By BRUCE BOURQUIN

Sports writer

COEUR d'ALENE - A super-charged Coeur d'Alene offense was supported by an evenly energized defense Friday, in a 48-7 5A Inland Empire League win over visiting Lewiston at Viking Stadium.

Coeur d'Alene scored 28 points in only nine minutes of action in the second quarter, in the league opener for both teams. The Vikings scored 14 of those points off turnovers by the defense, which came up with a bounty of seven sacks, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

"Our kids came ready to play," Coeur d'Alene coach Shawn Amos said. "They understood the importance of this game, it's basically a playoff game, all of our league games are critical, so we took that first step. It's a huge win, league games with one (state playoff) berth, you basically start your playoffs. You can't overemphasize the importance of them with one berth. Our kids were prepared and came out ready to go."

Coeur d'Alene quarterback Gunnar Amos threw for 273 yards on 13-for-18 passing and two touchdowns, in only three quarters of play. His first touchdown came with 4:08 left in the first quarter. He fired a ball to wide receiver Chase Blakley, who rumbled in from 31 yards out to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead.

The no-huddle, shotgun approach run by Cd'A (3-3, 1-0 5A IEL), ranked third in the recent state media poll, was run to near-perfection by Amos and his receivers. With 51 seconds left, Amos jogged it in from six yards out on a scramble down the right-hand sideline.

The quick-strike scoring began with 11:05 left in the second quarter. A swing pass was grabbed by running back Jonny Plum, who hauled down the sideline in front of the Bengals bench and scored on a 55-yard TD for a 20-0 lead. Five different Vikings scored touchdowns, including running backs Drew Berger and Gibson Green in the second quarter, as Cd'A took a 41-0 halftime lead over Lewiston (2-3, 0-1).

"The nice thing about this group is we have a lot of guys who are capable of contributing," Amos said. "We don't have to rely on one guy."

Green's 2-yard run was set up by a strip fumble by cornerback Ryan Walde. A fumble recovery after Green's TD led to Plum scoring again, this time on an 18-yard lob from Gunnar Amos.

In the third quarter, Vikings linebacker Graham Thompson intercepted a pass, which led to Amos' 1-yard touchdown run. Defensive lineman Nick Haines and Thompson each had two sacks. Defensive linemen Austin Chadderdon and James Pierce each had one sack. Cornerback Jackson Carlson had one interception, as Coeur d'Alene defensive backs shut down Lewiston quarterback Drew Melton's deep attempts to receiver Andres Nunez.

"Our D-line stepped it up," said Thompson, a senior. "Every play, they were in there, just getting the quarterback and running back, so it helps us. The defensive backs had a good game, we all played and had a good team game. It helps having the defensive linemen hitting the gaps, just giving me big runthroughs. On the interception, I had Drew Berger getting in there, getting pressure on the quarterback, so he lobbed it up there. It was an easy interception."

The Bengals ruined the shutout attempt with 7:04 left in the third quarter, after Nunez took a short pass over the middle, stiff-armed two Vikings defenders and raced 77 yards for a touchdown.

"The turnovers definitely hurt us," Lewiston coach Shawn Nilsson said. "Coeur d'Alene's really good. Physically and speed-wise, we didn't match up. We needed everything to go just right for us ... we turned it over, we missed tackles, we missed defensive assignments. Our kids played hard, but we just didn't execute."

Cd'A certainly wasn't perfect, as Amos was picked off and there were a few bad snaps, plus the Vikings lost one fumble.

"We have some things we need to work on," Shawn Amos said.

Coeur d'Alene has a bye week next week, then plays at home Oct. 18 against Skyline of Idaho Falls.

Lewiston 0 0 7 0 - 7

Coeur d'Alene 13 28 7 0 - 48

First quarter

Cd'A - Chase Blakley 31 pass from Gunnar Amos (Brennen Barber kick), 4:08

Cd'A - Amos 6 run (kick failed), :51

Second quarter

Cd'A - Jonny Plum 55 pass from Amos (Barber kick), 11:05

Cd'A - Drew Berger 5 run (Barber kick), 8:50

Cd'A - Gibson Green 2 run (Barber kick), 6:39

Cd'A - Plum 18 pass from Amos (Barber kick), 1:45

Third quarter

Cd'A - Amos 1 run (Barber kick)

Lew - Andres Nunez 77 pass from Drew Melton (Nunez kick), 7:04

RUSHING - Lew, Tyler Eberhardt 2-25, Drew Melton 9-(minus-1), Jake Ralstin, 6-(minus-9), Kade Woods 2 (minus-6), Sawyer Meacham 1-0. Cd'A, Gibon Green 10-83, Griffin Lee 10-67, Amos 6-55, Drew Berger 5-37, Plum 4-30, Austin Lee, 3-36.

PASSING - Lew, Melton 7-16-2-123, Woods 4-8-1-49. Cd'A, Gunnar Amos, 13-18-1-273.

RECEIVING - Lew, Jaydon Kaufman 6-48, Andres Nunez 2-87, Mason Ulrich 1-15, Darren Romero 1-12, Tanner Dickeson 1-10. Cd'A, Chase Blakley 5-90, Addison Johnson 3-52, Plum 2-62, Camden Doering 2-51, Ryan Walde 2-21, Kolby DeHaas 1-18, Kanyon Belmont 1-12.