THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: When it comes to pass, time is 'now' for Wheeler, Vikings

Several times during a game, Coeur d’Alene High junior quarterback Caden Symons will take a snap in shotgun formation, turn to his left and fling a pass toward the sideline to senior wide receiver Kai Wheeler. 

Then the fun begins. 

The Vikings call then “now” screens — others call them tunnel screens, or bubble screens. 

Whatever you want to call them, the result is often the same once the 6-foot-3, 203-pound Wheeler touches the ball. 

He’s strong enough to bounce off tacklers, and fast enough to zip by them. And then there’s that stiff-arm ... 

“He does a pretty good job, doesn’t he?” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said of Wheeler. “All season he’s made big plays for us, on both sides of the ball.” 

Wheeler has 57 receptions for 948 yards and 14 touchdowns this season — all team highs — for Coeur d’Alene (8-2), which plays host to Eagle (8-2) in a state 6A semifinal game Friday at 7 p.m. at Viking Field. 

“I get excited,” Wheeler said when he hears his number called, “because I know my teammates have been working their butts off to block ... they give me great blocks every play.” 

WHEELER PLAYED a fair amount last year as a junior at Coeur d’Alene. But the Vikings are usually so deep and even talented underclassmen have to wait their turn.  

Wheeler said he “worked really hard” in the offseason to prepare for his senior year. 

This year, in addition to playing wide receiver, he also plays defensive back — and returns punts.  

“I wanted to play defense last year, but I had some seniors in front of me," Wheeler said. “My coach had a lot of faith in me this year.” 

This year, Wheeler has a team-high six interceptions, including a key pick last week in the second half of Coeur d’Alene’s quarterfinal victory over Middleton. He also has one fumble recovery. 

“It feels amazing,” Wheeler said of being able to help the team on defense as well. “I like offense a lot, but I take a lot of pride in my defense.” 

Wheeler had never returned punts prior to this season. But Coeur d’Alene special teams coordinator Vinny Lupinacci watched him catch balls on offense, and suggested he try returning punts. 

“Yeah, I just act like I’m catching balls at receiver,” Wheeler said. 

Dylan Sutich, the guy that rotates in for him, goes 82 yards for a touchdown.  

“We have a good core of receivers," Amos said. “You can’t really key too much on Kai, because we do have other guys that can make plays. It helps a ton.” 

For the Vikings who play both ways, coaches try to give them a breather on one side of the ball or the other during the game. Amos noted that when they gave Wheeler a breather on offense last week, the guy who rotated in for him, senior Dylan Sutich, caught a “now” screen and raced 84 yards for a touchdown. 

AS FOR that stiff-arm ... 

Even if a defender has a bead on Wheeler, the Viking receiver is often able to stick out his free arm and keep the opponent at bay. 

“Yeah, I try to get my arm out there. I try to extend a little bit," Wheeler said. “I try to use my length a little bit; I’ve been doing it since last year ... just watching all those NFL players.” 

Of course, all those now/tunnel/bubble screens can set up the deep ball, and Symons connected with Wheeler on a 52-yard skinny post pattern for a touchdown last week as well. 

“The coaches saw the alignment and it was just a great call by our offensive coordinator,” Wheeler said.  

When the call came in ...  

"My eyes got really big; I got really excited,” Wheeler said. “I tried to put my mask up a little bit (to hide the excitement from the defenders). I saw the way the cornerback was playing me, so I knew I had to stay skinny and let the quarterback throw me into a touchdown.” 

Kai Wheeler played as a freshman at Ferris High in Spokane, then transferred to Coeur d’Alene the following year with his older brother, Kruz, who is now a linebacker at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Calif. 

Kai Wheeler said he has scholarship offers from NAIA schools Montana Tech and College of Idaho, as well as NCAA Division II Minot (N.D.) State. 

He also has a preferred walk-on offer from Idaho. 

As for which position he’d prefer to play in college ... 

“I just want to play wherever I can get on the field,” Wheeler said. 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.