For the past two years, North Idaho high school football has opened in Missoula with state powerhouses Coeur d'Alene and Rigby splitting two games at a neutral site in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
However, due to a concert being held at the stadium this weekend, this year's matchup will be played at Viking Field, marking the sixth meeting between the two teams since 2018.
While most coaches pack their schedules for the first few weeks of the season, CdA coach Sean Amos isn't shying away from early-season challenges for his team.
Junior quarterback Kayden Simmons threw for 255 yards, the defense had three interceptions and the Vikings, ranked No. 1 in the new Class 6A Idaho preseason media poll, beat No. 3 Rigby 24-14 in a cool, drizzly weather Friday.
Rigby has won three of the last five state championships, including a double-overtime game against Coeur d'Alene at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow in 2019. But the Vikings' season-opening win leaves the overall series tied at 3-3.
“It's going to be fun playing against Rigby,” Amos said, “I know we're always going to be tested. It's going to be a great match. We're going to learn a lot about the kids.”
“I like to play the best teams first,” Simmons said. “Playing weak teams doesn't make you better. You have to keep competing to get better.”
Simmons completed 18 of 29 passes and had seven receivers complete, most notably wide receiver Kai Wheeler, who had four catches for 80 yards. Six Vikings players combined for 112 yards on 25 carries and three rushing touchdowns in November-like weather.
“It was fun,” Simmons said, “It was our first game, so it was nerve-wracking, we had a lot of new guys, a lot of junior volleyball players out there, it was really a team effort.”
“I think we did a lot of good things,” Amos said. “We fouled up a lot. We have to improve on that. If we want to be successful in the future, we have to improve on the hurt that we caused. But Rigby is a great program. Our kids never panicked. They just kept going. For better or worse, they just kept going.”
Amos was especially impressed with the experienced secondary, as Rigby quarterback Jake Flowers completed 24 of 30 passes for just 159 yards (48 of which came on one pass) and only three interceptions (two by Jason Cady and one by Wheeler).
“Jason Cady has the talent to drop under that pattern,” Amos said, “So our back halves are experienced, they're really good football players. We've got some young guys on the offensive line, defensive line that are developing, so I think they've made progress as well.”
The Vikings kicked off at their own 13 after the penalty and drove 14 plays to Rigby's 17. They went for a field goal, but the ball was wet and flew off the snap, allowing holder Colby Coey to pick it up and race 17 yards around the left end for the lead.
“Thankfully, we have a really good athlete as a holder,” Amos said. “He made something happen.”
On the next drive, Flowers punted in Rigby territory and went just 11 yards, but three plays later Tucker Booth ran in a 13-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0.
Rigby capped a long drive with Flower's 25-yard pass to Brysyn Youngstrom to make it 14-7 with 14 seconds left in the half, then drove to the CdA 3. Flower then completed a short pass to Jersey Duenes, but it was stopped just short of the line and time expired before the Trojans could get going on their next play.
A Wheeler interception on the third play of the second half led to a 17-yard touchdown run by Christian Young, and Rigby answered with Amani Morrell's 10-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter.
But Cady, who was doing dual duty as the Vikings' kicker, made a 23-yard field goal with 4:50 left that gave the Vikings the assurance they needed.
“It feels like playoff weather,” Amos said, “but it'll be nice to play at home.”
others
Sandpoint 36, Twin Falls 26: The Bulldogs jumped out to a 22-0 lead and were within three points with eight minutes left, but hung in there to beat the Bruins.
Moscow 43, Kellogg 0: The Bears, who applied to play in Class 4A for the next two years after going 1-15 the past two seasons, took on the 3A Wildcats.
Lakeside 54, Coeur du Crist 32: In the first game between Lakeside coach Jerry “Louie” McGee (a former Lake City and Montana star) and Coeur du Crist coach Kellen Clemens (a former Oregon star), the Knights beat the visiting Saints.
