Kickoff return for TD sparks rout of Lakeland
By JASON ELLIOTT
Press correspondent
POST FALLS -- Post Falls coach Jeff Hinz wanted his team to start fast Friday night.
The Trojans did exactly that as junior Jordan Pastras returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and didn't let up as Post Falls ran away from the Lakeland Hawks 54-19 at Trojan Stadium.
"We hadn't started quickly on offense in the last couple weeks," Hinz said. "Jordan got us going and started the momentum."
Pastras finished with 118 yards rushing and receiving after being knocked out of the game briefly in the second quarter after getting the wind knocked out of him. The junior scored two of his four touchdowns following his return after halftime.
After holding the Hawks to a three and out on their first possession, Post Falls marched back down the field on runs by junior Matt Lickfold, with the final play coming on a 12-yard run to open a 13-0 lead.
Lakeland got its offense off the ground on their its possession, as Eric Cooper hit Daniel Whitesitt on a 20-yard pass to move to the Post Falls 25-yard line. The drive came to a halt shortly thereafter as Jordan Johnston intercepted a pass on the 7-yard line.
Post Falls drove the field again, as Pastras bobbled the pitch, but scooped up the ball and rumbled eight yards to take a 19-0 lead after the first quarter.
Lakeland (2-7) struck again as Cooper found Drillbit Taylor on a 17-yard pass, with another 15 yards put on for a facemask penalty. However, the drive stalled and following a three-and-out by their defense, got to within a 19-6 contest on an 7-yard run by Colton Cederblom midway through the second quarter.
Post Falls (4-4) picked up another 14 points before the half as Trevor Wood scored on runs of 1 and 21 yards to take a 33-6 halftime lead.
Post Falls opened their lead even wider at the start of the third quarter as Kevin Muncey stepped in front of a Cooper pass and returned it 40 yards to the end zone to make it a 40-6 lead. Muncey came up big on the next play as he recovered the kickoff on the 4-yard line after Lakeland failed to recover the kick.
"The Lakeland returner thought it was going to go out of bounds," Hinz said. "It stayed in and then it turned into chaos."
Pastras punched in his second score from 4 yards out to make it 47-6 just one minute into the second half. Cederblom answered midway through the third quarter on an 11-yard run.
Post Falls set up its final scoring drive of the game as Lickfold hit Zach Carter on a 35-yard pass to step up a Pastras 2-yard run to make it 54-13 Post Falls after three quarters.
Lakeland tailback Brendon Kedish kept the Hawks moving on the ground, running for a game-high 77 yards. Eric Porkorny rumbled 28-yards with three minutes remaining to give the Hawks their final score.
"I thought we played well all-around," Hinz said of his team's performance. "We were solid on both sides of the ball."
Post Falls travels to Coeur d'Alene on Thursday. Lakeland travels to Sandpoint on Friday.
Lakeland 0 6 6 7 -- 19
Post Falls 19 14 21 0 -- 54
PF -- Pastras 80 kickoff return (Allen kick)
PF -- Lickfold 12 run (run failed)
PF -- Pastras 8 run (kick failed)
LL -- Cederblom 7 run (pass failed)
PF -- Wood 21 run (Allen kick)
PF -- Wood 1 run (Allen kick)
PF -- Muncey 40 interception return (Allen kick)
PF -- Pastras 4 run (Allen kick)
LL -- Cederbloom 11 run (Valenta kick)
PF -- Pastras 2 run (Allen kick)
LL -- Porkorny 28 run (run failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- LL, Porkorny 9-39, Bennett 1-0, Thorne 6-31, Cederbloom 10-45, Kedish 8-77, K. Cooper 5-21. PF, Pastras 9-60, Lickfold 7-61, Wood 6-41, Chase 4-4, Dyk 3-41, Lunderstadt 4-22, Booth 3-10.
PASSING -- LL, E. Cooper 7-190-79-1. PF, Lickfold 7-10-133, Chase 0-3-0.
RECEIVING -- LL, Whitesitt 2-26, Derrick 1-7, Taylor 1-17, Cederbloom 1-11, Thorne 1-3, K. Cooper 1-15. PF, Carter 2-44, Pastras 2-58, Clark 3-31.
