Role reversal: Coeur d'Alene handles Rocky Mountain, moves on to state 5A semifinals

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

COEUR d’ALENE — What a difference 70 days made.

Held to 2 net rushing yards and 141 total yards in a 16-0 loss to the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies of Meridian at home on Aug. 25, the Coeur d’Alene Vikings turned the tables Friday night.

Senior Owen Harris rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries, and Coeur d’Alene totaled 326 yards in a 24-8 victory over the Grizzlies in a state 5A quarterfinal football game at Viking Stadium.

“It always starts up front,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said of his offensive line. “The O-line coaches did a great job. When you can run the ball on a team like that, it says something, because they’re tough to run the ball against.”

Coeur d’Alene (8-2) will play at Eagle (10-0) next week in a semifinal game. Eagle rallied in the fourth quarter to beat defending state champion Rigby 17-14 on Friday night at home.

Harris, who has shared time at running back most of the year, got all the carries Friday night, after senior Carsen Speelman was lost for the season with a torn ACL against Lewiston two weeks ago.

“Feeling great,” Harris said. “I’m going to be hurting tomorrow, but we got the win — that’s all that matters. Our blocking just improved from the last time we played them; just a different game when we played them the second time.”

“What a stud,” Amos said of Harris. “He’s just a tough, studly kid. He’s a warrior; he’s going to give you everything. And he did; he did awesome.”

A strong performance by Coeur d’Alene’s offensive line made it tougher for Rocky Mountain (7-4) to stop the run. Also, sophomore quarterback Caden Symons, who got his first start the week after the first Rocky game, softened up the Grizzly defense with a series of short passes. He finished 20 of 25 for 205 yards and two touchdowns — one to Joe Hagel and one to Jamison Kizziar.

“They executed better offensively (than the first game),”  Rocky Mountain coach Scott Criner said of Coeur d’Alene. “And defensively they played well. We didn’t take advantage of some things early on, and left a lot of points on the field, and that was disappointing.”

Other than one drive where Rocky took to the air and scored, Coeur d’Alene pretty much stifled the Grizzlies’ offense. The Vikings held Rocky to 15 total yards in the first half, 38 rushing yards for the game, and 132 yards of total offense.

“I think we just played more physical than they did,” Coeur d’Alene linebacker Shea Robertson said. “We’re a whole different team (than the first game vs. Rocky). Our offense is different, our defense wasn’t as good, and this week, especially us seniors, we knew if we didn’t win this game it was done for us, so we knew we had to win this game.”

Coeur d’Alene scored on its first drive, Harris plunging in from a yard out on fourth and goal after Rocky nearly pulled off a goal line stand when the Vikings had first and goal at the 4.

Coeur d’Alene made it 14-0 with a 76-yard, 16-play drive, culminating when Symons threw a quick pass to the right to Hagel, who dove in for a yard out with 2:02 left in the half. Hagel finished with six catches for 60 yards.

The Vikings forced a three-and-out, and took over at midfield with 35 seconds left.

Symons connected with Kai Wheeler on passes of 13 and 6 yards, and Jayson Cady’s 35-yard field goal with 2 ticks left sent Coeur d’Alene into the locker room with 201 yards of offense and a 17-0 lead.

Coeur d’Alene made it 24-0 late in the third quarter. Symons connected with Joey Petree for 13 yards, Evan Wiliams for 5 and 12 yards, Wheeler for 14 more, then hooked up with Kizziar down the seam for a 30-yard score with 3:33 left in the third.

“Some injuries on our D-line, that hurt,” Criner said of his defense. “The quarterback (Symons) makes a difference because he can spin it. They can throw the ball up the field, so you have to keep people in coverage, and you don’t get to fill (against the run). Last time, we didn’t worry about it (Coeur d’Alene passing).”

Rocky inserted left-handed sophomore Collin Chapman at quarterback and went to the air, and drove for a touchdown. Chapman completed 7 of 8 passes, then scrambled the final 11 yards with 11:48 remaining.

Rocky got the ball back and drove to the Coeur d’Alene 16, but a bad snap pushed the Grizzlies back, and they eventually turned the ball over on downs.

“We did a great job stopping their run, and made them switch to something they didn’t like to do,” Amos said. 

Kizziar later had an interception on Rocky’s final possession.

“The thing I like best is, we didn’t give them any cheap yards,” Amos said. “No late hits, no personal fouls. We talked about not giving them free yardage.”

Rocky Mountain     0    0    0    8    —    8

Coeur d’Alene    7    10    7    0    —    24

First quarter

Cd’A — Owen Harris 1 run (Jayson Cady kick), 4:36

Second quarter

Cd’A — Joe Hagel 1 pass from Caden Symons (Cady kick), 2:02 

Cd’A — FG Cady 35, :02

Third quarter 

Cd’A — Jamison Kizziar 30 pass from Symons (Cady kick), 3:33

Fourth quarter 

Rocky — Collin Chapman 11 run (Drew Byrd pass from Trey Broadbent), 11:48

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Rocky, Broadbent 6-2, Schledewitz 3-10, J. Thompson 4-13, Reese 4-6, Crum 1-(minus 1), Chapman 4-17, Custer 1-5, G. Thompson 1-(minus 14). Cd’A, Harris 38-158, Symons 7-(minus 37).

PASSING — Rocky, Broadbent 2-6-0-3, Chapman 5-6-0-37, G. Thompson 4-11-1-54. Cd’A, Symons 20-25-0-205.

RECEIVING — Rocky, J. Thompson 5-23, Ikebe 2-29, Byrd 2-41, Adams 1-6, Reese 1-(minus 1). Cd’A, Hagel 6-60, Petree 3-34, Wheeler 3-34, Williams 3-23, Robertson 2-9, Coey 1-7, Sutich 1-6, Kizziar 1-30.

    MARK NELKE/Press Coeur d'Alene senior Joe Hagel plunges into the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown reception from Caden Symons in the second quarter as Rocky Mountain's Hayden Thompson (11) defends in a state 5A quarterfinal Friday night at Viking Stadium.