Burns, Trojans run over Hawks
JASON ELLIOTT/Press Post Falls senior running back Tevin Burns looks to escape the tackle of Lakeland senior defensive lineman Carder Scarcello during the second quarter of Friday's game at Trojan Stadium.
JASON ELLIOTT/Press Post Falls senior defensive lineman Hayden Meyer (50) and senior linebacker Cooper Craig (7) sack Lakeland sophomore quarterback Peyton Hillman during the third quarter of Friday's game.
By JASON ELLIOTT
Sports writer
POST FALLS — Blaine Bennett has preached for eight years to his team about playing with tempo at Post Falls.
Friday night, the Trojans put the throttle down and didn’t let off the gas.
Senior running back Tevin Burns ran for 188 of his game-high 224 yards in the first half for the Trojans, who rolled past the Lakeland Hawks 55-0 at Trojan Stadium.
Burns scored on runs of 8, 60 and 1 yard in the second quarter to break open a 7-0 Post Falls lead after the first quarter.
“He’s an excellent running back,” Post Falls coach Blaine Bennett said. “He really is. He’s got good vision and good feet. We did a nice job up front and created some holes for him, but he’s a great running back. And we keep him fresh, which we really need to do.”
Post Falls (4-1), which shut out University 69-0 in its home opener last Friday, showed no signs of letting up on Friday, keeping the Hawks from entering the red zone all night.
“I thought, it always starts with defense around here,” Bennett said. “When you get a shutout, it really doesn’t matter what you did offensively. Adam Shamion and our defensive staff did a great job. Our guys were flying around making plays. When you’ve got a zero, it makes the offense look easy. I thought our offensive guys played well.”
Lakeland (3-3) fell 54-0 at Coeur d’Alene last Friday night, missing its top two quarterbacks and its starting running back due to injury.
“I think our kids were ready to play tonight,” Lakeland coach Mike Schroeder said. “There was a lot more intensity and effort tonight. They were more prepared. I did some things offensively that were a little foolish because I really didn’t care about the result. I just wanted to play with a strong attitude. I think I threw up an extra 14 points from my offensive mistakes.”
After forcing a turnover on downs in the third quarter, Post Falls struck again as Asher Bowie caught a 51-yard touchdown pass from Isaac McKeown with 3:42 remaining in the third.
“The team speed is still an issue with some of our guys out,” Schroeder said. “We got one or two back, but it’s hard to run the entire offense out with the quarterback that’s been interchanged. We got some things going and our effort and intensity was better, and I’ll accept that.”
Post Falls fell 41-35 at Sunnyside on Sept. 8.
“Every week is a new game plan, because you’ve got to stop a different offense,” Bennett said. “Lakeland’s offense is quite a bit different than Sunnyside’s offense and Mt. Spokane will be different. Defensively, you’ve got to put a great plan together and that’s why I think the defensive staff does a great job. And we’ve got a great group of kids on defense. Cooper Craig is as good as there is. We’ve got 13 or 14 guys that play really good, physical defense.”
Post Falls hosts Mt. Spokane next Friday. The Trojans beat the Wildcats 23-17 last year in overtime.
“We played them to overtime there last year,” Bennett said. “So it’s going to take another good week of preparation this week. We need to make sure we’re healthy, but our guys are focused right now.”
Lakeland (3-3), which has lost three straight, has a bye next week before starting 4A Inland Empire League play at Sandpoint on Oct. 6.
“The bye is coming at the right time for us just to get some guys back,” Schroeder said. “We’ll give them a few days and get back to work next week.”
Lakeland 0 0 0 0 — 0
Post Falls 7 28 7 13 — 55
First quarter
PF — Asher Bowie 11 pass from Isaac McKeown (Seth Martin), 8:26
Second quarter
PF — Tevin Burns 8 run (Martin kick), 11:17
PF — Burns 60 run (Martin kick), 7:56
PF — Devin Burton 5 run (Martin kick), 7:04
PF — Burns 1 run (Martin kick), 3:03
Third quarter
PF — Bowie 51 pass from McKeown (Martin kick), 3:42
Fourth quarter
PF — Caden Smith 63 run (Martin kick), 8:18
PF — Smith 20 run (kick failed), 3:53
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — LL, Scott 2-(-1), Hillman 4-15, Peed 2-0, Hobbs 18-43, Benson 3-20, Sardinha 1-2. PF, Burns 24-222, Burton 11-53, Smith 2-83, Stone 1-2.
PASSING — LL, Hillman, 6-15-0-56. PF, McKeown, 8-12-1-172.
RECEIVING — LL, Burmeister 1-28, Reilly 2-0, Hobbs 1-25, Benson 2-15. PF, Shields 2-41, Rutherford 2-17, Bowie 3-65, Triana 2-60.
