5A IEL FOOTBALL TIEBREAKER: One for the road .... Lewiston wins Kansas tiebreaker over Lakeland, earns home-field advantage when teams meet again in first round of playoffs

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

COEUR d’ALENE — Lakeland had its chance to stay home for the first round of the state 5A football playoffs.

While the Hawks (8-1) won’t have to travel as far, the road through the state playoffs — at least for now — will start with the short-ish trip down U.S. 95 against 5A Inland Empire League tri-champion Lewiston on Friday.

Lewiston defeated Lakeland and Sandpoint in a Kansas tiebreaker on Monday night at Coeur d'Alene High's Viking field, to earn the league's automatic berth to the 16-team state playoffs. Lakeland and Sandpoint also earned at-large playoff berths, based on MaxPreps rankings.

All three were guaranteed playoff berths coming into Monday; at stake was a home game in the first round.

In the deciding "game" of the tiebreaker, Lakeland junior Griffin Tamagni scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead. Lewiston countered with a 10-yard scoring run by quarterback Mason Way. After a personal foul moved the PAT from the 3-yard line to the 1-yard line, Lewiston went for two, and Way converted on a run — barely — to give the Bengals (3-6) the win.

“We put ourselves in a spot where we had to fight back to create the opportunity to win the whole thing,” Lakeland coach Mike Schroeder said. “And we did. It came down to a yard. It didn’t look like he got in, but the refs called it like they saw it. I’m proud of our kids and how they fought back in this playoff system.”

Instead of playing for a tie and a second series, first-year Lewiston coach Zane Hobart opted to go for the win against Lakeland.

“When the penalty happened, and even if it didn’t, we had it in the back of our minds to end that thing,” Hobart said. “We’d played well offensively all night and were getting a good push, so it was in the back of our minds.”

Lakeland, ranked fifth by MaxPreps, dropped to the ninth seed, and will visit eighth-seeded Lewiston, ranked 14th by MaxPreps, in a first-round game at 7 p.m at the PIFCU Sports Complex in Lewiston on Friday. Sandpoint (6-2), ranked seventh, is the 11th seed, will travel to sixth-seeded Minico (6-3) of Rupert for its opener.

The eight automatic qualifiers statewide are seeded 1-8; the at-large teams are seeded 9-16.

In the first game of the night, Sandpoint kicked a field goal for a 6-3 lead. On Lewiston's possession, Way connected with Earl on a 17-yard pass on fourth down and 12. Way scored from 9 yards out on the next play to lift the Bengals over Sandpoint.

“That first drive against Sandpoint wasn’t going the way we wanted it to,” Hobart said. “That was a huge ball to deliver that and keep us alive.”

Lewiston defeated Lakeland in the second game of the night after Austin Topp scored on a 10-yard touchdown run, and the Bengal defense stopped the Hawks on fourth and goal.

Lakeland then eliminated Sandpoint after Tamagni scored on a 1-yard run to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead. Sandpoint fumbled the ball on the 15-yard line and Lakeland recovered to end the loser-out game.

Lakeland forced a deciding game on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Hillman to Jace Taylor for a 6-3 win after Lewiston went first on offense, getting a 36-yard field goal by Michael Earl.

“Overall, unfortunately, I don’t like the whole thing,” Schroeder said of the tiebreaker. “I’d probably feel a lot better if we’d won the thing. But I’m not privy to playing a game on Monday and preparing for a game on Friday. We had a good year, and we’re still 8-1. We lost a few bucks in the process because now we’ve got a road game in Lewiston.”

Lakeland defeated Lewiston 42-17 in the regular season finale for both on Friday, leaving all three teams in the 5A IEL tied at 1-1 after Lewiston beat Sandpoint on Oct. 10 in Lewiston. Sandpoint defeated Lakeland 31-27 at Barlow Stadium on Oct. 17.

“Unfortunately, that game didn’t end the way we wanted it to,” said Hobart of Friday’s game. “With it being 23-17 with four minutes to go, it got out of hand quickly. Lakeland’s a good football team. They play physically. 

"And we’ll probably see them again,” Hobart said, before the brackets were updated to show the Bengals and Hawks would indeed meet again.

Lakeland reached the state semifinals last year, losing at eventual champion Hillcrest of Ammon.

“At least it’s not an eight-hour bus ride and instead it’s just two,” Schroeder said. “I think for right now, I don’t know how much we can put in in a few days. They know what we’re doing and we know what they’re going to do. We’re going to have to out-execute them to win the game.”

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Lakeland senior wide receiver Jace Taylor celebrates after catching a 19-yard touchdown pass to clinch a win for the Hawks over Lewiston in an elimination game in the 5A Inland Empire League Kansas tiebreaker at Viking Field in Coeur d'Alene on Monday.
  

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Lakeland senior quarterback Peyton Hillman throws a pass during a loser-out game against Sandpoint in the 5A Inland Empire League Kansas tiebreaker at Viking Field in Coeur d'Alene on Monday.