Lakeland tunes up for state 4A playoffs with shutout of Moscow

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

RATHDRUM — With the door still open to the state 4A playoffs, the Lakeland defense did its best to pick on the Moscow Bears when it mattered.

In the second quarter.

Then again just before the half.

And for good measure, another time in the fourth.

Lakeland’s Roan Reilly returned an interception 18 yards for a touchdown with 3:13 remaining in the first half, following up an interception by senior Zach Kuenkler as the Hawks shut out the Bears 31-0 in the 4A Inland Empire League finale for both at Corbit Field on Friday.

Lakeland, which finished the regular season 5-4, 1-1 in the 4A IEL, was ranked 13th entering Friday in the MaxPreps rankings used for seeding the top 16 teams. The playoffs start next weekend.

“Due to MaxPreps, we kind of knew what was going on,” second-year Lakeland coach Mike Schroeder said. “We went all in like we would have in a regular game and knew we had a chance to make the playoffs. But we wanted to make sure with a victory.”

Moscow, which will move down to the new 4A classification next fall, finished 1-7, 0-2.

Lakeland sophomore Noah Bodak preserved the shutout in the fourth quarter with an interception at midfield.

“That was the best defensive performance we’ve had overall all season,” said Schroeder, whose team limited Moscow to 13 yards rushing. “That was a good thing to have tonight as well.”

Lakeland junior Clive Hobbs scored on a 6-yard touchdown run with 4:22 remaining in the second quarter to give the Hawks a 10-0 lead. On a third down pass, Reilly stepped in front of a Moscow slant pass and scored to increase the advantage to 18-0 on a two-point conversion as Reilly threw to Dylan Scott.

“Our defense played so well that we were able to get some extra opportunities in the first half,” Schroeder said. “Our defense showed up and really made our offense look a lot better.”

Final playoff matchups won’t be determined until today or Sunday according to Schroeder.

“We won’t know for a few days, but the projections have us playing either Minico or Twin Falls,” Schroeder said. “It’s going to be a fun week getting ready for the playoffs. We’ve got a long bus ride. I think the kids are looking forward to it and think they’ve got something to prove.”

Lakeland won its first three games of the season, then lost four straight before beating Timberlake on Oct. 13 and Moscow to close out the season.

“It was really hard to dig out of the hole with all the injuries and stuff that was going on with our team,” Schroeder said. “We knew that if we could put our offense and defense back together, maybe we could make a run at the playoffs. We still have some issues to get better at.”

Hobbs finished with 107 yards rushing for Lakeland.

Reilly also set up Lakeland’s first score of the night on a 32-yard pass to sophomore Jaron Yeager.

Hillman, a sophomore quarterback, scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for Lakeland.

“We’re a little less predictable than we were in the past because we can throw the ball a little bit better,” Schroeder said. “That’s really been a benefit to our offense. We’ve got a lot of young players that hopefully aren’t so young anymore. Finally, we’ve got a quarterback that has a few more games under his belt.”

Moscow 0 0 0 0 — 0

Lakeland 3 15 6 7 — 31

First quarter

LL — FG, Owen Forsman, 35, 9:59

Second quarter

LL — Clive Hobbs 6 run (Forsman kick), 4:22

LL — Roan Reilly 18 interception return (Dylan Scott pass from Reilly), 3:13

Third quarter

LL — Peyton Hillman 1 run (kick blocked), 6:16

Fourth quarter

LL — Scott 1 run (Forsman kick), 2:27

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Mos, S. Needham 7-10, E. Qualls 3-10, Frei 5-1, Valasco 1-(-8). LL, Sardinha 11-30, Hillman 7-18, Hobbs 10-107, Lund 3-23, Scott 1-1.

PASSING — Mos, Valasco, 17-35-3-164. LL, Hillman, 6-20-1-57, Reilly, 1-1-0-32.

RECEIVING — Mos, Isakson 3-61, Stott 3-27, Teigen 3-28, E. Qualls 1-6, Young 3-17, Frei 1-17, S. Needham 2-11, Henrich 1-10. LL, Reilly 1-3, Yager 3-56, Pluid 3-30.