Vikings finally get started in league
MARK NELKE | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 13 years, 3 months AGO
Mark Nelke covers high school and North Idaho College sports, University of Idaho football and other local/regional sports as a writer, photographer, paginator and editor at the Coeur d’Alene Press. He has been at The Press since 1998 and sports editor since 2002. Before that, Mark was the one-man sports staff for 16 years at the Bonner County Daily Bee in Sandpoint. Earlier, he was sports editor for student newspapers at Spokane Falls Community College and Eastern Washington University. Mark enjoys the NCAA men's basketball tournament and wiener dogs — and not necessarily in that order. | October 14, 2011 9:00 PM
The high-flying Coeur d'Alene Vikings are ranked No. 1 in 5A in the state, but are not atop their own 5A Inland Empire League.
But that's because Coeur d'Alene has yet to play a league game - which is something the Vikings will rectify tonight, when they play host to Lewiston at 7 p.m. in their homecoming game.
Coeur d'Alene is 6-0, and is winning by an average of 41.5 points per game. Lewiston is 4-3 overall, losing twice to Lake City and once to Post Falls.
"We're 0-0 in league now," Coeur d'Alene coach Shawn Amos said. "Now it's important and our record doesn't matter. We need to start winning some ballgames. We're excited to get a league game finally."
In its 31-28 loss at Lake City last week, Lewiston did most of its damage through the air, with junior Cole Zacha passing for 269 yards and three touchdowns.
Other games:
Lakeland (4-3) at Sandpoint (1-5): It’s the 4A IEL opener for both teams, but will probably go a long way toward determining the league’s lone representative in the state playoffs.
Lakeland last made it to the state playoffs in 2007, sparked by a 28-26 victory at Sandpoint.
The teams have played three common opponents this season. Lakeland beat East Valley 31-17, and Sandpoint lost to East Valley 37-13. Both lost to West Valley and Post Falls.
Lake City (3-3) at Wenatchee (4-2): The Panthers, 2-2 in the 4A Big Nine, are coming off a 24-0 loss to Richland in which they committed six turnovers — four in the second half. Last year, Lake City rushed for more than 300 yards in a 46-18 victory over Wenatchee at home.
Three weeks ago, Wenatchee beat Moses Lake 51-26. Moses Lake lost to Coeur d’Alene 32-14 last month at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.
Riverside (3-3) at St. Maries (1-6): Both teams have played Medical Lake and Freeman, with Riverside beating Medical Lake, and St. Maries losing to both. Riverside lost 17-6 to Intermountain League-leading Timberlake in its season opener.
Moscow (3-3) at Timberlake (4-2): Moscow has already played two IML teams, beating Priest River 42-0 and losing at Bonners Ferry 14-7. Timberlake is coming off IML wins over Priest River (63-6) and St. Maries (72-12).
Post Falls (6-1, 1-0 5A Inland Empire League) is idle this week, and travels to Coeur d’Alene next Friday in a key 5A IEL game.
Lakeside is idle this week, after Mullan forfeited today’s game a few weeks back because of a shortage of players. Lakeside (6-1, 5-1 North Star League) plays host to Wallace next Friday in a key 1A Division I league game.
Kootenai (2-5, 2-4) also has a bye, and plays host to Mullan next Friday.
Also, Clark Fork has forfeited today’s North Star League game at Wallace due to a shortage of players.
5A INLAND EMPIRE LEAGUE
League Overall
W L W L
Post Falls 1 0 6 1
Lake City 1 1 3 3
Coeur d’Alene 0 0 6 0
Lewiston 0 1 4 3
Friday’s Games
Lewiston at Coeur d’Alene
Lake City at Wenatchee (Wash.)
Post Falls is idle
4A INLAND EMPIRE LEAGUE
League Overall
W L W L
Lakeland 0 0 4 3
Moscow 0 0 3 3
Sandpoint 0 0 1 5
Friday’s Games
Lakeland at Sandpoint
Moscow at Timberlake
INTERMOUNTAIN LEAGUE
League Overall
W L W L
Timberlake 2 0 4 2
Kellogg 2 0 2 4
Bonners Ferry 1 1 2 5
Priest River 0 1 0 6
St. Maries 0 3 1 6
Friday’s Games
Riverside at St. Maries
Moscow at Timberlake
Priest River at Kellogg
Bonners Ferry is idle
NORTH STAR LEAGUE
League Overall
W L W L
Wallace 5 0 5 1
Lakeside 5 1 6 1
Kootenai 2 4 2 5
Mullan 1 4 1 4
Clark Fork 1 5 1 5
Friday’s Games
Clark Fork at Wallace, ccd.
Kootenai, Lakeside, Mullan are idle
Prep football
Tonight's Games
All at 7 p.m.
Lewiston at Coeur d'Alene
Lake City at Wenatchee
Lakeland at Sandpoint
Riverside at St. Maries
Moscow at Timberlake
ARTICLES BY MARK NELKE
PREP FOOTBALL: Post Falls runs past Sandpoint
Sandpoint (2-1) hosts Davis High of Yakima on Friday.
Big Sky Football Kickoff: Plenty of new faces will need to step up for Vandals
“I’ve been very impressed by Zach’s natural ability to rush the passer,” Eck said. “And he’s worked hard on his body, he’s up to about 222 pounds now, and I really think he can be a difference maker for us. He’s still doing some things with the linebackers, but I think his speed can give some offensive linemen problems (as an edge rusher).”
THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Journey to a title in Bonners — with a brief stop in Cd’A
“The whole process has been completely amazing,” said Nathan Williams, now in his fourth season as the Badgers boys basketball coach. “And the parents … it’s an hour and a half to Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, when we’d play an AAU game, and an hour and a half back, and there were so many times there was 6, 8 inches of snow. And we’ve got a game at 8 a.m. They’d always schedule us at 8 a.m., coming from Bonners. So we’re waking up at 5 … it was crazy. But the commitment from the parents and the kids has been amazing.”