Post Falls is being mentioned as a possible favorite in a tightly packed 5A Inland Empire League, but that doesn’t mean the Trojans don’t have their concerns as they head into their season opener tonight at Caldwell.

“Even though we have some returners in spots on defense, we have to see who’s going to step up and win some positions,” Post Falls coach Jeff Hinz said. “We still have openings on the defensive line, and at linebacker. Our defense is pretty young.”

Caldwell (0-1) is coached by Tim Brennan, the former Bishop Kelly coach who guided the Knights to three state titles in 15 seasons before leaving for Pittsburgh, where he coached high school football the past three seasons. But his Caldwell debut was a rough one last week — a 41-0 loss to Nampa. Hinz last coached against Brennan in 2004 when Hinz was offensive coordinator at Post Falls, which lost at Bishop Kelly in the first round of the state 4A playoffs.

The game will be webcast on www.idahosports.com.

Moses Lake (0-0) at Coeur d’Alene (1-0): The Vikings opened last week by scoring the first 42 points in a 42-19 triumph at Moscow. The teams are meeting for the third straight year. Coeur d’Alene won 22-13 at home last year, and won 23-13 at Moses Lake in 2008.

Mountain View (0-0) at Lake City (1-0): Lake City opened with a 41-7 win at Lakeland last week. Mountain View went 7-3 last year and lost to Capital in the state 5A quarterfinals. Judd Benedick has taken the Mavericks to the playoffs in each of his three seasons as coach.

Mountain View senior Michael Ho-Lewis rushed for 1,215 yards, caught 28 passes for 285 yards and finished with 15 touchdowns last fall, when he ws named to the 5A All-Idaho first team.

Colville (0-0) at Lakeland (0-1): Colville beat the Hawks 34-0 last year in Colville. This is the first week of play for Washington high school football teams. Most Idaho teams started last week.

Riverside (0-0) at Timberlake (0-1): The teams last met in 2007, with Riverside winning 26-18 in Chattaroy, Wash. Timberlake lost 26-22 at Libby (Mont) last Saturday in its opener.

Medical Lake (0-0) at St. Maries (0-1): St. Maries lost 12-7 at Grangeville in its opener.

Mullan (0-1) at Lakeside (0-0): Aside from Post Falls, Lakeside was the only other area team not to open last week. Mullan lost 48-0 at Kootenai in its opener, called at halftime on the 45-point rule.