Capital High (10-1) of Boise averages 47.2 points and 466 yards per game, with a high of 77 points vs. Borah of Boise, and another 70 last week vs. Idaho Falls in the first round of the state 5A football playoffs.

Coeur d'Alene (7-3) averages 42.5 points and 422.5 yards per game, with a high of 60 points against Minico of Rupert.

But one coach who has faced both teams this season thinks the outcome of tonight's state 5A semifinal between the two teams, scheduled for 7 p.m. at Viking Field, might be decided on the other side of the ball.

"Everybody's going to talk about the two offenses," said Post Falls coach Jeff Hinz, whose Trojans lost at Coeur d'Alene 31-14 two weeks ago, and fell to Capital 35-0 at home in the season opener. "But I think it's going to come down to the defenses - who can keep who in front of them."

It will be Coeur d'Alene's fifth straight appearance in the semifinals, and the third time in the last four years the opponent is Capital. The Vikings won the two previous meetings - three years ago at Bronco Stadium in Boise, and two years ago at Coeur d'Alene. A win would put the Vikings in the state title game for the fourth straight year.

"It'll be a tough matchup; everybody's good now," Coeur d'Alene coach Shawn Amos said.

Capital lost last year in the state quarterfinals to Madison of Rexburg, which went on to beat Lake City in the semifinals and Coeur d'Alene in the title game.

With the Eagles starting anew at quarterback, running back and throughout most of the defense, and juniors playing key roles in many places, coach Todd Simis said this year's success, which included a 5A Southern Idaho Conference championship was "probably a little bit of a surprise."

Conner Poulson, a 6-foot, 205-pound junior who played safety last year, took over at quarterback this year for Makena Simis, Todd's son, who is redshirting this year at Montana.

Directing a spread offense similar to Coeur d'Alene's, Poulson has thrown for 2,165 yards and 26 touchdowns, with two interceptions. He's also Capital's leading rusher, with 956 yards and 13 touchdowns.

"He's probably not quite the thrower we've had, but he's good with his feet," Simis said. "He creates with his feet; he's very dangerous as a runner. He's just a gamer; he's had a great year."

At Post Falls, Poulson rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, and completed 10 of 16 passes for 120 yards and a TD. Hinz said since Capital jumped on top early, the Eagles mostly kept to the ground the rest of the way.

"He hurt us with his feet," Hinz said of Poulson. "He's a very solid runner."

Senior Alex Kingmixay has rushed for 856 yards and 11 touchdowns for Capital. Poulson's top two passing targets are junior Tarik Littlejohn (50 receptions, 827 yards, 11 touchdowns) and senior Marcell King Jr. (39 catches, 529 yards, 5 TDs).

Simis, who calls the plays for Capital, said of Coeur d'Alene's defense, "As usual, they just fly around, and play with great effort. With that 3-5 defense, you never know who's going to come from where.

"I don't think we're going to score 70, like we did last week," he added.

Boise-area teams generally don't leave the Boise area unless they have to. Some eyebrows were raised up here when Capital committed to travel to Post Falls for the season opener on zero week. Turns out the Eagles saw the possibility of another road trip north in the playoffs, and wanted his team to experience a long road trip before that.

"We purposely sought out a game where we could hit the road," Simis said.

However, whereas for most of these North vs. Boise-area matchups, the visiting teams travels on the day of the game, Capital broke up this trip into two days. The Eagles planned to travel up to Grangeville on Thursday night, and bus the rest of the way today.

Two years ago, Capital traveled up on game day, one of the buses broke down near Post Falls, and the game started a half-hour late.

"It was a disaster," Simis said.

Weather could be a factor. Snow is expected this weekend, though whether tonight's game will be affected remains to be seen. Four years ago, they had to clear a few inches of snow off Viking Field prior to the Coeur d'Alene-Eagle semifinal.

But if weather is not a factor ...

"That's going to be a great football game. So, come and watch. it's going to be fantastic," said Timberline coach Kirk Copeland, whose Wolves of Boise lost 52-9 to Coeur d'Alene last week, and 49-22 to Capital ..... "They're really similar - they both have some great athletes, some great football players. Yeah, they're both going to score. I would anticipate around 40 a piece. ... you can't come in thinking you're going to score 28 and win that game. You need to think upper 30s, lower 40s."