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| SHAWN GUST/Press Coeur d'Alene High's Jake Matheson breaks up a fourth down pass to Post Falls' Zach Carter Monday, helping the Vikings win a 5A playoff berth. |
COEUR d'ALENE -- In a span of four days, the Coeur d'Alene Vikings went from a team which had stumbled in both of its league games, then went through some internal turmoil, then played its way into the state 5A playoffs.
Coeur d'Alene emerged as the winner of a Kansas tiebreaker with Post Falls and Lewiston on Monday night before an estimated 1,000 at Lake City High, earning the 5A Inland Empire League's second berth to the state playoffs.
Coeur d'Alene (6-3) will play at Lake City (3-6) in the first round Friday at 7 p.m. The Vikings lost at Lake City 23-15 on Oct. 23.
"I would have rather have just finished it the right way (in league play), but we'll take it," said Coeur d'Alene coach Shawn Amos, whose team lost 13-7 at home to Post Falls last Thursday. "It takes a lot of character, when you go from the penthouse to the outhouse; now all of a sudden you're a bad football team. These guys didn't buy into it; they kept believing."
In a matchup of three teams which went 1-2 in 5A IEL play, Coeur d'Alene was the top seed on the basis of its 42-26 win over Lewiston. Lewiston won 27-25 at Post Falls the following week.
Post Falls beat Lewiston 6-0 in the first game Monday night. Coeur d'Alene then beat Post Falls 7-6, then Post Falls eliminated Lewiston 7-0. Post Falls then needed to beat the Vikings twice to win it, but Coeur d'Alene won 7-0 to advance to the playoffs.
In the first Coeur d'Alene-Post Falls game, Viking quarterback Ryan Dunton was sacked by Tyson Durbin, setting up third down and 20. On the next play, Dunton hit Jake Matheson on a slant from the left side for a 35-yard touchdown.
Post Falls scored on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Matt Lickfold to Jeremy Cragin on third and 10. But Matt Howard blocked Scott Benner's PAT to win it for the Vikings.
In the final game, Durbin sacked Dunton again, setting up third and 19 from the 34. But Dunton, after dropping the snap, hit Matt Lambert on a slant from the right side for a touchdown, and Connor Williams' PAT made it 7-0.
With Post Falls facing fourth and 6 from the 21, Lickfold's pass to Zach Carter was knocked away by Matheson at the 5-yard line and the Vikings celebrated.
"It was a great battle; at least it was decided on the field, and not by any other funky thing," said Post Falls coach Jeff Hinz, whose team's 6-3 record was the best in his five seasons as coach. "Our kids played hard, and it wasn't where we wanted to finish, but this senior class, I'm real proud of them, they set the tone on a lot of different things. We didn't make the playoffs, but hopefully we'll take that step next season."
Coeur d'Alene played without four players, including three starters -- free safety/wide receiver Cade Mendoza, offensive lineman/linebacker Alex Kastens and lineman Travis Jankay -- and reserve lineman Ryan Fenter, who were suspended earlier Monday for an athletic code violation over the weekend. None will be eligible to play vs. Lake City.
In the first game, Lewiston quarterback Justin Podrabsky lost the ball out of his hand as he drifted back to pass on third and goal at the 10, and Trojan Tony Layson recovered at the 20.
Post Falls scored in two plays, both on keepers by Lickfold, the second from 16 yards out to win it.
In the loser-out game, Jared Kennedy plunged two yards for a Post Falls touchdown on the first possession.
Lewiston (4-5) had the ball for eight plays. On fourth and 16 from the 20, Podrabsky rolled left and threw for Johnny Rake in the end zone, but Trojans Jordan Johnston and Dyllin Cady sandwiched him as the ball arrived and the pass fell incomplete to end the game.
Lewiston coach Emmett Dougherty was incensed two plays earlier, when Podrabsky and a Trojan defender went tumbling near the goal line -- as did the official nearby -- after Podrabsky, who had flanked out to the right, tried to catch a pass from backup quarterback Beau Kerns. The Bengals screamed for pass interference, but no flag was thrown.
"It's a real tough format," Dougherty said. "You make one mistake and you're behind the eight ball. One mistake can kill you, and one missed call can kill you."
