Coeur d’Alene bests East Valley

East Valley did the hard labor, but Coeur d’Alene’s efficiency produced the bounty, taking home the first Clements Cup with a 35-14 triumph.

Both teams played hard, each had an abundance of penalties and their share of miscues in what was, for the better part of three quarters, an entertaining game, up for grabs by anybody.

The Vikings struck quickly twice to offset EV’s grind-it-out style for a 14-7 halftime lead. And they turned two Knight turnovers into third-quarter touchdowns that broke host EV’s spirit.

East Valley’s Jye Lanphere had intercepted a pass on Coeur d’Alene’s first series of the second half and the Knights chewed up most of 55 yards en its way to apparent game-tying touchdown.

With first-and-goal at the Viking 7-yard-line, junior running back Brady Brunelle, who had gained 83 yards to that point, fumbled on a 3-yard gain.

It took the Vikings just eight plays to go 96 yards, powerful rusher Gabe Le gaining 65 of them, including a 32-yard dash that made it 21-7.

That, said EV coach Adam Fisher, “was the decisive point in the game. They were playing ‘vanilla’ on defense we were gaining 8-9 yards at a crack. If we score, it’s 14-14.”

Instead, CdA had taken a two TD advantage and four plays later, Coeur d’Alene defensive back Neail Goodwin stepped in front of a potential receiver and intercepted Lanphere’s play-action pass that led to the game-breaker, and the third of Le’s four scores.

“I think Gabe Le really stepped up,” said coach Shawn Amos. “Our other back (Kevin Ah-Hi) got hurt and we were a one-back show tonight.”

Ah-Hi had twisted his knee after just four first-quarter carries. Le gained 143 of his 194 yards in the second-half, putting the capper on his night with a 36-yard burst on an option pitch for the final score with 2:08 remaining in the game.

The Vikings had floundered initially. EV had controlled time of possession 3-to-1 in the first quarter and outgained them 93 yards to 5 before the arm of quarterback Max Lyons came into play in a big way.

He hit Ah-Hi on a screen for 18 yards on the last play of the first quarter, then hit Jake Wolfe on a 66-yard crossing pattern on the first play of the second quarter for the game’s first score.

The Knights rushed right back for the tie, Lanphere’s 28-yard pass to Phillip Nead key to the 11-play drive.

But Le picked up an errant pitch off the turf and parlayed one of several EV pursuit breakdowns into a 38-7 yard gain, setting up his 4-yard score with 1:27 left until intermission.

“It helps to have a game under your belt, obviously,” said Amos. “They were tough against the run and we were able to get some passes on them. That big play at the end of the first quarter really picked us up.”

EV rushed for 257 yards, including a 57-yard TD sprint by sophomore Ryan Campbell, wearing the jersey No. 13 of his graduated GSL record rushing brother Scott’s, on the last play of the third quarter. He finished with 93 yards (to Brunelle’s 94) in his varsity debut.

The game was delayed a half hour with 9:10 left, awaiting an ambulance for Knight Tyler Jolley, who injured his neck and was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.

Lyon’s arm accounted for 125 first-half passing yards and his foot was important too, making good on all five extra points, kicking off long when need be and hitting a 51-yard punt that put the Knights on the goal line after the delay and ended all thoughts of a comeback from two touchdowns down.

“We saw some major breakdowns at all positions at times,” said Fisher of EV’s season debut. “We will correct those by next week.”