Coeur d'Alene runs past Lake City in 5A IEL opener

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

COEUR d’ALENE — Apparently, missing the playoffs last year for the first time since before any of these kids were in school didn’t sit too well with the Coeur d’Alene Vikings.

After six games with varying results, Coeur d’Alene took its first step toward a return to the postseason with a 31-7 victory over the host Lake City Timberwolves on Friday night in the 5A Inland Empire League opener for both schools.

“We’ve just got to continue the legacy,” Coeur d’Alene senior lineman Aaron Ivankovich said. “Let everybody knows who runs the North, and that’s us. Last year was a fluke; we were young, but it’s good to let everybody know that we’re back.”

The stiffer tests in league, of course, lie ahead for Coeur d’Alene (5-2), with Post Falls (5-2, 1-0) visiting next Friday, and Lewiston (3-4, 0-1) coming to town in two weeks.

On this night, Coeur d’Alene jumped on top early, took advantage of miscues by Lake City (2-5), and kept the Timberwolves from mounting much offense with another strong defensive effort.

“We found a way to win,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said. “Lake City played really hard; we played pretty sloppy, so that’s something we need to work on. It’s nice to have a win, and know you have a lot of stuff to work on. Big test next week, obviously.”

Carsen Speelman ran for one touchdown and caught a TD pass from sophomore quarterback Caden Symons. Symons also scored twice from a yard out on the Vikings’ version of the “tush push.”

Coeur d’Alene totaled 319 yards, 156 on the ground. Lake City had 42 yards of offense in the first half, 170 for the game.

“Really proud of the guys’ effort,” first-year Lake City coach Byron Hout said. “I thought they played up to the last snap. There’s things we have to do in the offseason to get bigger, faster, stronger in the weight room, and that’s kind of what I harped on our guys after the game — it starts in the weight room.”

Leading 3-0 late in the first quarter, Coeur d’Alene caught a break when Lake City snapped the ball over the punter’s head, and T-Wolves took over at the 1. Symons scored one play later.

Early in the second quarter, Speelman capped a 70-yard, nine-play drive by running it in from 14 yards out for a 17-0 lead.

Late in the half, Lake City put a drive together, helped by a pass interference call against Coeur d’Alene. The T-Wolves went 58 yards in 10 plays; on third and goal from the 5, Avrey Cherry rolled right, and threw back left to wide-open running back Ike Johnson for the touchdown with 2:29 left in the half.

But Coeur d’Alene answered just before the half with an 85-yard drive to snatch the momentum back. On third and goal from the 10, Symons found a wide-open Speelman in the right corner of the end zone for a 24-7 halftime lead.

Early in the third quarter, Kai Wheeler’s 39-yard reception set up Symons’ second rushing (tushing?) touchdown of the night.

Symons was 16 of 29 for 163 yards. Speelman ran for 73 yards on 12 carries, Owen Harris 68 on 12 carries.

“I think a lot of different kids have stepped up in a lot of different ways (on offense),” Amos said. “We’re finally getting a little more healthy on the O-line, and we’ll finally have all of our starters back next week that we had against Rigby (in the season opener).

Johnson ran for 56 yards on 16 carries for Lake City.

“They did a good job of running the ball, and they do a good job in their screen game,” Hout said of Coeur d’Alene. “They hit some big plays; they were just a physical unit — they out-physicaled us.”

The winner of next Friday’s Post Falls-Coeur d’Alene game will be in the driver’s seat for the league title.

“We’ve improved over the season; we’re a much better football team than we were earlier,” Amos said. “That’s what you expect, though. “We haven’t scratched the surface yet of how good we can be yet. Against Post Falls we’re going to have to put together a complete game if we want a chance.”

Also next Friday, Lake City is home vs. Lewiston.

Coeur d’Alene 10 14 7 0 — 31

Lake City 0 7 0 0 — 7

First quarter

Cd’A — FG Jayson Cady 25, 3:51

Cd’A — Caden Symons 1 run (Cady kick), 1:46

Second quarter

Cd’A — Carsen Speelman 14 run (Cady kick), 9:16

LC — Ike Johnson 5 pass from Avrey Cherry (Kai Delio kick), 2:29

Cd’A — Speelman 10 pass from Symons (Cady kick), :11

Third quarter

Cd’A — Symons 1 run (Cady kick), 8:04

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Cd’A, Harris 12-68, Hagel 1-(minus 10), Speelman 12-73, Symons 5-(minus 3), Kizziar 1-28. LC, Profumo 4-6, Johnson 16-56, Wullenwaber 5-15, Cherry 5-10, Usdrowski 1-0, Brandon 1-(minus 1).

PASSING — Cd’A, Symons 16-29-0-163. LC, Cherry 9-24-0-84.

RECEIVING — Cd’A, Cady 1-5, Booth 4-27, Harris 2-3, Speelman 2-18, Robertson 1-5, Wheeler 1-39, Sutich 2-40, Kizziar 3-21, Williams 1-18. LC, Hill 3-32, Usdrowski 5-47, Johnson 1-5.