Vikings Conquer Lake City Coeur D’Alene Capitalizes On Special Teams’ Chances

Coeur d’Alene High’s best offensive weapon on Friday night? Punt formation.

The Vikings took advantage of two Lake City fumbles on punt returns in the second half to post a 24-14 win over their intracity rivals before a crowd of 1,200 at Viking Field.

CdA capitalized with a 39-yard field goal by Ben Davis, booted despite torn cartilage in the knee of his plant leg, and a 21-yard touchdown run by senior Ben Ziegler.

The win capped a strange week for Vikings coach Bill Anderson. He was admitted to the hospital on Thursday after experiencing a rapid heart beat - his pulse rate was in the 180s - and severe pains throughout his body.

Anderson will see his doctor next week. “They haven’t ruled out a heart attack,” Anderson said. “With all the adversity we had this week, our kids held their heads up and I couldn’t be prouder of a bunch of kids.”

Coeur d’Alene finishes 4-5 overall, 1-3 in the Inland Empire League. Lake City ends 3-6 and 0-4.

Lake City had pulled into a 14-14 tie with 5:29 remaining in the third quarter after a sharp 70-yard drive on 10 plays. Brian Ross steamrolled off right guard on a 10-yard scoring run.

Then the Timberwolves’ defense held, forcing a punt. But return man Adam Kammarcal juggled the reception and CdA’s Brian Goodwin recovered at Lake City’s 13.

Again, the T-Wolves defense stopped CdA, but Davis limped onto the field and boomed a 39-yard field goal for a 17-14 lead. Davis was hurt a couple of weeks ago and can’t run well enough to play wide receiver, his usual position, along with kicker.

“I was in a little pain, but it was our last game,” Davis said.

Midway through the fourth quarter, CdA punted and the short kick bounced off the helmet of up-man Josh Jaeger, who was blocking. The Vikings recovered and cashed in two plays later when Ziegler cruised through a huge hole, made a cutback at the 10 and coasted into the end zone.

“Our defense played their butts off tonight,” LC coach Van Troxel said. “The problem was they’d be out there six or eight plays and stop ‘em, then we’d have a turnover and they had to go out there for six or eight more plays.”

Ziegler was CdA’s main threat, chalking up 78 yards on 19 attempts. Justin Davis had a first-quarter touchdown run and added 45 ground yards.

Neither team had success in the air. CdA’s Nick Rook was 4 of 11 for 17 yards and was intercepted three times. LC’s Chad Troxel, the coach’s son, was 7 of 22 for 69 yards with two interceptions.

Troxel, however, ran LC’s option offense smartly. He gained 45 rushing yards as LC finished with 269 total yards to CdA’s 158.

Troxel also connected with Joey Schoener on a 31-yard TD pass to tie the score at 7 in the first quarter.

LC, in its third year of existence, has lost all four games against Coeur d’Alene. The margin is getting closer, however. CdA won the first three by a combined score of 89-6.

Coeur d’Alene 24, Lake City 14

Lake City 0 7 7 0 - 14 Coeur d’Alene 7 0 10 7 - 24

C-J. Davis 13 run (B. Davis kick)

L-Schoener 31 pass from Troxel (Scott kick)

C-Ziegler 2 run (B. Davis kick)

L-Ross 10 run (Scott kick)

C-FG B.Davis 39

C-Ziegler 21 run (B. Davis kick)

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo