By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

COEUR d'ALENE - The showdown some thought may happen quickly turned into another night of domination for the Coeur d'Alene Vikings.

Coeur d'Alene piled up 470 yards - an impressive 204 of those coming on the ground - forced four turnovers, and blocked a punt that led to a score, and routed the Lake City Timberwolves 44-13 in 5A Inland Empire League football Friday night before an estimated crowd of 3,000 at Lake City.

The Vikings (5-3, 2-0 5A IEL) did this despite losing senior quarterback Gunnar Amos to a concussion late in the first half, when he hit his head on the ground after getting upended attempting a rollout pass.

Of course, Coeur d'Alene led 31-7 at that point, and there were plenty of other Vikings to pick up the slack the rest of the way.

"I'm telling you, our kids came ready to play," Coeur d'Alene coach Shawn Amos said. "That made us so proud. And then, the way they responded when you lose your 'guy', and these guys battled for him. We play three quarterbacks and you beat a team like Lake City, that means a lot of other guys stepped up - including the two guys that played quarterback. That's an impressive effort by our kids, how they responded to adversity. It was a championship effort."

Shawn Amos said "I would guess" that Gunnar would miss next Thursday's home game with Post Falls, which will be out to deny the Vikings the league title and the league's lone berth to the state 5A playoffs. With Amos out, Jackson Carlson and Austin Lee played quarterback, and Shawn Amos said Lee would start next week if Gunnar Amos was unable to play.

After an exchange of punts, Coeur d'Alene scored touchdowns on its next four possessions to open up a 28-7 lead midway through the second quarter, and never looked back.

With the Vikings up 7-0, Camden Doering blocked a Lake City punt and recovered it at the T-Wolf 11. One play later, Gunnar Amos zipped in on the read option for a quick 14-0 advantage.

Ty Holgate and Chase Blakley recovered fumbles for Coeur d'Alene late in the first half, and Ryan Walde and Jonny Plum had interceptions in the second half. Both picks led to touchdowns.

Lake City (5-3, 1-1) was held to 211 total yards, and its only score until late came on a 48-yard pass from Tucker Louie-McGee to Nathan Newby in the second quarter, after the Vikings had jumped out to a 21-0 lead.

"It's simple," Lake City coach Van Troxel said. "We got outplayed, we got outcoached, and I didn't do my job. That's all I've got to say."

Other than that one TD pass, Coeur d'Alene kept Tucker and his equally dangerous brother, Jerry Louie-McGee, in check. They were held to a total of 13 rushing yards, and Tucker was sacked five times.

"To be able to keep them (the Louie-McGee brothers) contained a little bit, it was a team defensive effort," said Amos, said he would undergo his first chemotherapy treatment for a form of Hodgkin's lymphoma on Monday - it was originally scheduled for this Thursday. "The way they run their offense, you have to be disciplined and just take care of your job, and you can't try to do more than you're supposed to - that's where they get you. Those two are good football players - I thought our defense was outstanding on them."

Coeur d'Alene scored five rushing touchdowns - one each by Gibson Green, Gunnar Amos, Drew Berger, Holgate and Lee. Green led the way with 68 yards on 10 carries, Holgate ran for 47 yards on seven carries, and Berger added 43 yards on six carries. Behind a dominant offensive line, the Vikings averaged 4.9 yards per rush.

"We have three good backs, and we're going to use them," Amos said. "When Gunnar's in there, he's a real running threat. We've got senior O-linemen, and this year's important to them. They haven't left anything to chance all year, and I'm pretty proud of this group."

Lake City plays host to Lewiston next Thursday, needing to win and a victory from Post Falls to keep the Timberwolves' playoff hopes alive.

Coeur d'Alene 14 17 0 13 - 44

Lake City 0 7 0 6 - 13

First quarter

Cd'A - Gibson Green 5 run (Brennan Barber kick), 4:08

Cd'A - Gunnar Amos 11 run (Barber kick), 2:16.

Second quarter

Cd'A - Drew Berger 7 run (Barber kick), 10:27

LC - Nathan Newby 48 pass from Tucker Louie-McGee (Casey Bourque kick), 7:16

Cd'A - Ty Holgate 19 run (Barber kick), 5:35

Cd'A - FG Barber 31, 1:31

Fourth quarter

Cd'A - Austin Lee 1 run (Barber kick), 9:16

Cd'A - Kolby DeHaas 4 pass from Lee (kick failed), 4:09

LC - Hunter Damschen 3 run (kick failed), 1:01

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Cd'A, Green 10-68, Amos 5-32, Plum 3-3, Berger 6-43, Johnson 5-16, Holgate 7-47, Carlson 2-1, Lee 4-(minus 6). LC, T. Louie-McGee 16-6, Rosteck 11-73, J. Louie-McGee 7-7, H. Damschen 3-9, Newby 1-7, Goggin 1-(minus 10).

PASSING - Cd'A, Amos 9-14-0-155, Carlson 1-2-0-11, Lee 4-4-0-100. LC, T. Louie-McGee 9-15-1-95, Goggin 4-6-1-50.

RECEIVING - Cd'A, Blakley 2-11, Johnson 3-95, Walde 3-67, Plum 2-55, Whiteside 1-17, Green 1-5, Carlson 1-12, DeHaas 1-4. LC, Turner 2-15, Newby 5-90, Rosteck 1-5, J. Louie-McGee 2-15, R. Damschen 1-19, H. Damschen 2-1.