Bears Deny Cda, Win 20-19 In Ot
The goal post looked a bit different to Coeur d’Alene football coach Bill Anderson following the Vikings’ 20-19 heart-stopping, overtime loss to Moscow Friday night.
Moments earlier, CdA quarter back Nick Rook fought his way into the end zone from 5 yards out to give the Vikings a 19-13 lead in the Kansas City tie-breaker. But Ben Davis’ kick was ruled wide right.
Moscow quarterback Adam Miller went to the air on the Bears’ first OT down, and senior Will Glasscock’s diving TD catch again drew the teams even at 19. Fittingly, Miller’s PAT kick provided Moscow’s homecoming victory margin.
It was a 33-yard field goal by Miller with 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter that forced the playoff, tying the game at 13.
“It looked good from where I’m at, but we couldn’t make the call,” Anderson lamented of Davis’ kick.
”(The Bears) did a good job, but I thought our kids played well enough to win,” Anderson added. “It’s been this way all season. Every ballgame, it’s one point, two points - heartbreak for our kids.”
Big plays and big penalties were the story of the physical game.
Coeur d’Alene (1-4) gained 303 yards offense, but was saddled with 127 yards in penalties. Moscow piled up 376 yards offense, including 243 passing by Miller, but had 115 penalty yards.
Miller made things happen for the Bears (4-1). The junior connected on 18 of 26 passes with one interception. His 30-yard field goal to start the second quarter pulled the Bears to within 7-3.
The Vikings managed to get within field goal range on their next two possessions, but a 51-yard try by Davis was short and a 39-yard attempt 3 seconds before halftime went wide right.
The teams traded turnovers in the third quarter, and Miller had one TD pass called back by a holding call at the 3:35 mark.
Moscow took its first lead, 10-7, with 11:23 to play as Miller hit Ryan Dudley with a 16-yard TD strike.
The Vikings responded with a 14- play, 69-yard TD march. The key plays were a 30-yard reception by Davis, and a 3-yard TD run by Dave Goodwin on a counter play. The Bears’ Steve Pilkington blocked the PAT, but the Vikings led 13-10.
A 15-yard face masking penalty against Coeur d’Alene kept the Bears’ ensuing drive alive. The 80-yard series ended with Miller’s game-tying field goal.
“I thought we weren’t ready to play tonight,” Moscow coach Eric Bjorkman said. “It’s homecoming. We’re a young team. We’ve won three in a row. We were fighting ourselves all night long - like swimming up a waterfall.”
Moscow 10, CdA 6 (OT)
CdA 7 0 0 6 6 -19
Moscow 0 3 0 10 7 -20
CdA-Scates 68 run (Davis kick)
M-Miller 30 field goal
M-Dudley 16 pass from Miller ( Miller kick)
CdA-Goodwin 3 run (kick blocked)
M-Miller 33 field goal
CdA-Rook 5 run (kick fails)
M-Glasscock 10 pass from Miller (Miller kick)