CdA romps

An opening-round playoff game against its chief rival turned into an offensive display for the Coeur d’Alene Vikings. The Vikings (9-1) dominated Lake City 45-13 in advancing to the semifinals of the 5A state playoffs. Top-ranked CdA will face No. 2 Capital of Boise next Saturday with Vikings having the opportunity to reach a title game for the first time since 2004. The Vikings have to like their chances, especially after Friday’s dismantling of LC at Coeur d’Alene High School. CdA’s offense struggled the previous week against the Wolves (6-4) in squeaking out a 19-14 victory to end the regular season. The Vikings surpassed last week’s point total early in the second quarter and were never really challenged by the Wolves. It is CdA’s third straight win — second in the playoffs — over LC. “The kids responded to that last game (of the regular season) and came with a new focus,” Viking head coach Shawn Amos said. “It’s a one-week season. If you don’t show up, you are not playing anymore. They did a great job against a good football team.” CdA received the opening kickoff and needed just two plays to take an early lead. Chad Chalich hit Drew Turbin on wide receiver screen that turned into a 68-yard TD pass. It was just the beginning of a great night for Chalich. The junior quarterback finished 21 of 31 passing for 291 yards and three TDs. He also ran for 51 yards. “I think we just came ready to play the whole game,” Chalich said. “All four quarter we knew what we had to do and we executed.” Said Amos: “Chad’s a pretty good player, and he is surrounded by a lot of good players. That is the nice thing about this team. We are not counting on one guy. Everybody has their role, and everybody does their job. If everybody does their job we are pretty good.” The Vikings took a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 3-yard run by Zach Keiser when the Wolves got a spark from Mark Smyly. The senior QB missed the last three games with a separated shoulder, but in briefly replacing starter Bobby Traverse for some plays, ran for 57-yard TD for LC’s only score in the first half. The Vikings responded just before the half, however, when Chalich scrambled out of trouble to find Deon Watson deep in the end zone for a 14-yard TD play. Keiser added two more TD runs in the second half. “They outcoached us, they outprepared us, they outplayed us, that is the bottom line,” LC head coach Van Troxel said. “They did the things they needed to do and they took the steps forward. We didn’t.” Now, the Vikings look forward to taking their spread offense to the turf of Bronco Stadium. The site is where Capital plays its home games. “They are pretty good,” Amos said, “but if you want to win a state title you have to play the best teams.”