Crosstown rivals face Part II

Both the Lake City and Coeur d’Alene football teams claim they played poorly when they faced off in the regular season.

Both claim they played worse than the other team.

LC’s claim probably trumps CdA’s – at least statistically.

Yes LC won 21-18. But the Timberwolves were flagged for 21 penalties. They lost two fumbles and threw an interception. CdA had seven penalties and lost three fumbles.

It was by far LC’s worst game of the season. Based on final scores, one would have to point to the 34-21 loss by CdA to Centennial as perhaps the Vikings’ worst defeat.

“We were lucky to beat a good football team with the way we played,” LC coach Van Troxel said.

LC probably should have won by at least two touchdowns. The Timberwolves’ final touchdown gave them a 21-6 lead with 10 minutes remaining.

Instead of being content and running time off the clock, LC got greedy. For whatever reason, the T-Wolves coaches wanted to put an exclamation point on the win.

It just about bit them in the proverbial backside. CdA returned an interception for a touchdown and the Vikings recovered a fumble and scored on a long bomb on the next play to pull within the final margin.

So we say all that to say this: If LC found a way to win despite playing its worst game of the year, what must CdA (7-2) do to beat the No. 1-ranked and undefeated T-Wolves (9-0) when they meet Friday in the first round of the State 5A playoffs at LC?

Both teams have high-octane offenses. But what separates these two fine teams is defense.

Defense has created offense for LC and defense has stymied opposing teams. It’s a lethal combination.

CdA, which has averaged 41.5 points per game this season, essentially only scored one touchdown against LC. The T-Wolves starting unit has allowed just one TD per game.

Both teams have improved since the first time they played. An argument could be made that LC, which qualified for the state playoffs for a 10th straight year, has improved the most in the last month.

LC’s road win over then-ranked and Washington 4A state playoff qualifier Moses Lake two weeks ago was impressive. Moses Lake took the opening drive and zipped down the field. It appeared the Chiefs would be difficult to slow down for LC.

But LC’s defense stiffened and the T-Wolves offense finally got untracked late in the second quarter. LC scored three TDs in the final 4 minutes of the first half to take a 21-7 lead into intermission. LC won 38-21.

It would appear that the only way CdA can beat LC is to turn the game into a track meet. The intangible the Vikings have no control over that could affect their ability to sprint up and down the field is the weather. The forecast is calling for rain.

As well as CdA can play, it would appear the Vikings need LC to play a poor game to aid their cause.

But CdA coach Shawn Amos said his team gained much needed confidence despite losing in the first game.

“I think the biggest thing our kids feel is confident that they can play with them,” Amos said. “Maybe I’m wrong, but I think we’re closely matched. We’ll find out Friday.”

After topping Moses Lake, LC finished regular-season play with a 55-20 spanking of Lewiston. Two third-quarter interception returns gave the T-Wolves a 55-6 lead before the Bengals scored two final TDs against LC’s reserves.

“We’ve got to execute, stay poised and eliminate the turnovers and big plays,” Troxel said. “Right now we’re in a good rhythm. We’re going into it thinking we’ve played some of our best football in the second half of the season. That’s what we want to build on and continue the momentum.”

CdA, perhaps looking ahead to this week, was sloppy at Post Falls after getting out to a nice 40-7 lead. Although the outcome of the game was never in doubt, the Vikings walked away with a messy 40-29 win.

“I believe when we got ahead 40-7 our kids started thinking ahead to Lake City,” Amos said.

A rivalry, though, has a way of leveling any field – even if it appears one team has significant advantages. That’s why the rematch could go either way – even though on paper LC has some significant edges.