Scrimmage at Lewiston High brings out best in Idaho Vandals’ defensive front

LEWISTON – When the Idaho Vandals left their Kibbie Dome and took the show on the road Friday to Lewiston’s venerable Bengal Field, sunlight and a bit of a chill in the air made everyone feel purposeful.

The result was a 2-hour scrimmage witnessed by about 100 fans that Idaho coach Paul Petrino called the best performance of the spring for the defensive front seven. Maybe the players were a little too zesty.

Cornerback Lloyd Hightower made one of the standout plays of the workout. In single coverage at the goal line, he leaped and stabbed a hand in the air to knock awry what would have been a scoring pass from Matt Linehan. But later he had to be helped off the field with a hip injury, and toward the close of the workout he was joined on the sideline by linebacker Mike Linehan, who watched the last few series with an ice pack on his neck.

Linebacker Ed Hall was already there. He missed the scrimmage with a boot on his foot. For Petrino, this is simply the cost of doing business.

“You’ve got to hit to get better,” he said.

The linebackers may have had the best day among position groups. Tony Lashley and Linehan met running backs Isaiah Saunders and Aaron Duckworth at the line repeatedly.

Kaden Elliss ranged sideline to sideline, and he flushed Matt Linehan several times on blitzes. Prevented by scrimmage rules from finishing Linehan with a tackle, he was at least able to celebrate with a gleeful shout whenever he forced Linehan to throw on the run out of bounds.

“I did thoroughly enjoy the blitzing. ‘Enjoy’ is the key word there,” Elliss said.

In returning starters Hall, Lashley and Elliss, all juniors, and Mike Linehan, a sophomore, Petrino has players he can count on for this season and the next. With Elliss and Lashley both able to play the buck or outside position Petrino said he might get all four out there at once.

“We’re focused on this year,” Lashley said. “We’ve got a lot of room for improvement after last season.”

Lashley said he, Hall and Elliss need to replace last year’s departed senior leaders.

“We’ve had to take on leadership roles,” he said. “Most of the guys are looking to us.”

“Tony’s a baller,” Elliss said. “He has a nose for the ball, and when he gets there he’s laying someone out.”

Lewiston’s high school grass field and a Friday scrimmage may have stirred up memories among his players of their own high school careers, Petrino said. It may have contributed to the defensive enthusiasm.

“I liked the field. It was nice,” Elliss said, “but I played on turf” in high school.

Maybe it was just being outside under the sun and out of the dome, Lashley said.

“Everyone got started fast,” he said. “It’s easy to hit when you start fast.”

Idaho concludes spring practice with the Silver and Gold game in the dome at 6 p.m. Friday.