Prep football

Tonight's Games

All 7 p.m.

Coeur d'Alene at West Linn (Ore.)

Lake City at Rocky Mountain

Capital at Post Falls

Kellogg at St. Maries

Wallace at Kootenai

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

Coeur d'Alene and Lake City hit the road to open their high school football seasons, while Post Falls lets Capital do the traveling.

Five of the eight local teams - including the three 5A schools - are in action tonight.

Coeur d'Alene travels to West Linn (Ore.), Lake City visits Rocky Mountain of Meridian, and Post Falls is home vs. Capital of Boise.

Lakeland, Timberlake and Lakeside open next Friday. Lakeland is home against Lewiston, Timberlake travels to Riverside of Chattaroy, Wash., and Lakeside plays host to Kootenai.

Coeur d'Alene at West Linn (Ore.): These teams met last year in Coeur d'Alene, with the Vikings rolling to a 58-20 victory. West Linn went on to finish 4-7, including a first-round loss in the Oregon class 6A playoffs.

Coeur d'Alene is coming off a 9-3 season which included the Vikings' third straight trip to the state 5A title game.

It's the first of three long road trips for Coeur d'Alene in the first four weeks of the season.

Lake City at Rocky Mountain: For the second straight year, the Timberwolves open with a road trip to the Boise area. Last year, Lake City lost at Eagle 35-28 in the season opener, then won at Eagle 24-10 in the first round of the state playoffs.

Rocky Mountain finished 6-4 last year, losing 45-0 at Coeur d'Alene in the first round of the state playoffs. The Grizzlies have a new coach in Scott Criner.

Lake City was 6-4-1 last year.

Capital at Post Falls: Capital, one of the top teams in the Boise area in recent years, went 7-3 last year, capped by a loss to eventual champion Madison of Rexburg in the first round of the state 5A playoffs.

Post Falls was 2-7 last year.

Kellogg at St. Maries: St. Maries, a 2A school, romped at 3A Kellogg 54-7 last year. St. Maries is coming off its best season (4-5) since 1999; Kellogg went 1-8 last year.

Wallace at Kootenai: The two best teams in the North Star League in recent years meet in Harrison Flats. Wallace won both meetings last year, 52-6 and 66-16. Wallace has made the 1A Division I playoffs nine straight years, and Kootenai has made the 1A Division II playoffs seven straight years.