The Viking show rolls on

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

COEUR d’ALENE — It’s far from a one-man show this year at Coeur d’Alene High.

In fact, each one of them can put on quite the performance on a given night.

First play from scrimmage, an interception by senior cornerback Ean McClelland.

A few moments later, senior Tannar Stern hits Gibson Comstock on a 16-yard touchdown pass.

It was just that kind of a night for the Coeur d’Alene Vikings in a 58-0 home opening win over Lewis and Clark of Spokane on Friday at Viking Field.

“That’s a sign of a really strong senior group,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said. “This group is focused and they’ve came out to play each game this year. They know that they’ve got to keep working to bigger and better things, but they come out ready to go.”

After Comstock’s first touchdown reception, Coeur d’Alene forced another turnover on a fumble recovery, then scored again on a 31-pass from Stern to Comstock, just 35 seconds after the previous score.

Comstock finished with six catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Stern threw for 259 and ran for another 106 in three quarters for the Vikings (3-0).

“The biggest thing is we don’t have one person that has to do everything,” Amos said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can make plays. And when they get the opportunity, they’re making the plays. We’re spreading the ball around and you can’t really key on any one person. We might have played up to six running backs today.”

Comstock caught a 55-yard pass early in the third quarter to set up a 29-yard touchdown run by Stern.

“Gibson has put together good back-to-back games,” Amos said. “He’s a guy that can stretch it. Our inside receivers can make you pay on the inside as well. It’s a really good combo.”

Stern also had touchdown runs of 4 and 21 yards.

“The biggest thing is he’s growing as a quarterback,” Amos said. “He’s always been a phenomenal athlete, tough as nails. But he’s also learning to play quarterback. When he does that, he can understand that he doesn’t need to do everything. He can get the ball to those other guys and he can knock you out when he runs the ball as well.”

Coeur d’Alene limited Lewis and Clark to 24 yards passing and 5 yards rushing in the game, forcing three turnovers.

“Our defense flies around creating those turnovers,” Amos said. “Dawson Riley is a one-man wrecking crew. Guys like that set the tone with their physicality. But we play a lot of guys on defense too. There’s tougher games down the road and still have some growth we’ve got to make.”

Amos returned to the sideline after missing the previous two games due to a suspension for the Vikings using a JV-only player during the state playoffs last season.

“It was so much fun,” Amos said. “It was so much better than watching it on TV, I can tell you that. I think it’s a sign of our program. It’s not just one person, it’s the program. We didn’t miss a beat and really kept going. It was really good for coach (Vinny) Lupinacci (the associate head coach, who served as interim coach the first two games). He could walk into a lot of places and be a head coach, and a lot of our other guys could too. But the biggest thing I told our kids is we’re a program and it’s next man up.”

Coeur d’Alene hosts Moses Lake next Friday.

It was the season opener for Lewis and Clark, which hosts Central Valley next Friday.

Lewis and Clark    0    0    0    0    —    0

Coeur d’Alene        21    16    14    7    —    58

First quarter

Cd’A — Gibson Comstock 16 pass from Tannar Stern (Frankie Lopez kick), 10:46

Cd’A — Comstock 31 pass from Stern (Lopez kick), 10:11

Cd’A — Stern 29 run (Lopez kick), 6:05

Second quarter

Cd’A — Stern 4 run (Lopez kick), 9:12

Cd’A — FG Lopez, 29, 4:49

Cd’A — Maddox Lindquist 6 pass from Stern (kick blocked), 37.1

Third quarter

Cd’A — Stern 21 run (Lopez kick), 9:27

Cd’A — Logan Melville 14 pass from Stern (Lopez kick), 4:43

Fourth quarter

Cd’A — Jaxson Schillinger 16 pass from Gage Gatten (Lopez kick), 6:10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — L-C, Sandusky 2-0, Kostecka 6-11, Keesecker 2-6, Donnelly 1-(-16), Ketchel 2-3. Cd’A, Strait 2-14, Murray 3-27, Stern 9-106, Mccooey 3-6, Schillinger 3-11, Paulin 1-6, Golis 2-20, Coleman 2-18, Gatten 2-(-8). 

PASSING — L-C, Sandusky 7-15-1-24. Cd’A, Stern, 19-29-0-259, Gatten 4-6-0-61.

RECEIVING — L-C, Branson 2-4, Olson 1-5, Killian 3-21, Dix 1-7. Cd’A, Murray 3-40, Comstock 6-119, Lindquist 3-25, Schillinger 5-30, Sampson 1-14, Whitaker 1-7, Paulin 1-9, Golis 2-25, Melville 1-14.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur d'Alene senior wide receiver Gibson Comstock pulls down a 55-yard pass as Lewis and Clark's Rolando Martin defends during the third quarter of Friday's game at Viking Field.