Open and dialed in

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

COEUR d’ALENE — As a backup quarterback to Jack Prka in 2020, Coeur d’Alene High senior quarterback Brayden Bengtson found himself getting plenty of snaps in the second half of games during the regular season, albeit in the final moments.

This year, as the starter, he’s making sure the Viking machine doesn’t miss a beat.

“I had to learn a lot from Jack last year on just how to lead the team,” Bengtson said. “This year, I’ve just been grinding and learning each day in practice.”

As for the games, Bengtson completed 12 of 18 passes for 221 yards and four touchdowns, three coming in the first quarter of a 48-0 win over the Ferris Saxons at Viking Stadium on Friday.

Senior wide receiver Isaiah Griffin opened the scoring on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Bengtson. Running back Gunner Giulio caught touchdowns of 26 and 44 yards in the first quarter.

“Those guys are amazing,” Bengtson said. “Those guys, they’re always open and just love catching touchdowns. We’re a dangerous team. If we keep things moving, working hard in practice, we’re going to be super successful.”

Giulio’s third score of the game, a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:17 remaining in the half, gave Coeur d’Alene a 35-0 lead.

Still …

“I think our first half was not as clean offensively as we’d like to have it,” said Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos, whose team had 90 yards in penalties on the night. We addressed it at halftime and we’re going to continue to work on it in practice. We need to play more disciplined football and that’s something we’re going to have to work on.”

Coeur d’Alene finished with 15 first downs.

“Once they do what they’re supposed to do on offense, then we’ve got a chance to be pretty good,” Amos said. “And it’s not just Brayden, it’s the receivers and everyone. If we do that, we’ve got a chance to be pretty good.”

Defensively, Coeur d’Alene (4-1) limited Ferris (2-3) to 70 total yards and three first downs.

“Our defense did a great job tonight,” Amos said. “They just fly around and we’re able to play a lot of different guys. I was really happy with how the kids flew around tonight and made things happen.”

It was Coeur d'Alene's first home game after having its scheduled opener canceled on Sept. 10 due to COVID-19 issues with its opponents.

“It was awesome to be here,” Amos said. “We’re trying to build a little bit of an atmosphere in the stadium and when the crowd shows up, get them a little louder. We’ve got some things we’re trying to do and need those guys. Starting next week with league games, we’re playing for something and we’ve got to get dialed into what we’re trying to do.”

Coeur d’Alene opens Inland Empire League play at Lake City next Friday.

Ferris 0 0 0 0 — 0

Coeur d’Alene 28 7 13 0 — 48

First quarter

Cd’A — Isaiah Griffin 17 pass from Brayden Bengtson (Evan Mallory run), 7:38

Cd’A — Gunner Giulio 26 pass from Bengtson (kick blocked), 6:16

Cd’A — Rob Collier 3 run (Bengtson kick), 3:46

Cd’A — Giulio 44 pass from Bengtson (Bengtson kick), 2:35

Second quarter

Cd’A — Giulio 3 run (Bengtson kick), 1:17

Third quarter

Cd’A — Jake Wuolle 25 pass from Bengtson (Bengtson kick), 9:26

Cd’A — Mallory 36 pass from Wyatt Potter (kick failed), 6:08

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Ferris, Zigler 16-30, Page 8-20, Markham 3-12. Cd’A, Giulio 6-49, Collier 7-44, Bengtson 2-(-9), Speelman 3-7, Maciosek 5-26, Potter 1-6, Hagel 3-20.

PASSING — Ferris, Markham, 2-3-0-(-1), Page 3-14-0-19. Cd’A, Bengtson 12-1-0-226, Potter 2-4-0-44, Hagel 1-2-1-25.

RECEIVING — Ferris, Talarico 3-12, Aguirre 1-17, Zigler 1-(-3). Cd’A, Giulio 5-114, Griffin 2-56, Cope 2-7, Farrar 1-9, Elliott 1-8, Short 1-25, Wuolle 1-25, Mallory 1-36, Entzi 1-25.