Vikings win behind Chalich

SEATTLE – There wasn’t much flow to the Coeur d’Alene football team’s game, but it didn’t matter in the end.

The Vikings didn’t offer much in the way of pretty, except that it was a victory.

Senior quarterback Chad Chalich ran for three scores as top-ranked Coeur d’Alene overcame 127 yards on 13 penalties and ground out a 32-14 win over the Moses Lake Chiefs in the ninth annual Emerald City Kickoff Classic at CenturyLink Field on Saturday.

“It’s just a great experience for us to play in an NFL stadium,” said Chalich, who ran for 73 yards on 16 carries and was 14-of-22 passing for 201 yards and one TD. “We didn’t play bad because of the atmosphere. We just have to focus next time and come out with more intensity.”

The Vikings (2-0), the defending Idaho 5A state champions, return home next week against Skyview of Boise, the only team to beat them last year. After two weeks on the road to open the season, they will be seeking revenge for a 36-34 loss a year ago.

“On offense, we could’ve performed better,” said Chalich, the Idaho 5A state player of the year last season. . “This experience is going to help all the guys, because we’re a pretty young team. We’re just trying to get the offense faster and more up-tempo.  We just need to treat every drive like it’s the fourth quarter.”    

CdA was picked by opposing coaches to win the 5A Inland Empire League this season.

“It was a sloppy win,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said. “We had way too many penalties. We’re not very happy with how we won the game, but we’ll take it. It was a good experience for the kids.

“You don’t get the opportunity to do things like this, but I don’t think we played to our standard at all.”