Vikings, LC set for clash

The biggest crowd to see a football game between the cross-town high schools is expected today.

For good reason, too. Lake City (6-3) and Coeur d’Alene (7-2) will square off for the 17th time in their 11-year rivalry, but it marks the first time the teams have met in the state playoffs. Kickoff at Viking Field for the 5A opener is at 7 p.m.

An estimated crowd of 3,000 watched CdA snap an 11-game losing streak to LC last week. But the crowd is expected to swell to well more than 5,000 now that the other fall sports have concluded.

In other playoff openers today, Caldwell (8-1) goes to Sandpoint (8-1) and Post Falls (8-1) travels to Bishop Kelly (9-0) in 4A, and Mullan (4-5) is at Clark Fork (7-0) in 1A Division II 8-man. Those games begin at 7.

In Saturday afternoon games, Fruitland (7-2) visits Timberlake (7-2) at 1 in 3A and Genesee (8-1) travels to Wallace (5-4) at 2 in 1A Division I 8-man.

No booster club passes will be honored for playoff games. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for students with activity cards.

Lake City at Coeur d’Alene: These teams are as evenly matched as any in the series history.

CdA used a late touchdown for a 35-21 win last week, but the game was tighter than the final margin. This is the sixth year that the teams have played twice. If the pattern holds, the rematch will be as close or closer than the first game.

“We still have an opportunity to do what we set out to do at the start of the season,” LC coach Van Troxel said. “We feel like we made a lot of mistakes and they’ll tell you they made a lot of mistakes. From our standpoint it was a ton better than the week before (at Hellgate). We put ourselves in position to win.”

Both teams have big-play capability. CdA’s offense is powered by running backs Kevin Ah-Hi (1,230 yards, 16 touchdowns) and Gabe Le (1,091 yards, 15 TDs), who led the league in rushing, and quarterback Max Lyons (1,271 yards, 14 TDs). LC’s offense begins with quarterback Ben Widmyer (1,721 yards passing, 736 rushing). Wide receivers Travis Harmon (50 catches, 419 yards) and Chris Delport (43, 784) led the league in receptions.

The game’s outcome could come down to which team has the ball last. Neither team hangs its success on defense.

“You wish your defense could stuff them every time, but we expect our offense to be able to score and carry the load,” CdA coach Shawn Amos said. “You just hope the defense can hold its own at times and come up with a big turnover or two.”

Both coaches agree that the 5A field is wide open. Unlike last year when Centennial captured the state title, no team appears to be a clear favorite.

“Whoever gets hot for three games is going to win (state),” Troxel said.

The Viks were overjoyed to finally snap their losing streak to LC.

“We knew that meant a lot for Coach Amos,” Le said. “That game was for him. The next game is for us.”

This marks the second time the city rivals have qualified for the state playoffs the same year.

Caldwell at Sandpoint: These two teams met in the semifinals at Barlow Stadium last year when the Bulldogs shut out the Cougars 42-0.

The Cougars return most of an offense that’s a year older while Sandpoint features a defense that is more stout than the one that muffled Caldwell last year.

“We certainly knew our defense was going to be our strong point coming into the season,” Sandpoint coach Sean Dorris said. “What we’ve been happiest with lately is we’re playing well on all sides of the ball. Our special teams have been solid and we’ve been scoring points.”

The Caldwell and Bishop Kelly coaches were on hand last week when Sandpoint edged Post Falls 17-14 on Blake Mahler’s 23-yard field goal with 4 seconds to go.

“The biggest thing I noticed is they’ve got a lot of speed,” Caldwell coach Matt Strong said. “Defensively, all 11 of their kids fly to the football.”

Strong hopes a change in travel plans will benefit his team. The Cougars are flying instead of taking a bus.

Post Falls at Bishop Kelly: The Trojans must find a way to slow down an offense that has averaged 47 points per game and scored less than 32 just once.

Junior quarterback Cody Hawkins, the son of Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins, has piloted BK’s potent offense. He has passed for 2,080 yards, completing 116 of 178 passes including 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

“He can huck it,” said Caldwell’s Strong, whose team fell 32-7 to BK two weeks ago.

Post Falls coach Jerry Lee agrees.

“They’ve got some good receivers to go with him,” Lee said. “It’ll definitely be a challenge for us.”

Lee expects Nick Canger, Post Falls’ flyback in the Fly offense, to return. He sat out last week with an injured ankle.

The Trojans’ speedy running backs concern BK coach Tim Brennan.

“They run an offense where you must be disciplined defensively,” Brennan said. “They’re very quick in the backfield. And defensively they’re very aggressive and come after you.”

Fruitland at Timberlake: Tigers coach Roy Albertson said preparing for the Grizzlies has been like looking in a mirror.

“We both run the Wing T,” Albertson said.

Which means neither team passes often. But Fruitland may pass even less than the Tigers, who start a sophomore at quarterback. Running backs Adam Smith, Shawn Park and J.R. Burt have combined for 2,700 yards for the Grizzlies.

“We feel like if we can rush for 300 yards, then we have a real good chance of winning a ballgame,” Fruitland coach Bruce Schlaich told the Statesman newspaper in Boise.

Albertson said his team needs to focus on starting strong. Tigers’ opponents have scored first in the last five games.