CdA diamond stars behaved like true gems

A wonderful character trait surfaced as the Coeur d'Alene High baseball team celebrated its first state championship Saturday night.

The Vikings - from players to coaches - were unselfish. They wanted to share the mother lode with one and all after staving off friendly rival Lewiston 11-9 in the State A-1 Division I final.

They surely expressed their elation with finally capturing the state title, a quest that began back in the Ted Page era.

I will always contend that Page, who retired from teaching a few years ago, was one of the nicest humans and coaches to NEVER win a state championship.

He had the bad luck of coaching the majority of his years during legendary Lewiston coach Dwight Church's highly successful career. Which makes CdA's title all the more special because the final victory came against the program that has stood the test of time.

So there the Vikings were Saturday - the sun setting and casting an angelic glow beyond the third base line - and none of the players or coaches I talked to took the opportunity to rub it in to their rivals.

They certainly celebrated. But to their credit they did it as if they'd been there before. They were classy. It was impressive to watch.

"That's a helluva team," CdA coach Brian Holgate said of Lewiston, which, like the Viks, finished with a 25-3 record. "We just got the better end of it (Saturday)."

To a player and coach, the Viks took their hats off to Lewiston. The Bengals' last state title came in 1995 when then-second-year coach Tom Grunenfelder's Bengals topped CdA, which was playing in its first state title game.

"It's great to go out against such a quality team as them," Viks senior third baseman Kyle Ahlf said. "They're the best team in the state besides us. We'll battle with them all summer (American Legion) and we'll battle with them forever."

CdA senior shortstop Matt Brown had nothing but respect for the Bengals.

"They're the toughest team we play all year," Brown said. "Fortunately we came out on top this time.

"I like the guys on that team. They're really cool guys. We respect them. Winning the state championship in itself is awesome. It's no more special because we beat Lewiston."

CdA senior left-handed pitcher Blake Whiteman needed all of an 8- 0 lead before giving way to senior lefty Nick Zeppi in the sixth inning.

"I think it was too much adrenaline and fatigue," Whiteman said. "These guys (the Bengals) came back. They're a never-say-die team. I knew we had to stay on top and keep fighting because they weren't going to quit."

The Viks don't plan on hogging the pleasure they're drawing from winning the title.

"This is for everybody who's been in our program," Whiteman said. "I saw generations (of Viks) in the stands (Saturday). It makes their hearts tickle just as much as ours.

This is for everybody."

Ahlf clutched the trophy as if it was a piece of expensive crystal. He, too, couldn't help but wax sentimental.

"This is for all the guys that came so close but couldn't finish it," Ahlf said. "We came through for them."

Whiteman had difficulty trying to put into words how he felt. Then he found an explanation that most people can understand even if they've never been a part of a championship.

"It's better than you'd imagine," Whiteman said. "It's the greatest feeling you can get."

Zeppi agreed.

"It's an unbelievable feeling," he said. "I've never had this feeling before in my life."

Ted Page would have been proud Saturday. And, in an odd way, I think the late Dwight Church would have been proud, too. Church's teams forced the rest of the state to work harder to try to catch up.

It may have taken longer than the Vikings desired, but they caught up Saturday.

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
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