STATE 6A FOOTBALL SEMIFINALS: A rough ending .... Coeur d'Alene falls to Eagle in rematch of semifinal from 2023

By JASON ELLIOTT 

Sports writer 

COEUR d’ALENE — “It’s just rough.” 

Just like that, the season — and a bid to the state football championship game for the Coeur d’Alene Vikings for the second-straight season — ends. 

Senior Kolbe Coey caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Caden Symons with 3:55 remaining for Coeur d’Alene, which fell to the Eagle Mustangs 28-14 in a state 6A semifinal game at Viking Field on Friday. 

“They were scrambling around trying to figure out who to guard,” Coey said. “They didn’t really have a good defense set for us on that play, and I just broke toward the endzone.” 

Coeur d’Alene, bidding to return to the title game for the second straight season, finishes 8-3.

Eagle (9-2), which lost in this round last year to Coeur d’Alene in Eagle, advances to face Rigby (10-1), which upset Rocky Mountain of Meridian 21-18 in the other semifinal, in next week’s championship game. 

“I’m super proud of these guys,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said. “They just kept battling. And that’s all you can ask. Eagle was just better than we were tonight, but our kids kept fighting and played with class and discipline. Things we asked them to do. And you couldn’t be more proud of them.” 

Junior Noah Burnham ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns to give Eagle a 14-0 halftime lead. Burnham struck again on a 28-yard run with 4:41 remaining in the third quarter. 

“Noah’s our bell cow,” Eagle coach James Cluphf said. “If he’s clicking, we’re clicking. He’s starting to find his stride and our guys up front did a good job of opening lanes for that guy.” 

“We couldn’t stop the run and didn’t take advantage of our red zone opportunities,” Amos said. “Eagle, they were better than us tonight. I’m super proud of this group of kids. It’s been a great year.” 

Coeur d’Alene beat Middleton 35-21 last Friday at Viking Field to advance to the semifinals. 

“To make the semifinals, it’s something special and you can’t take that for granted,” Amos said. “We just fell short tonight. But it was a great group to work with.” 

Trailing 28-0 after a 1-yard run by Eagle quarterback Austin Ramsey, Coeur d’Alene got on the board on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Tannar Stern to Kai Wheeler with 7:24 remaining. 

“We could have tapped out,” Amos said. “But we battled and made things interesting at the end of the game. You’re proud of the kids when they respond like that and proud of the program.” 

Coeur d’Alene had won four straight games entering Friday’s game. Senior Kai Wheeler caught a 39-yard pass from Symons to set up Coey’s score late in the fourth. 

“We balled our hearts out each game, this game especially,” Coey said. “We came out here wanting to get to the next level and get to the next game. We struggled a little bit, but we kept battling back. We weren’t going to quit for a second. It’s just rough.” 

Burnham finished with 140 yards and three touchdowns. 

“That’s the way he’s been for the last two years,” Amos said. “If you don’t stop the run, it’s going to be a long night. They’re a good football team.” 

“Coeur d’Alene is always well coached,” Cluphf said. “There’s a reason why they’ve been in the semifinals as much as they have the last few years. Coach Amos and his staff do a great job. We know that we’re always going to get a battle from those kids. We knew we had to play a full four quarters, no matter what the score is.” 

Eagle        7    7    7    7    —    28 

Coeur d’Alene    0    0    0    14    —    14 

First quarter 

Eag — Noah Burnham 1 run (Lucas Boockholdt kick) 

Second quarter 

Eag — Burnham 1 run (Boockholdt kick) 

Third quarter 

Eag — Burnham 28 run (Boockholdt kick) 

Fourth quarter 

Eag — Austin Ramsey 1 run (Boockholdt kick) 

Cd’A — Kai Wheeler 1 pass from Tannar Stern (kick good) 

Cd’A — Kolbe Coey 28 pass from Caden Symons (kick good) 

Individual statistics not available.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur d'Alene quarterback Caden Symons attempts to throw the ball as Eagle's Nate Williams applies pressure during Friday's state 6A football semifinal game at Viking Field.