Vikings to play for title

POCATELLO, Idaho – The season of familiarity is over for the Coeur d’Alene and Twin Falls football teams.

When the teams take to the artificial turf of Holt Arena tonight to decide the State 5A championship, they will do so based on the most limited knowledge of each other.

Yes, the teams exchanged video. Yes, the teams acquired more video through other connections. Yes, the coaches talked to other coaches whose teams played each other.

But unlike regular-season opponents or foes in the first two rounds of the state playoffs, Coeur d’Alene (9-2) and Twin Falls (10-1) know less about each other than any previous opposition this season. Heck, the schools are separated by 10 hours of interstate freeway.

Kickoff is at 6 PST. The game will be broadcast live on KVNI (1080-AM).

On paper, without more than a superficial glance, here’s what is known about the teams: Both have prolific offenses, with CdA’s being a tad more productive. And Twin Falls’ defense is better – perhaps more challenging than Centennial, which held the dynamic Vikings backfield tandem of Gabe Le and Kevin Ah-Hi to their second-lowest combined effort of the season last week (38 rushes for 112 yards).

It’s believed the best three 5A running backs in the state will be showcased tonight. Also seeking to shine on the biggest stage is Twin Falls junior Brody Miller, who has rushed for 2,115 yards and 30 touchdowns. Le, a senior, has 1,492 and 22 TDs and Ah-Hi, a junior, has 1,345 and 16 TDs.

The quarterbacks have benefited from their running backs’ production. The Bruins’ Mike Smith, a senior left-hander, has thrown for 1,913 yards and 16 TDs and nine interceptions. He’s completed 61 percent (140 of 229). CdA’s Max Lyons, also a senior, has thrown for 1,472 yards with 16 TDs and six interceptions. He’s completed 56 percent (95 of 168).

“We don’t really know their tendencies and they don’t really know our tendencies,” CdA coach Shawn Amos said. “There will be more adjusting on the fly in this game by both teams.

“With the schedule we’ve played, we’ve seen just about everything. We’re battle-tested.”

Still, Amos knows the game presents one of the biggest challenges.

“They’re the most solid football team we’ve seen,” Amos said. “They’re good on defense, they’re good on offense, they’re good on special teams. They don’t have any glaring weakness. Centennial was very good on defense and average on offense. Lake City was really good on offense and the defense was average. This team is good on both sides of the ball.”

Tobe Smith is the Bruins’ third coach in four years, so Twin Falls has had much upheaval. The two previous coaches were fired after violating school policy for conduct by coaches.

Smith, in fact, the defensive coordinator at Capital the previous three years, interviewed for the job on a Thursday, accepted the job the next day and started checking out equipment on the ensuing Monday in early August.

“And we’ve been going 100 mph since,” Smith said. “Everything happened so fast. I had to get a staff together. I had to implement the offense and defense. We force-fed the kids. We’ve been going like hell since Day One and haven’t stopped. We haven’t had a chance to take a breath and won’t until after (tonight).

“I slept on the offensive line coach’s floor the first six weeks. I didn’t move into a house until three weeks ago.”

Smith’s position is interim. Does he need his team to win the state title to secure his job?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I signed a one-year contract.”

Smith knows his team will be ready to go tonight.

“A lot of people had written them off (before the season),” Smith said. “We didn’t know this team could be this good. We knew we had (good) kids here. It’s just molded that way.”

Twin Falls’ lone loss occurred Oct. 8 at home against Highland, 38-31. Among the Bruins’ five consecutive wins since the setback was a 13-12 win over Highland at Holt Arena in the first round of the playoffs.

CdA is on a six-game winning streak.

Smith said watching video of CdA and its talented runners was a lot like watching his speedy back.

“We have one, they have two,” Smith said. “Their two looks like our guy when he gets out in the open. Brody’s a scooter. It’s tough to bring the little son-of-a-gun down. Without him we wouldn’t be here. We’re pretty scary offensively and Coeur d’Alene looks pretty scary offensively.”

Both teams use 4-3 defensive schemes.

“We’re not that dissimilar,” Smith said. “We’ve got our family secrets.”

What concerns Amos most?

“My greatest concern is Twin Falls because they’re good,” Amos said. “But we feel good. We’ve traveled to Missoula and to Boise. We’ve had some intense battles with Lake City and Centennial. We’ve been in overtime. We’ve been behind and come back. There’s not a situation we haven’t faced this year.

“When you get this far, sometimes you’re greatest concern is they’ll be satisfied with just getting there. I have a very strong sense from the kids that that’s not the case.”