CdA piles up 723 yards, roughs up Mead 57-31

The scoreboard over Coeur d’Alene football coach Shawn Amos’ shoulder showed his Vikings won 57-31 over Mead on Thursday.

While happy to leave Joe Albi Stadium a winner, Amos was far from pleased.

“I liked the final score but other than that we have a lot to work on,” Amos said. “I don’t know how many turnovers (four) we ended up with, but too many. Mead does a great job getting after the football on defense. We’ve got to do a better job securing the football.”

CdA junior quarterback Colson Yankoff accounted for all eight CdA touchdowns – four passing and four rushing.

The University of Oregon commit finished with 434 yards passing on 38 of 51 attempts and 150 on the ground.

Yankoff had three interceptions. CdA also lost a fumble.

“Nobody is happy with that many turnovers,” Yankoff said. “Obviously it’s something we can work on, a little ball security. Me throwing some picks, that’s on me. We’ll get better.”

Considering the start, Mead had to be thankful it trailed just 30-14 at halftime.

After CdA got out to a 22-0 lead, the Panthers rallied within 22-14.

But in a punting situation, the snap sailed well over punter Thomas Dammarell’s head, giving the Vikings possession at the Panthers’ 24-yard line with 2:11 to go before halftime.

CdA turned the mistake into a touchdown when Yankoff dove in from a yard out. The Viks went into halftime ahead 30-14.

Yankoff had a superb first half. He completed 21 of 27 for 276 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 108 yards and three TDs.

Mead running back EJ Bade had a nice first half, scoring on a 62-yard breakaway and finishing with 122 yards going into intermission. He ended the game with 150.

CdA (2-1) started to put the game out of reach on the first series of the second half. The Viks used eight plans to drive 80 yards, capped when Yankoff found Caleb Beggerly on an 11-yard screen for a TD that extended the Viks’ lead to 37-14.

Connaire Shaffer hit a 32-yard field goal to pull Mead within 44-31 with 11:01 to play.

But CdA scored two more TDs.

“There’s a reason why they’re ranked top in their state,” Mead coach Benji Sonnichsen said.

Sonnichsen was pleased with his team’s play after the poor start.

“It seemed like we got better as the game went on,” Sonnichsen said. “We’ve got to look at the film and try to get better.”

Mead visits Central Valley next Friday in a Greater Spokane League 4A opener. CdA handled CV 48-11 last week.

Amos said there will be lots of learning from the game.

“We’ll have a lot of things we can get better at,” Amos said. “That wasn’t acceptable in a lot of different areas.”

The teams combined for 1,197 yards. CdA finished with 723.

Mead quarterback Payton Loucks threw for 320 yards and three TDs.