Post Falls needs late rally to subdue stubborn Skyview
Post Falls coach Jeff Hinz couldn’t have described the Trojans’ wild 34-27 high school football victory Friday over Skyview more succinctly.
“They didn’t get off the bus,” Hinz said, “and we didn’t get out of the locker room.”
It was a 2½-hour rollercoaster ride at Trojan Field as Post Falls built a 26-0 halftime lead, fell behind by a point in the fourth quarter, then rallied to pull out the win.
The Hawks, a 4A school from Nampa, scored on their first four possessions of the second half to grab a 27-26 lead with 8:50 remaining.
Post Falls (1-1), which assisted Skyview’s comeback with two fumbles, costly penalties and some missed tackles, needed less than a minute to snap out of its second-half slumber. Kaden Nelson hauled in a 45-yard pass from Nathan Gregory.
Two plays later, Gregory eluded a defensive lineman, rolled right and threw back to his left to Zach Hillman, who bounced off an attempted tackler and raced into the end zone. Nelson plowed across the goal line on the 2-point conversion and the Trojans were back on top 34-27.
Post Falls’ defense, dominant in the first half, came up with its first stop of the second half, sacking quarterback Jacob Hillard and forcing a fumble. The Trojans were in business at Skyview’s 25. They drove to the 1 but a penalty and a near interception left Post Falls with a 24-yard field goal attempt. It sailed wide and the Hawks had one last chance.
Skyview (0-2) moved the ball to midfield but turned it over on downs following three straight incompletions, the last forced by the Trojans’ pass-rush pressuring Hibbard into an errant throw.
“That was a little interesting there but our kids kept fighting and persevering,” Hinz said. “Our kids responded. The defense had some stops and the offense put the points on the board to seal the victory.”
Post Falls played clean, opportunistic football in the first half. Sophomore running back Braden Vaughan stayed busy, piling up 105 yards rushing and booting a pair of short field goals. He wasn’t touched by a defender on a 50-yard scoring play.
“Great blocking by the line and (tight end) Kameron Welker,” said Vaughan, who finished with 143 yards on 20 attempts.
Hibbard was sacked four times in the first half and the Hawks twice sailed snaps over the punter’s head. The first led to Gregory’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Mills. The second set up Hunter Harmon’s 16-yard TD run.
Hibbard had a big second half, finishing with 265 yards passing and three touchdowns. Kyle Pierce had two TD catches and 191 yards receiving for the Hawks, but it wasn’t enough.
“We definitely wanted this really bad,” Vaughan said. “We’ve been working hard all summer and that Sandpoint loss (last Saturday) was really tough.”