POCATELLO - Junior quarterback Gunnar Amos scored Coeur d'Alene's first and last touchdowns in the Vikings' 45-38 victory over Highland in a state 5A semifinal Friday night at Holt Arena.

What happened in between was something Amos and his teammates will never forget.

On their quest for a third consecutive state championship, the Vikings forced turnovers on three consecutive offensive plays from Highland late in the fourth quarter, converted all three into touchdowns and turned a seven-point deficit into a lead they would not relinquish.

"Our kids didn't give up and their kids didn't give up," Coeur d'Alene coach Shawn Amos said. "We just happened to make a couple of big plays at the end, and that's really what it came down to. Otherwise it's dead even, it's a battle."

Coeur d'Alene (9-2) will return to Pocatello next Friday for the state 5A title game against the top-ranked Madison Bobcats (11-0) of Rexburg. Game time has yet to be determined. Madison defeated Lake City 36-0 later Friday night at Holt Arena in the other semifinal.

With Coeur d'Alene trailing 31-24 with five minutes to go in the game, Highland (8-3) running back Thad Hansen lost control of a handoff. The Vikings recovered the fumble and three plays later Amos scored his second rushing touchdown of the game.

The Rams' next play saw quarterback Neil Jewell's pass tipped and intercepted by Coeur d'Alene's Jackson Carlson. The subsequent Vikings touchdown took four plays as Amos found paydirt once again.

Highland couldn’t stop the bleeding.

Jewell then took a hard hit from behind while fighting for extra yards. The rough contact popped the ball out of his hands and right into the outstretched arms of defensive lineman Chase Blakley, as if he was waiting for it. Blakley returned the airborne fumble 21 yards untouched for six points.

It took less than two minutes for the Vikings to erase the deficit and take a 45-31 lead.

“We fought hard. It was a battle back and forth,” Highland coach Gino Mariani said. “We just made too many mistakes down the stretch. We gave up some big plays we probably shouldn’t have. You can’t do that when you’re playing a good team.”

“That was awesome. We needed them to step up big time and that sealed the game for us right there,” Amos said of watching his defense make plays late in the game.

Highland added a score on its next drive when Jewell found Christian Atkinson open for a 21-yard touchdown pass.

The Rams attempted an onside kick that had the right bounce for a recovery, but the ball eventually squirted out of bounds.

Highland had to make a defensive stand with two minutes to go and for a second, it looked like the Rams could do it.

Highland had Coeur d’Alene in a third and 13 situation, but Amos ran the ball 26 yards for a back-breaking first down.

“That last (third) down play when I went on the long run, I said ‘give me the ball. I got this,’” Gunnar Amos said.

The next play saw the victorious Viking quarterback kneel down to end the game.

“Highland, what a program,” Shawn Amos said. “That’s a program you want to be mentioned with and all the things they’ve done. It was just a dog fight. I think we’re two really close football teams and it came down to a couple of big plays.”

In fact it was a 45-26 defeat to Highland on Sept. 21 that spurred the two-time defending state champions back to return to form.

“After we played Highland it was a turning point for us,” Shawn Amos said. “Highland played very well, but we just did not play like we should. It flipped our season. Our coaches and players refocused on what we needed to do to be in this position that we are now, playing for a third state title.”

“Highland was kind of the turning point of our season,” Gunnar Amos said. “After that game we realized that if we played like that, there was no way we were going to be where we needed to be to play in the state championship game. After that we came together as a team and we really started to play some football. We wanted to see them again in the playoffs to show them how far we’ve come since we played them. I think we did.”

The Vikings trailed 17-10 at the half and were down 24-10 before outscoring the Rams 35-7 during a long stretch of the final two quarters.

Amos finished the game with 101 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. He also completed 16 of 25 passes for 211 yards and one score. Senior Reece Mahaffy rolled up 182 yards on the ground and one score on 14 carries.

Coeur d’Alene did not turn the ball over once.

Jewell threw for 422 yards, four touchdowns and that crucial interception on 25-of-40 passing. Nate Page accounted for 130 of those yards and one score with six receptions.

“Madison is a good team,” Gunnar Amos said of the Vikings’ next opponent. “We watched film on them and we know they’re good.”

“Madison seems to be rolling,” Shawn Amos said. “We don’t know as much about them. We saw a little bit of film on them. They have some big, tall athletic receivers. We’re happy to be here.”

Coeur d’Alene 3 7 14 21 — 45

Highland 0 17 7 14 — 38

Cd’A — FG Parker Wilson 39

Cd’A — Gunnar Amos 55 run (Wilson kick)

High — Michael Beseris 20 pass from Neil Jewell (Dallan Rodriguez kick)

High — Nate Page 36 pass from N. Jewell (Rodriguez kick)

High — FG Rodriguez 34

High — Christian Atkinson 12 pass from N. Jewell (Rodriguez kick)

Cd’A — Reece Mahaffy 80 run (Wilson kick)

Cd’A — Hayden Sharp 17 pass from Amos (Wilson kick)

High — N. Jewell 1 run (Rodriguez kick)

Cd’A — Amos 13 run (Wilson kick)

Cd’A — Chase Blakley 21 fumble return (Wilson kick)

Cd’A — Amos 1 run (Wilson kick)

High — Atkinson 21 pass from N. Jewell (Rodriguez kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Cd’A, Reece Mahaffy 14-182, Gunnar Amos 14-101, Colton Johnson 2-9, Addison Johnson 1-11. High, Michael Beseris 9-24, Neil Jewell 13-29, Thad Hansen 3-18.

RECEIVING — Cd’A, Jackson Carlson 3-84, Mahaffy 2-13, Chase Blakley 3-22, Kolby Dehaas 1-9, Marques Mort 1-18, A. Johnson 2-18, Sean White 3-30, Hayden Sharp 1-17. High, Christian Atkinson 3-49, Nate Page 6-130, Beseris 5-86, Aaron Thomsen 3-31, Mitch Haber 2-17, Kaden Ockey 4-41, Colton Shreve 1-29, Tommy Jewell 2-49.

PASSING — Cd’A, Amos 16-25-0-211. High, N. Jewell 25-40-1-422, T. Jewell 1-1-0-10.