Vikings come prepared to work
The Coeur d’Alene High football team won’t go so far as to say its better than last year – at least not yet.
But the Vikings, who fell just short of capturing the 5A state championship last fall, believe they’re at least as good as a year ago. There are elements of the 2005 edition that are much improved over 2004.
“I think we’re as good as last year,” said CdA coach Shawn Amos. “We can accomplish a lot of the things we accomplished last year. Ask me in a couple of weeks.”
Amos can’t quite say the Vikings are measurably, better because Coeur d’Alene’s two most difficult games remain. The first test is Friday when the Vikings play host to Lewiston in a 5A Inland Empire League game. A victory for CdA not only secures a state playoff berth, but it also wraps one up for cross-town rival Lake City, which held off Lewiston 44-42 in a wildly entertaining offensive game last week.
Perhaps one of the reasons Amos is so enamored with this year’s team is he’s having as much fun as ever.
“They’re the easiest bunch I’ve had to coach,” Amos said. “They’re lunch-pail guys. They show up to work.”
Save for a midseason aberration – a 53-35 loss to previously winless Borah when CdA was 3-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state – the Vikings have sailed along with few problems. They’ve overcome an early-season injury to senior running back Kevin Ah-Hi, and they’ve built a defense that may be the most improved aspect of their team.
“When we played Borah, I think some of the kids had been reading too many of their headlines and were feeling too good about themselves,” Amos said.
Senior Brian Oliver, a two-year starter at guard, can’t compliment the defense enough.
“Last year we felt like we had to win shootouts,” said Oliver, who gets some spot duty at defensive tackle. “The defense, by far, is where we’re most improved. We’re more of a complete team. We have more confidence in our defense than we did last year.”
For starters, the defensive line is much more stabilized. Last year, coaches shuffled through as many as nine players up front.
“We were soft up front last year,” Amos said. “We’re solid in all three areas this year.”
For a second straight year, senior linebacker Trevor Leaf leads the Vikings in tackles. Senior free safety Lee Wheeler is second.
“We started slow and then we had the train wreck against Borah,” Leaf said. “We learned a lesson – not to overlook anybody. We have a lot more trust in each other on defense. It’s easier to do your job when you trust the guy next to you to do his job.”
Leaf believes there’s an intangible area in which the Vikings are significantly improved.
“Last year we had a few seniors who clashed. So the team chemistry is a lot better,” Leaf said.
Some thought CdA’s offensive production might drop off after running back Gabe Le and quarterback Max Lyons graduated. But returning starting running back Kevin Ah-Hi and Lyons’ replacement, Jake Hall, have more than filled the bill.
Despite missing one game because of a knee sprain and playing only four quarters in two games, Ah-Hi has rushed for a league-leading 1,011 yards and 15 touchdowns. Hall has thrown for a league-high 1,187 yards, completing 64 of 108 passes (59.3 percent) with 10 TDs and three interceptions.
“It’s funny. People think that everything we do is Kevin, Kevin, Kevin,” Amos said. “But we’ve thrown the ball as much as we’ve run.”
Ah-Hi is within 579 yards of CdA’s career rushing record set by Paul Ziegler (3,124). He would need to average 193 yards over three games (including a first-round playoff game) to break the mark or average 145 over four games if CdA were to advance to semifinals.
He finally felt like he was back at 100 percent last week – his fourth game since returning from the injury.
“It took me a while, mentally and physically, to get over the fact that there was a slight tear (of the medial collateral ligament),” Ah-Hi said. “The record would be nice, but my main goal is to get the W.”
Hall was a two-way starter at QB and linebacker through the first four games. But when junior backup QB Shea Vucinich suffered a concussion against Borah, Hall was replaced on defense by junior Joey Meehan.
Vucinich returns this week, which means Hall will see occasional time at linebacker.
“He’s one of our top defensive players too,” Amos said of Hall. “But when Shea got hurt we couldn’t afford to play Jake on defense. It’s been hard on him not being able to play on defense. He’s been antsy to get back.”
Hall, whose father, Reed, was a starting strong safety on CdA’s undefeated 1982 state title team, figures he’ll be a linebacker or safety when he plays in college.
“I like the defensive mentality,” Hall said. “I like hitting people.”
Amos figures Hall is probably the team’s most valuable player. Although he was the backup QB last year, he played four other offensive positions. He started mostly at fullback, but split time at linebacker and safety.
“Jake could have done the job (at QB) last year, but there was a senior ahead of him,” Amos said. “I’m not surprised at all at how he’s played. He’s played exactly like I thought he would.”
Hall wants to play so much that he frequently jumps in at different positions on the scout team. It usually lasts for a play or two until Amos pulls him out.
It’s that type of attitude that Amos relishes about his team in general.
“We’ve been behind in a lot of the games, but these kids always feel like they’re going to win,” Amos said. “They don’t have a panic button. They’re a lot of fun to be around.”