The kid on the crutches looked like he had shed a few tears after Coeur d'Alene High beat Highland of Pocatello 31-28 on Friday night at the Kibbie Dome in the state 5A football championship game.

He didn't play a down in the game he wanted to play in the most, but he had so much to do with his team getting to that game.

And afterward, after Coeur d'Alene came from behind in the final minute to win a thriller of a game, he celebrated with his teammates, he smiled and he posed for pictures with Viking fans young and old.

"Oh, God, it's all happy right now," said Gunnar Amos, Coeur d'Alene's senior quarterback, who had to watch from the sidelines the past two weeks after breaking his ankle in the Vikings' first-round playoff victory. "I wish I could have been out there, but I'm so happy for Austin (Lee, his backup); I'm so happy for my team. They all worked so hard, and they deserved this game so much."

Amos said the Vikings' win eased the pain of not being able to play in the game. Last year, as a junior, Amos quarterbacked Coeur d'Alene to the state title game, where the Vikings lost to Madison of Rexburg.

"I've been dreaming of playing in this game since I was five years old," Amos said, "but to not be able to play in it was harsh. But right now I'm just happy for my team, happy for those guys, they battled hard, and they came out victorious."

His misfortunes (a concussion late in the regular season, then the broken ankle two weeks later) and those of his father, Viking coach Shawn Amos (being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma last month) have been well-chronicled.

As you might expect with chemotherapy treatments, Shawn has had his good days and his bad days.

"The last two days have been good," Shawn said. "There are days when you're more tired, but with this staff, everyone just filled in the void, the way we work."

Winning a football game - albeit a state championship football game - pales in comparison to trying to beat cancer. But the state title was welcome medicine nonetheless.

"We've had a rough month in our family, and this eases our pain just a little bit," Gunnar Amos said.

* Having started the season on the junior varsity, there's no way Lee could have imagined that, in late November, he would be quarterbacking the varsity in its biggest game of the year, 80 yards from victory, and 91 seconds to get there.

But there he was Friday night, ball in his hands, game on the line.

He started with a 9-yard completion to Chase Blakley. Next came an incompletion.

On third and 1, he threw down the right seam, and Blakley went up and made a big-time catch in a crowd for 28 yards and a first down.

Next was an 8-yard completion to Ryan Walde, followed by a 5-yarder to Addison Johnson, who was knocked out of bounds at the Highland 30. The Rams were flagged for a late hit on the play, moving the ball to the 15.

On the next play, Lee, avoided the rush, weaved his way up the field and dove across the goal line for the go-ahead points.

"Austin Lee, just an incredible quarterback," Coeur d'Alene senior defensive back/wide receiver Jackson Carlson said. "He's going to be amazing. He led us; we knew he could do it, we had faith in him. He just led us to victory."

Could Lee have ever imagined going from JV QB to leading the varsity on a state championship-winning drive just a few months later?

"It was pretty easy," Lee said of the transition. "Because this team, they accepted me, and made me feel comfortable. I wouldn't want to do this for any other team in the world."

* Yes, Coeur d'Alene gave up 426 passing yards to Highland's Tommy Jewell on Friday night. But credit the Vikings with some excellent defense on the final drive, which started at the Rams' 41 with 38 seconds left after a nice kickoff return.

On first down, Jewell threw deep down the middle for Mitch Haber, who had at least a step on the Coeur d'Alene defender. But Carlson, who had a fumble recovery and a pick-6 in the first half, ranged over to help, leaping to tip the ball away at the last minute.

Coeur d'Alene had a hard time sacking Jewell, but on that final drive the Vikings got him down twice.

On second down, Austin Chadderdon sacked him for a 4-yard loss, and on the next play, Chadderdon and Matt James tackled him for a loss of 5.

On fourth down and 19, Jewell escaped the pressure and connected with Kaden Ockey for 23 yards to the Viking 45, out of bounds with four seconds left.

On the final play of the game, Jewell's desperation pass down the right sideline was knocked down by Walde at the 5-yard line, and the Viking celebration began.

* Highland coach Gino Mariani said afterward he would do it again - punt the ball away on fourth down and 1 at the Coeur d'Alene 49, leading by four points with a minute and a half to play. The defense had played well on the three previous drives that quarter, and if it does on one more drive, he's a genius.

But since it didn't work out, Ram fans will be left to wonder ... what if their team had gone for it? Highland went for it earlier in the quarter, on fourth and 1 at the Viking 41, and Jewell snuck 2 yards for the first down.

On the next drive Jewell, who's also the punter, ran right and took off on fourth and 7 on the Rams' 44. He gained 12 yards and the first down, but a holding penalty wiped out the play, and the Rams ultimately punted.

Coeur d'Alene had one timeout left when Highland punted on that fourth-and-1 play at the Viking 49. If Coeur d'Alene stops the Rams, the Vikings take over at midfield with plenty of time to go ahead. If Highland makes the first down, the Vikings have just one timeout left, and the Rams could have run most, if not all, of the clock.

But we'll never know.

* As much as Coeur d'Alene fans were happy to see the Vikings win in regulation, that was the kind of game where you wouldn't have minded watching the two teams play all night.

They were both evenly matched, and talented and entertaining in their own ways - the kind of game you don't see very often in high school. Both quarterbacks were able to avoid the rush and make plays.

Coeur d'Alene and Highland have met in the regular season each of the past two seasons, and have talked about scheduling more games in the future against each other. You hope that happens - and that next year's game is in Coeur d'Alene.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at mnelke@cdapress.com.