Coeur d'Alene slows down Moses Lake

Coeur d'Alene 22, Moses Lake 13

COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho — Moses Lake took a 7-6 lead into the half on the road Friday night, but the Chiefs were unable to stop the Vikings late and Coeur d’Alene held on for a 22-13 non-conference victory.

Although Moses Lake lost their first contest of the season, head coach Todd Griffith said he was impressed with how his team played.

“I though they played hard from beginning to end and they never quit,” he said. “As a coach, you couldn’t ask for any more.”

Moses Lake took a 7-0 lead when running back Brandon Lublin took a handoff from senior quarterback Dylan Signorelli and scampered 36 yards for the game’s first touchdown just 2 minutes in.

The Chiefs defense took over stood its ground for the majority of the contest, keeping Coeur d’Alene off the scoreboard for the first 22 minutes.

The Vikings wouldn’t find their way onto the scoreboard until  there was 2:04 left to play in the half when Coeur d’Alene quarterback Ryan Dunton threw a quick pass to wide receiver Connor Williams in the flat.

Williams took Dunton’s pass 23 yards to the end zone and the Vikings looked to pull even with Moses Lake before halftime.

Coeur d’Alene lined up for the extra-point attempt, but Moses Lake senior defensive back Randy Koon blocked the point-after attempt to preserve Moses Lake’s 7-6 lead.

The teams came out of the half fired up as both defenses refused to budge for the majority of the third before the Chiefs added to their advantage when Signorelli found wide receiver Jordan Wilks for a four-yard touchdown pass. Moses Lake took a 13-6 lead with 3:41 left in the third quarter after the Vikings blocked Signorelli’s extra-point attempt.

Griffith said he is impressed with how his first-year senior quarterback has performed this season.

“Our quarterback has thrown some difficult balls and he has done a pretty good job,” Griffith said. “He is the league leader in completion percentage this season.”

Although the Chiefs took an impressive 13-6 lead into the fourth, the Vikings would pull even early in the quarter.

Coeur d’Alene would force Moses Lake to punt deep in their own territory, but Signorelli was unable to field a low snap.

The Vikings got to Signorelli on Moses Lake’s four-yard line and four plays later Dunton found Brett Burnside for a one-yard touchdown pass and Coeur d’Alene would pull even with the visiting Chiefs.

After Coeur d’Alene pulled even in the fourth, Moses Lake would put together a drive in an attempt to recapture the lead.

Signorelli led Moses Lake down the field to their own 40 yard line.

With 4:38 left in the contest, Signorelli dropped back to pass.

Signorelli surveyed the field and tried to find an open receiver, but Coeur d’Alene linebacker Drew Turbin stepped in front of the throw and raced 60 yards down the sideline for the go-ahead touchdown. The score gave the Vikings their first lead of the game at 20-13.

On their next possession, Moses Lake drove down to the Coeur d’Alene 22 yard line, but Coeur d’Alene forced another Chiefs turnover to end a possibly game-tying drive.

Moses Lake forced a Coeur d’Alene punt into the end zone and the Chiefs would start their next drive on their own 20 yard line.

Moses Lake’s final drive of the contest ultimately moved in reverse as Signorelli was sacked twice, the second time in the end zone with 1:06 left in the contest. The sack gave the Vikings safety and Coeur d’Alene took a 22-13 lead, knocking off Moses Lake at home.

Despite the loss, Moses Lake allowed just 17 yards rushing and Griffith said he is impressed with his defense at this stage in the season.

“We have allowed 75 yards rushing in two games. That is a really good start for us,” he said. “We have eliminated the big plays and stopped the run. We are playing good defense.”

The Chiefs fell to 1-1 overall with the loss and will travel to Columbia Basin Big Nine Conference and Columbia Division rival Southridge Friday night. Moses Lake and Southridge will kick off at Lampson Stadium in Kennewick, Wash., at 7:30 p.m.

Southridge is a talented football team, but Griffith is confident in his Chiefs.

“Southridge is tough. They are a good football team,” he said. “I will put my team up against everybody. Nobody plays harder than we do and I feel we are going to be very competitive.”