PREP FOOTBALL: Trojans turn on the pressure, take down Lewiston

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

POST FALLS — It was a typical start to a season.

Early miscues with penalties, dropped passes, turnovers.

You name it, it happened in that first five minutes for Post Falls.

Then, Trojan junior Damion Hamilton put some life into his squad.

Hamilton scooped up a fumble and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown for the Trojans, who forced three turnovers — two fumbles and an interception — on the way to a 47-27 win over the Lewiston Bengals at Trojan Stadium on Friday.

Post Falls drove down the field, but fumbled on its opening possession. Lewiston turned it right back over in their redzone on Hamilton’s recovery.

“We needed it,” Post Falls coach Blaine Bennett said of Hamilton’s return. “Early on, we didn’t have any energy and didn’t have much going offensively. But that’s football. You play four quarters and have to weather some of those things. Especially in that first game.”

Senior quarterback Isaac McKeown ran for three touchdowns and threw for another for Post Falls, which hosts Sandpoint in a nonleague game next Friday.

“It fired us up a lot,” McKeown said. “It really gave us a lot of energy and momentum going into that. It really made us take off and we were going.”

“It was amazing,” Bennett said. “That first five minutes, we’d get a big play, score, then give it up. And then they’d go down and score. And we’d go back and forth. But it’s the the first game. I thought we settled down in that second quarter and played some defense.”

McKeown scored three times on a quarterback draw, twice in the third quarter to give Post Falls a 47-20 lead after the third quarter.

“I knew we had it in the game plan his week, but I didn’t think I’d be running it that much,” McKeown said. “Lewiston’s a great team, super competitive and makes us better each time we play them.”

Senior Kyle Miller also recovered a fumble and senior Tyras Blake intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter for the Trojans.

“Adam Shamion and that defensive staff did a great job,” Bennett said. “They were prepared and we kind of weathered that storm in the second quarter. Then our running backs kind of got going a little bit and it looked like we practiced before.”

Leading 27-14 at halftime, Post Falls scored on a 46-yard touchdown pass from McKeown to Caleb Jimmerson less than four minutes into the second half.

“In the third quarter, we wanted to come out and take care of business,” Bennett said. “It’s kind of a theme that we’re leaning on. We took our team to (Camp) Lutherhaven for two days and kind of came together. We talk about taking care of business and doing the right things, and we did that in the third quarter.”

Lewiston, in the new classification cycle, moved to the 5A, while Post Falls remains in 6A.

“It always means a lot when we play Lewiston,” Bennett said. “Their coaching staff does a great job. Their kids play hard and it plays hard. For Game 1, we really had to hang in there and get going. We fought through some of that adversity. We got some enthusiasm on that sideline and got excited.”

Lewiston hosts Coeur d’Alene next Friday at Bengal Field.

Lewiston    7    7    6    7    —    27

Post Falls    14    13    20    0    —    47

First quarter

PF — Damion Hamiton 85 fumble return (Bradyn Singleton kick), 7:39

Lew — Jeremy Yoder 14 run (Cole Arlint kick), 6:28

PF — Devin Burton 2 run (Singleton kick), :45

Second quarter

Lew — Arlint 1 run (Arlint kick), 10:49

PF — Burton 5 run (kick failed), 9:19

PF — Isaac McKeown 1 run (Singleton kick), 5:37

Third quarter

PF — Caleb Jimmerson 46 pass from McKeown (Singleton kick), 8:12

PF — McKeown 3 run (Singleton kick), 5:00

Lew — Mason Way 20 run (kick failed), 3:55

PF — McKeown 3 run (kick failed), :35

Fourth quarter

Lew — Drew Alldredge 30 pass from Way (Arlint kick), 10:57

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING —  Lew, Carpenter 2-57, Topp 6-15, Yoder 5-32, Arlint 4-52, Casey 2-18, Cobley 1-0. PF, Burton 31-172, Felix 9-95, McKeown 4-3, McLean 1-6, Stone 5-18.

PASSING — Lew, Yoder 8-20-0-113, Way 4-8-1-70. PF, McKeown 10-20-0-186.

RECEIVING — Lew, Carpenter 1-30, Alldredge 4-44, Yoder 3-26, Arlint 5-86. PF, Ostlund 5-60, McLean 2-63, Jimmerson 2-58, Sage 1-5.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Post Falls senior running back Devin Burton fights out of the hands of Lewiston defensive lineman Lucas West during the first quarter of Friday's game at Trojan Stadium.