STATE 5A FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS: Late Trojan miscues costly
MARK NELKE/Press Post Falls cornerback Zach Clark (26) breaks up a pass intended for Kayden Chan of Mountain View in the first half Friday night at Trojan Stadium.
MARK NELKE/Press Jaxon Anderson of Post Falls unleashes one of his 55 passes Friday night, as Hunter Braseth of Mountain View rushes, and Austin Mayo of Post Falls protects. Anderson passed for 474 yards.
MARK NELKE/Press Christian Curlee of Post Falls tries to break away from a Mountain View defender following a second-half reception Friday night.
By MARK NELKE
Sports editor
POST FALLS — In a game which featured more than 1,000 yards of total offense and several changes of momentum, it was the Mountain View Mavericks who had the momentum last.
Post Falls racked up 524 yards of offense — Mountain View totaled 528 — but two Trojan turnovers in the fourth quarter gave the Mavericks the opening it needed to beat Post Falls 44-41 in a first-round state 5A playoff football game Friday night at blustery Trojan Stadium.
"What a show," Post Falls coach Blaine Bennett said. "I thought our kids really played well. Defensively, we gave up some big plays, but we created some big plays. They turned the ball over and gave us a chance, and we turned the ball over. We've been pretty good taking care of the football all year."
Post Falls, in the playoffs for the fourth straight season, finished 5-4.
Mountain View (4-3), which won its fourth straight game, travels to Capital (4-1) of Boise next week in a quarterfinal game.
Jaxon Anderson passed for 474 yards and four touchdowns for Post Falls, and he also rushed for one score.
Tommy Hauser caught 17 passes for 188 yards and two TDs, and Cole Rutherford had eight catches for 114 yards and a TD.
"That was a very winnable game," Hauser said. "We made mistakes when we couldn't have, and they capitalized on them. We know we're better than that, and we could have won that (game)."
Junior Leighton Smithson ran for 215 yards and a touchdown for Mountain View, and caught four passes for 103 yards and two scores.
Mavericks quarterback Jake Farris ran for a pair of touchdowns in the first half. But he took a shot late in the half, coach Judd Benedick said, and he was held out the rest of the game as a precaution.
Sophomore Dawson Wahl, the third-string quarterback, threw a pair of TD passes and ran for a score for Mountain View.
Aiden Whipple had two interceptions and recovered a fumble for the Mavericks.
"As a defensive coach I'm not too proud of it," Benedick said with a laugh. They have a great offense. They spread you out and they pick on the linebackers, and that's a tough matchup for a linebacker. They have a couple of really good slot receivers, and they also have a couple of big targets who were matchup problems for us on the outside."
Mountain View took the opening kickoff and scored in six plays, and led 23-14 at intermission as Smithson ran for 139 yards on eight carries.
Rutherford caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from Anderson on the first drive of the third quarter. Mountain View fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Tanner Sessions recovered for Post Falls at the Mavs' 26. Noah Range scored from a yard out for a 27-23 Post Falls lead.
Anderson connected with Hauser from 7 yards out to put the Trojans up 33-30 with 10:55 left in the game.
Post Falls forced a Mountain View punt, but Whipple returned his second interception of the game 20 yards to the Trojans 20. Wahl scored on a keeper from 2 yards out to put the Mavs up 37-33 with 7:59 left.
Post Falls punted on its next possession, and on the next play, Smithson took a swing pass from Wahl and raced 73 yards down the sideline to make it 44-33 with 6:02 left.
Mountain View defenders tried to keep Hauser in front of them, but he got behind the defense for a 73-yard TD reception with 1:45 left.
But Mountain View recovered the onside kick and was able to run out the clock.
Mountain View 8 15 7 14 — 44
Post Falls 7 7 13 14 — 41
First quarter
MV — Jake Farris 5 run (Farris run), 10:01
PF — Jaxon Anderson 16 run (Isaac Ballew kick), 5:59
Second quarter
MV — Farris 13 run (Kayden Chan pass from Farris), 9:32
PF — Josiah Shields 58 pass from Anderson (Ballew kick), 2:33
MV — Leyton Smithson 11 pass from Dawson Wahl (Ethan Holland kick), :06
Third quarter
PF — Cole Rutherford 42 pass from Anderson (kick failed), 9:26
PF — Noah Range 1 run (Ballew kick), 8:26
MV — Smithson 17 run (Holland kick), 4:37
Fourth quarter
PF — Tommy Hauser 7 pass from Anderson (kick failed), 10:55
MV — Wahl 2 run (Holland kick), 7:59
MV — Smithson 73 pass from Wahl (Holland kick), 6:02
PF — Hauser 73 pass from Anderson (Kaden Cripps run), 1:45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — MV, Smithson 20-215, Evans 6-25, Farris 12-67, Elliott 1-3, Wahl 2-1. PF, McLeod 7-15, Anderson 7-32, Range 3-3.
PASSING — MV, Farris 9-15-0-100, Wahl 7-17-0-117. PF, Anderson 35-55-2-474.
RECEIVING — MV, Whiles 2-11, Chan 8-97, Sotomayer 2-16, Smithson 4-103. PF, Hauser 17-188, Lee 2-42, C. Rutherford 8-114, Rodriguez 2-25, Shields 2-68, Curlee 4-37.
