin said. “So, that left me a little more room on the end to get through and block the kick.”
The following week, Coeur d’Alene rolled past Centennial 28-7 in the Kibbie Dome for the Vikings’ first state title since 1985.
It would be the first of three state titles for the Viks over the next four seasons.
2013: Coeur d’Alene 31, Highland 28, state 5A championship: Trailing throughout the fourth quarter and with time running out, the Vikings drove 80 yards in the final minute and a half. Backup quarterback Austin Lee scrambled the final 15 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 47 seconds left, and Coeur d’Alene rallied past Highland of Pocatello 31-28 at the Kibbie Dome.
“We needed a little good luck; we’ve been dealing with enough bad luck,” said Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma one month earlier, and then watched his son and starting quarterback, Gunnar Amos, suffer a concussion late in the regular season, then a broken ankle in the first round of the state playoffs. “A real testament to this program and these kids and these coaches.”
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.