Post Falls keeps Battle of the Prairie trophy
Thompson passes for 354 yards, three touchdowns
RATHDRUM – For the first time in three years, the Battle of the Prairie trophy is staying put.
Dalton Thompson threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns to lead the visiting Post Falls Trojans to a 41-21 victory over the Lakeland Hawks on Friday night.
“A lot of people picked us to lose this game,” said Thompson, who also led the Trojans with 61 yards rushing. “That was a ton of motivation.”
The Trojans (3-2) got the ball rolling early, marching down the field on their first drive – a drive that was kept alive by a 39-yard scramble by Thompson on third-and-15. Three plays later, sophomore back Collin Hildreth punched it in from the 1 for a 7-0 lead.
Post Falls went up 14-0 just a minute later when Gunnar Sciortino blocked a Lakeland punt that ricocheted back into the end zone, where it was recovered by senior linebacker Tom Roman.
“We really executed offensively in the first half,” Post Falls coach Jeff Hinz said, “and that blocked punt kind of got us going and sparked us.”
The Hawks (3-2) finally got something going late in the first quarter when senior quarterback Tyrel Derrick, who doubled as Homecoming King, found Mike Bodak over the middle for a 52-yard catch and run. But it was one of the few highlights for Lakeland, which trailed 27-7 at the half.
Thompson, on the other hand, was a highlight reel all to himself, spreading the ball around to seven different Trojans. Senior Jacob Koski led Post Falls with three catches for 101 yards, and Koski, sophomore Kaden Nelson and junior Zach Hillman each had a TD catch.
“Our receivers have been working hard in practice,” said Thompson, who hit on 16 of his 26 attempts, including 12 of 16 in the first half. “We’ve actually been practicing a lot more passing, so I like that.”
“Dalton did a heck of a job taking care of the football tonight,” said Hinz, “and the receivers made some pretty big plays for him.”
Derrick finished with 154 yards passing (10 for 22) for the Hawks, and senior Tuekota Tate-Vandever led Lakeland with 100 yards rushing.
Post Falls, which travels to Moses Lake next week, has now won six of the last seven Battle of the Prairie games.
Lakeland faces Timberlake on the road.