Post Falls, Lakeland Sloppy In Season-Opening 12-12 Tie Chamberlain Effective With 102 Yards In First Half

If what they say is true about a tie being like kissing your sister, then it’s no wonder why most of the participants of Friday’s Post Falls-Lakeland football game left the field with bad tastes in their mouths.

There were more long faces than one could count following the 12-12 tie between the two non-league rivals in their season opener before about 500 fans at Post Falls Junior High.

Both teams battled through slow starts, miscues, penalties, and botched scoring opportunities which overshadowed some oustanding individual performances in the annual “Battle of the Prairie.”

After both teams saw their opening drives stopped by turnovers, Post Falls was able to take the early advantage thanks largely to Scott Chamberlain.

Chamberlain, filling in nicely for record-setting Josh Mort, gained 102 first-half yards on 12 carries.

The senior running back was particularly effective in the second quarter when Post Falls held the ball for a little over seven minutes, culminating an 18-play drive with a 4-yard bootleg by quarterback Ben Sharon. The extra point failed and the Trojans held a 6-0 lead.

The big play of the drive came on a fourth-and-five from the Lakeland 41-yard line.

Lining up in punt formation, the Trojans instead snapped the ball to quarterback Adam Fehling who rumbled off right tackle for six yards.

Chamberlain had eight carries for 53 yards in that drive.

Lakeland took little time responding, however, scoring just over three minutes later on a 1-yard run by junior Harrison Bertsch. After a failed extra point attempt, the score stood at 6-6.

The Hawks’ six-play drive was fueled by the arm of senior quarterback Kurt Reese, a weapon the Trojans had difficulty stopping all night.

Reese finished with 11 completions in 15 attempts for 152 yards and completed his first 10 passes. His first incompletion came with just over a minute to go in the third quarter on a ball tipped by a Trojan defensive lineman.

Lakeland grabbed the lead 12-6 early in the second half on a 29-yard run by senior Dan Ross and, after a Post Falls punt, had a chance to gain some breathing room.

But a series of miscues on their next drive forced the Hawks to punt the ball away.

It took Post Falls just three plays to tie it, with Chamberlain taking it the last three yards off left tackle.

Both teams had chances to score in the games waning moments.

Lakeland marched to the Post Falls 12-yard line with just over 8 minutes to go, but a false start and a tipped pass on fourth down ended the threat.

The Trojans made it even more interesting, driving to a first-and-goal at the Hawk 9-yard line. But two holding calls, an illegal motion penalty, and two incomplete pass attempts killed the drive with :17 left.

Chamberlain finished his first varsity start with 166 yards on 20 carries but would rather have had a win.

“That was a tough way to end it,” Chamberlain said.

Lakeland 12, Post Falls 12

Lakeland -0 6 6 0 12

Post Falls 0 6 6 0 12

PF-Sharon 4 run (kick failed) LL-Bertsch 1 run (kick Failed) LL-Ross 29 run (pass failed) PF-Chamberlain 3 run (kick failed)

, DataTimes