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Coeur d'Alene High School
School Info
Conference: 5A Inland Empire League
Classification: 5A
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Head Coach: Shawn Amos
Years as Head Coach: 21st Season
Record Last Year: 6-4
State Titles: 1982, 1985, 2010, 2011, 2013
Assistant Coaches:
Ron Nelson (OC)
Jeff Vesser (DC)
Dustin Shafer
Derek Edwards
Tony Carrico
Brian Holgate
Corey Brown
Vinny Lupinacci
Justin Torfin
Returning Players:
Colson Yankoff (Sr), QB
Cole Ramsayer (Sr), WR/DE
Caleb Beggerly (Sr), RB/LB
Kyler Predergast (Sr), WR/DB
Sam Matheson (Sr), WR/DB
Noah Gunn (Sr), OL
OL Gabe Zanetti (Sr)
Returning Players with Honors:
Yankoff (Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year; 5A Player of the Year) Ramseyer/Beggerly/Prendergast/Matheson (All Inland Empire League)
Key Players lost from last year:
Joey Naccarato
Michael McIntire
Isaiah Skinner
Alex Marshall
Gaige Howard
Jackson Sumner
Brody Lundblad
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Photo By: Jason Duchow - #3 Colson Yankoff
Incoming impact players:
Kale Edwards (QB/DB, Jr)
Shilo Morgan (RB/LB, Jr)
Nate Burch (WR/DE, Jr)
Ryan Linehan (WR/DE, Jr)
Jared Harper (WR/DB, Jr)
Jordan Johns (OL/DL, Jr)
Caden Friis (OL/DL, Jr)
Ben Schraeder (OL/DL, Jr)
Tanner Peterson (OL/DL, Jr)
Kaden Hagel (WR/DB, Sr)
Garrett Hagel (RB/LB, Jr)
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Team Preview:
Written by: Will Hoenike
Most high school football fans around the northwest know that all-everything quarterback Colson Yankoff will back for his senior year at Coeur d’Alene High. The University of Washington commit is back for an encore after throwing for over 3,000 yards and rushing for nearly 1,000 more as a junior, all while combining for 54 touchdowns (27 rushing, 27 passing) for the Vikings.
What a lot of those fans may not realize about Yankoff is two things – (1) Yankoff is coming off an injury, suffered in the spring, and (2) he has several of his key weapons back and a defense that returns three first-team All-Inland Empire League performers. Six total starters back on offense, five more on defense and a big group of incoming juniors looking to leave its mark on what has become one of the marquee programs in the state of Idaho.
One of the big questions for the Vikings is how quickly the team can retool its offensive line. All-conference standouts Michael McIntire and Isaiah Skinner are gone, as is Devin Payton. However, the team does return big senior starters Gabe Zanetti and Noah Gunn. Gunn already has scholarship offers to play Division 1 football at both the University of Idaho and the Air Force Academy. Zanetti never missed a snap his entire junior year.
Juniors Cade Friis, Ben Schraeder, Tanner Peterson and Jordan Johns are among those who will battle for playing time in front of Yankoff. Head coach Shawn Amos, entering his 21st season at Coeur d’Alene, pointed to the line as a key to the 2017 season.
“The returning OL (offensive line) must gel with the new additions to create consistency,” Amos noted.
If it does, look out. The Vikings return All-IEL tight end Cole Ramseyer, who is coming off of a 45-catch junior season that has also earned him Division-1 football scholarship offers. He’s one of a fleet of receivers who could see the ball from Yankoff this season, including Kyle Prendergast, Sam Matheson and Kaden Hagel, all seniors. Prendergrast led the team with seven touchdown receptions last season and was third on the team with 33 total receptions.
The team lost its top running back, Joe Veng, who ran for 648 yards but does return senior Caleb Beggerly, who averaged nearly 6.5 yards per carry on 70 attempts as a junior. Shilo Morgan and Garrett Hagel could also be in the mix to take some of the rushing pressure off of Yankoff, who finished last season with 968 yards from his quarterback position.
On defense, Amos and his staff feel good about the secondary and outside linebackers, but will be looking for quick acceleration along the learning curve from young inside linebackers and defensive linemen. Prendergast and Matheson are both returning All-IEL defensive backs. Matheson and Beggerly, from a linebacker position, finished second and third, respectively, on the team in tackles as juniors.
As usual, the Vikings will spend a great deal of time outside of Idaho early in the season. Coeur d’Alene plays road games in Folsom (CA), Camas (WA) and just across the state line at Central Valley (WA) during the non-conference schedule while also welcoming in Moses Lake (WA), Capital Christian (CA) and Mead (WA) before ever playing an Idaho opponent. The first team with a 208 area code to appear on Coeur d’Alene’s schedule is defending IEL champ Lewiston, who comes to Coeur d’Alene on October 6. A big key working in the Vikings’ favor this fall – two of its three IEL conference games will be on its home field. Lewiston visits Coeur d’Alene as does Post Falls on October 20, which means its lone IEL “road” game is against in-city rival Lake City on October 13.
With one of the top players to come out of Idaho in recent memory at quarterback and some key skill players back, the Vikings shouldn’t struggle to put up points. The continued growth and improvement of the team’s new offensive and defensive linemen may ultimately tell the tale of just how far Coeur d’Alene goes in 2017.
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