Cole Yankoff, Vikings run past Post Falls

Coeur d’Alene High junior quarterback Cole Yankoff says he’s been timed in the 40-yard dash but not recently.

Suffice to say he’s fast, something that became evident to Post Falls defenders Friday night. The University of Oregon-bound Yankoff ran for 237 yards and five touchdowns to spark the visiting Vikings to a 48-27 victory.

Coeur d’Alene (5-3) secured second place in the 5A Inland Empire League and a spot in the state playoffs. The Vikings will be home on Friday, but their opponent won’t be determined until Saturday’s Borah-Eagle contest.

Kuna defeated Timberline, which eliminated the possibility of the CdA-Post Falls loser earning an at-large berth.

“He can flat run the ball,” Vikings coach Shawn Amos said of Yankoff, who had only 13 carries. “He made some big plays, but give credit to Post Falls. They made it awful hard on us and sometimes we made it hard on ourselves.”

Post Falls (6-3) scored first, fittingly, on a night when it dedicated a new scoreboard in honor of former coach Jeff Hinz, who died of cancer over the summer. The Trojans came out throwing, firing passes on all seven plays on their first series, the last a 46-yard touchdown connection from Nate Buer to Matthew Mills.

Coeur d’Alene evened the score on its first play from scrimmage as Yankoff broke up the middle and sprinted 72 yards for the score.

“That’s what we said we were going to do on the first play,” Yankoff said. “Come out and punch them in the mouth and we tried our best to do that.”

The Trojans fumbled at their 10-yard line and Yankoff scored two plays later on an 8-yard run, giving the Vikings a 13-7 lead.

Coeur d’Alene extended its lead late in the half when Yankoff found Brody Lundblad, who broke into the clear to finish a 40-yard scoring play. Yankoff’s run on the two-point conversion gave the Vikings a 21-7 lead at half.

The Trojans cut the deficit to 21-13 on Quin Bennett’s touchdown catch but the Vikings responded with an 84-yard drive, capped by Yankoff’s 1-yard run.

CdA’s next series ended with Yankoff flying around left end 65 yards for a touchdown. Caleb Beggerly’s 20-yard scoring run early in the fourth put the Vikings up 42-13.

Yankoff wasn’t touched on a 27-yard touchdown run that bumped CdA’s lead to 35 with 8:19 remaining.

“That’s my guys up front doing the job,” Yankoff said. “That’s all I can ask.”

Yankoff added 197 yards passing, connecting six times to Kyler Prendergast. The Vikings had 101 penalty yards, surpassing the century mark for the second straight week.

“Still a little sloppier than we’d like, but the kids found a way to win,” Amos said. “It extends our season and our seniors get to play another home game.”

Buer passed for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Bennett rushed for 65 yards, 54 in the first half.