COEUR d’ALENE — All week the coaches at Coeur d’Alene had been preparing the Vikings for a 48-minute dogfight with the 5A top-ranked Rocky Mountain Grizzlies at Viking Stadium on Friday night.

The fourth-ranked Vikings forced three fourth-quarter turnovers, all coming by interceptions by senior cornerback Jake Matheson in a 34-22 win.

“This is a good group of kids,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said. “Our offense, defense and special teams showed up to play tonight and did their part. This was a great test to see where we’re at.”

Junior quarterback Chad Chalich completed 18 of 25 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns as Coeur d’Alene moved to 4-1 on the season heading into a matchup at Vallivue of Caldwell next Friday.

“We stuck with the game plan,” Chalich said. “At the start of the game, we knew we needed to keep chucking the ball. Our O-line was huge for us tonight. We’ve probably got the best line in the state by far. Everyone did a great job.”

Viking senior tailback Zach Keiser had 18 carries for 162 yards and one touchdown, along with two touchdowns receiving.

“It was definitely the best win I’ve ever been a part of,” Keiser said of the win. “We came together as a team. We knew we could do it and could overcome anything.”

Rocky Mountain senior quarterback Levi Altlinger threw for 269 yards for three touchdowns and three interceptions.

“Coeur d’Alene is a very good team,” Rocky Mountain coach Jason Warr said. “They came out ready right off the bat and you can’t fall behind to a good team like that.”

Dallas Burroughs had 13 catches for 221 yards for the Grizzlies (5-1).

“It was a good trip for us,” Warr said of the trip from Meridian. “But it’s kind of how you handle it. Someone made us the No. 1 team in the state and we didn’t respond. Coeur d’Alene wanted it more. They’re a really good team.”

Coeur d’Alene jumped out to an early lead as Chalich hit Keiser, who dove for an 11-yard TD pass to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead. The Vikings scored again out of the Wildcat formation as Keiser took a direct snap 2 yards into the end zone, putting the Vikings on top 14-0 after the first quarter.

Chalich hit Drew Turbin on a 33-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-0 early in the second quarter.

Rocky Mountain got on the board on an 11-yard pass from Altringer to Burroughs. Following a Coeur d’Alene punt, Grizzlies tailback Jordan Deck took a draw 55 yards to set up another score from Altringer to Burroughs to pull within 20-14.

On the ensuing possession, Chalich hit senior wide receiver Matt Lambert on a 33-yard screen pass to put the Vikings ahead 27-13.

Rocky Mountain opened the second half with a 45-yard scoring pass from Burroughs to Altringer to get within 27-20.

After a three-and-out, Rocky Mountain drove down the field, but was turned away on fourth and 1 as Lambert deflected a pass in the end zone. Keiser broke a 51-yard run to set up the Vikings’ final score with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Matheson intercepted two late passes on the 1-yard line to seal the win.

“We found out we’re a tough team in that game against Skyview (of Vancouver, Wash.),” Amos said. “We found a way to battle tonight and got the job done.”

Rocky Mountain 0 13 7 2 — 22

Coeur d’Alene 14 13 0 7 — 34

Cd’A — Zach Keiser 11 pass from Chad Chalich (Parker Wilson kick)

Cd’A — Keiser 2 run (Wilson kick)

Cd’A — Drew Turbin 33 pass from Chalich (kick failed)

RM — Dallas Burroughs 11 pass from Levi Altringer (Josh Dalmas kick)

RM — Burroughs 10 pass from Altringer (Dalmas kick)

Cd’A — Matt Lambert 33 pass from Chalich (Wilson kick)

RM — Burroughs 45 pass from Altringer (Dalmas kick)

Cd’A — Keiser 16 pass from Chalich (Wilson kick)

RM — Safety, snap out of endzone.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — RM, Deck 20-120, Tompke 1-0, Altlinger 6-35, Black 0-0. Cd’A, Keiser 19-162, Chalich 8-18.

PASSING — RM — Altringer 24-34-3-269. Cd’A — Chalich 18-25-263.

RECEIVING — RM — Burroughs 15-221, Deck 1-1, Kauffman 2-16, Walker 3-13, Wickstrom 1-24, Place 1-15, Caron 1-5. Cd’A — Matheson 5-50, Lambert 5-106, Keiser 3-31, Turbin 5-55, Watson 2-8.