CdA, Lake City post victories

Coeur d’Alene overcame several typical season-opening mistakes and a fired-up Sandpoint Bulldogs football team making its debut under new coach Mike Mitchell as the Vikings pulled away for a 44-34 football victory at Viking Field.

“It was a very ugly win, honestly,” CdA coach Shawn Amos said. “It was a mess. We have a lot of work to do. We were lucky to get away with a win.”

Amos never felt comfortable until the final 4 minutes when the Vikings’ final touchdown put them comfortably ahead at 44-28.

Amos was shaking his head a little after Sandpoint’s Kyle Meschko returned the opening kickoff 93 yards to quickly put the Bulldogs ahead 7-0 with barely 16 seconds having elapsed.

By midway in the second quarter, though, Amos started seeing flashes of the team he expected to see Friday.

A 43-yard touchdown pass from Shea Vucinich to wide receiver Calvin Peterson, set up by a fumble recovery by Spike Gatten, gave the Vikings their first lead at 18-14 with 4:20 to go before halftime.

An interception by Matt Conger set up a dramatic last-second scoring drive for the Vikings as the first half wound down.

After Vucinich hit receiver Jake Rhodes for 35 yards to Sandpoint’s 11-yard line, the CdA quarterback drilled a scoring strike to Nate Clinton in the end zone as time expired. Clinton came open on a nice post route, slipping past Sandpoint defensive back Tyler Jinright. The TD gave the Vikings a 24-14 lead at intermission.

After CdA opened a 30-21 by the end of the third period, Sandpoint fought back, pulling within 30-28 when standout senior running back and workhorse Kurt Stoll rambled 13 yards into the end zone. The point-after kick by Kyle Gibson pulled Sandpoint as close as it would get with 10:05 to go.

Lake City 23, Meridian 0: Meridian no longer has Lake City’s number on the football field.

Lake City shut down the Warriors’ high-powered offense and shut out the defending State 5A champions in the season opener at Meridian High.

Lake City got on the board late in the second quarter on a 32-yard field goal by Patrick Jewell, and B.J. Palmer took two option pitches from quarterback Garren Hammons into the end zone for a quick 17-0 lead in the third quarter.