Chemistry lesson: Mead transfer Tucker catches four TD passes as Post Falls pulls away from Lakeland

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

POST FALLS — A coaching change at Mead and his father's work taking him to North Idaho brought senior receiver Carson Tucker to the Post Falls Trojans this season — where, at his new school, he only knew one person.

Fortunately, that one person was Post Falls quarterback Jaxon Anderson, who threw passes to him at the All Northwest Football Camp run by Blaine Bennett, the Post Falls High football coach.

That chemistry was evident on Friday night, as Tucker caught four touchdown passes from Anderson as the Trojans pulled away from the Lakeland Hawks 41-14 in nonleague play at Trojan Stadium.

"Honestly, I came into this school not really having that much chemistry with him," Tucker said. "But we just started clicking at practice every single day. We just got better every single week."

Tucker had TD receptions of 15, 10, 40 and 4 yards, and finished with five catches for 77 yards for Post Falls (2-3). He also ran four times for 20 yards, on jet sweeps.

"His dad (Blake) played for Shorty (Blaine's dad) at Whitworth, and they had some (coaching) changeover at Mead," Blaine Bennett said. "And last year he had a frustrating junior year, and they decided to move, and they moved to Post Falls.

"He’s done a good job working hard, trying to get acclimated with how we do things, and tonight was obviously a breakout night for him."

Anderson didn't have too bad a night, either. The senior and two-year starter completed his first 14 passes and finished 16 of 18 for 188 yards.

John Cornish ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries for Lakeland (3-3), which matched Post Falls score-for-score for most of the first half until a Hawks turnover late in the first half led to the go-ahead score for Post Falls. Then the Trojans stiffened on defense in the second half.

"I think the offense came out and performed really well the first two drives," Lakeland coach Tim Kiefer said. "They added a couple of wrinkles (offensively), but generally speaking, I don’t think we played quite as fast as we normally do defensively. I think we played cautious."

The game's first four drives resulted in touchdowns, and Cornish's 2-yard run with 9:54 left in the half tied the game at 14.

Lucas Williams of Lakeland recovered a Post Falls fumble at the Hawks' 32 on the next possession, but Jack Sciortino's interception five plays later gave the ball back to Post Falls.

The Trojans drove 62 yards in eight plays, with Tucker catching a 10-yard pass from Anderson in the middle of the end zone for a touchdown with 7 seconds left in the half.

"I think that score right before the half was a big deal," Bennett said.

Chase Berg of Post Falls blocked a punt on Lakeland's first possession of the third quarter. Three plays later, Tucker juggled a short pass over the middle from Anderson, corraled it and ran the final 30 yards to complete the 40-yard scoring play.

Late in the third quarter, Tucker celebrated his final TD catch by flashing one, then two, then three, then four fingers.

Jake Bustamante rushed for 80 yards on 18 carries for Post Falls, which outgained Lakeland 462-236. The Trojans ran for 274 yards. The Hawks had just 70 total yards after halftime. Post Falls ran 74 plays to 43 for Lakeland.

"I don’t think there’s any doubt" that Post Falls wore the Hawks down, Kiefer said. "We have a lot of guys that go both ways and their tempo definitely wore us down a little bit."

Next Friday, Lakeland plays host to Timberlake, and Post Falls travels to Pasco (Wash.), in their final nonleague games of the season.

Lakeland 7 7 0 0 — 14

Post Falls 14 7 14 6 — 41

First quarter

PF — Carson Tucker 15 pass from Jaxon Anderson (Alex Luna kick), 8:11

LL — John Cornish 43 run (Jameson Elliott kick), 5:10

PF — Jacob Sullivan 17 run (Luna kick), 2:05

Second quarter

LL — Cornish 2 run (Owen Forsman kick), 9:54

PF — Tucker 10 pass from Anderson (Luna kick), :07

Third quarter

PF — Tucker 40 pass from Anderson (Luna kick), 9:13

PF — Tucker 4 pass from Anderson (Luna kick), 1:02

Fourth quarter

PF — Jake Bustamante 16 run (kick failed), 9:56

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — LL, Cornish 16-105, Suko 6-15, Calder 3-13, Williams 1-11. PF, Bustamante 18-80, Sullivan 14-64, Tucker 4-20, Anderson 7-39, Sessions 3-12, Wild 2-9, Howland-Martin 8-50.

PASSING — LL, Suko, 10-17-1-92. PF, Anderson 16-18-0-188.

RECEIVING — LL, Calder 6-46, Thomas 2-12, Lutz 1-8, Waddington 1-22. PF, Tucker 5-77, Wild 3-36, Sessions 2-29, Myers 2-18, Bustamante 1-13, Sullivan 2-4, Summers 1-11.