Silverton stops Coeur d'Alene

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

COEUR d’ALENE — Where’s Caden? Where’s Tannar? 

Fans and opponents alike had a hard time figuring out where Coeur d’Alene quarterbacks Caden Symons and Tannar Stern were lining up in Friday night’s game vs. Silverton (Ore.). 

Sometimes Symons was the QB, handing the ball to Stern. Sometimes Stern was the QB, keeping the ball — or sometimes throwing to Symons, lined up at wide receiver. 

Sometimes ... ah, never mind, it just gets confusing. 

Stern, a junior, ran for 98 yards on 17 carries — all in the second half, to give the Vikings something to build on in a 21-14 loss to the visiting Foxes at Viking Field. 

"I thought we did some good stuff,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said. “That’s a newer package, and as the season progresses, we’ll continue to grow that package and get more and more out of that package.” 

Silverton (1-0), which reached the semifinals of the Oregon state 5A playoffs last season, took a 21-14 lead with 9:28 left on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Chase Dominguez to Sutton Kuenzi. 

Coeur d’Alene (0-2) drove right back, with Stern carrying the ball on seven of the first 10 plays. 

But, on fourth and 3 at the Silverton 33, the Foxes sold out and stuffed Stern on a keeper for no gain. 

“Man, that is a really good football team,” fourth-year Silverton coach Dan Lever said of Coeur d’Alene. “What a fistfight in a phone booth. We traded punches in that second quarter, and finally put some drives together (in the second half).” 

Silverton scored first when Logan Uitto took a punt, ran to his left and sprinted down the sidelines for a 60-yard score less than two minutes into the game. 

Coeur d’Alene answered in three plays, with junior Gibson Comstock getting behind the defense and hauling in a 58-yard TD pass from Symons to tie it at 7. 

Silverton went up 14-7 early in the third on Lincoln Teeney’s diving TD catch from Dominguez from 2 yards out. 

Stern plunged in from 2 yards out late in the third to tie it at 14. 

After Silverton stopped the Vikings on fourth down, the Foxes were able to run out the clock with three first downs. 

“That was a tough battle,” Amos said. “We knew they were a playoff-level football team. I thought our kids battled hard; probably made a few too many mistakes to give us a shot. More good experience; we’ll learn a lot from these first two games.” 

Daniel Shoup had a first-half interception for the Vikings, and Anthony Gillie and Rylan Peterson each recovered a fumble. 

Silverton had 64 total yards in the first half, including minus-10 rushing. The Foxes finished with 44 yards on the grouns, and 246 total as Dominguez threw for 202. 

“A lot to prepare for for us,” Lever said of defending Symons and Stern. “We just had to play our base, and hope we responded to any kind of double pass or sweep pass. That fourth-down stop was the ballgame. We just pinched everybody, and hoped for the best.” 

Coeur d’Alene totaled 248 yards, 109 on the ground. 

“They’re a good football team,” Amos said. “We expected this; we expected a battle.” 

Coeur d’Alene plays host to Lewiston (0-2) next Friday.

Silverton     7    0    7    7    —    21 

Coeur d’Alene     7    0    7    0    —    14 

First quarter  

Sil — Logan Uitto 60 punt return (Caden Druliner kick), 10:15 

Cd’A — Gibson Comstock 58 pass from Caden Symons (Frankie Lopez kick), 8:48 

Third quarter  

Sil — Lincoln Teeney 2 pass from Chase Dominguez (Eli Little kick), 9:34 

Cd’A — Tannar Stern 2 run (Lopez kick), :48.9 

Fourth quarter 

Sil — Sutton Kuenzi 18 pass from Dominguez (Druliner kick), 9:28 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

RUSHING — Sil, Davis 17-55, Dominguez 12-(minus 2), VandeWeghe 1-(minus 2), N. Horner 2-(minus 7), Teeney 2-8, team 1-(minus 8). Cd’A, Stern 17-98, Murray 4-11, Palmgren 1-4, Symons 4-(minus 4), Paulin 1-0. 

PASSING — Sil, Dominguez 19-29-1-202. Cd’A, Symons 9-18-1-135, Stern 2-7-0-4. 

RECEIVING — Sil, Aguero 6-54, Uitto 5-65, Kuenzi 3-55, Teeney 2-4, L. Horner 2-25, Davis 1-(minus 1). Cd’A, Shoup 3-22, Comstock 3-63, Gray 2-18, Hackett 2-28, Lindquist 1-8. 

    MARK NELKE/Press Coeur d'Alene junior Tannar Stern (11) rushes upfield against Silverton (Ore.) on Friday night at Viking Field.