COEUR d’ALENE — New faces on offense and defense — same result for the two-time defending state 5A football champion Coeur d’Alene Vikings.

Coeur d’Alene junior quarterback Gunnar Amos threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns and junior wide receiver Jackson Carlson had three receptions for 139 yards as the Vikings rolled past the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies of Meridian 45-0 in a state 5A quarterfinal football playoff game Friday night at Viking Field.

“Honestly, we’ve been playing some good football for the past three weeks,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said. “We played more like we’re expecting to play. Our kids played great.”

After forcing a three and out on defense, Coeur d’Alene drove 85 yards, capped by a 45-yard touchdown pass from Gunnar Amos to Carlson for a 7-0 lead. Rocky Mountain attempted to go for it on fourth down, but was stopped short, setting up Coeur d’Alene senior tailback Reece Mahaffy, who scored on a 19-yard screen pass from Amos a few plays later to take a 14-0 lead.

“We put an emphasis on getting some tempo going early on,” coach Amos said. “Our guys did a good job of doing that and you can get away with that when your team is making plays.”

Third-ranked Coeur d’Alene (8-2) will face second-ranked Highland (8-2) next Friday or Saturday in a semifinal game at a site to be determined in Pocatello.

Highland beat Coeur d’Alene 45-26 on Sept. 21 in Coeur d’Alene. The Vikings have since won five straight games.

“We’re excited to play them again,” coach Amos said. “We didn’t play well the last time we saw them. They’re a good program and we’re excited to go down there and play those guys again.”

Coeur d’Alene took a 31-0 halftime lead as senior defensive end Sean White intercepted a pass from Riley Thomas and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown.

“We came out really strong,” Gunnar Amos said. “This year we’ve had trouble starting strong, so it was good to go down and score on our first two drives and keep the momentum going.”

Mahaffy scored on a 41-yard run in the third quarter. With Rocky Mountain driving to the Coeur d’Alene 45-yard line, Carlson intercepted a long pass on the 1-yard line.

Coeur d’Alene only needed two plays to cap the scoring as Carlson took a short pass from Amos and took it all the way for a 95-yard touchdown to put the Vikings up 45-0.

“On the first play, coach (Ron) Nelson just told me to pound it in there,” Gunnar Amos said. “The second he called ‘800’ and I saw a single safety. He just told me to look him off and go right back to it and Jackson was open so I hit him. Jackson really showed up to play today — both offensively and defensively. He’s a great route runner and made some big plays.”

Carlson’s interception — his fifth of the season — helped preserve the shutout for Coeur d’Alene, which has outscored its opponents 100-14 in the last three weeks.

“I was just playing over the top and saw him throw the ball over the top,” said Carlson, a junior. “I love it when they do that because I can go up and get it. This is huge for our seniors. It’s the last game on Viking Field and I know it means something for them to beat them by this much — there’s nothing else like it.”

Mahaffy had 183 combined yards for Coeur d’Alene.

“I thought they were more physical and faster than we expected,” Rocky Mountain coach Jason Warr said. “We knew coming up here that we had to play to a certain point or level and we got behind right off the bat and kind of got behind the 8-ball.”

Rocky Mountain quarterback Riley Bradshaw was knocked out of the game with a concussion on the third play of the game and did not return.

“It’s not everything that went wrong tonight,” Warr said. “But it makes a big difference.”

Rocky Mountain 0 0 0 0 — 0

Coeur d’Alene 14 17 7 7 — 45

Cd’A — Jackson Carlson 45 pass from Gunnar Amos (Parker Wilson kick)

Cd’A — Reece Mahaffy 19 pass from Amos (Wilson kick)

Cd’A — FG Wilson 22

Cd’A — Mahaffy 25 pass from Amos (Wilson kick)

Cd’A — Sean White 56 interception return (Wilson kick)

Cd’A — Mahaffy 41 run (Wilson kick)

Cd’A — Carlson 95 pass from Amos (Wilson kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — RM, Weindel 17-73, Bradshaw 1-0, Crimmins 6-50, Thomas 13-11, Hamilton 1-(-9), Christian 2-61. Cd’A, Mahaffy 7-94, Amos 8-29, Mort 4-13, Holgate 6-42, Williams 1-(-2).

PASSING — RM, Bradshaw 0-1-0-0, Thomas 14-25-2-149. Cd’A, Amos 13-22-1-332, Williams 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — RM, Hamilton 2-7, Batis 8-110, Owen 4-32. Cd’A, Blakley 2-26, Johnson 4-71, Mahaffy 3-89, Carlson 3-139, Sharp 1-6.