COEUR d'ALENE - The Coeur d'Alene High School gymnasium was pulsating with spirit Friday afternoon in the hours counting down to Fight for the Fish 2014.

At least 100 students from CHS and Lake City High School scurried about as they plastered the walls with posters, decorations, banners and balloons. Glitter and school pride were everywhere.

"I am beyond excited. It's crazy," said LCHS senior class president and timberwolf mascot JoJo Kenefick, 17. "I've been waiting for this for a year."

Kenefick delegated and assisted her fellow students with preparing their side of the gym. Her school has been in possession of the much-sought-after wooden 'spirit fish' since her freshman year.

"If we get it this year, we will have had it all four years," she said. "I feel like we have a really good chance because we have been practicing, we are so spirited, our senior class is just beyond spirited."

LCHS students chose "Jailbreak" as their spirit theme, because they have been accused of "fish-napping" since 2011. Their decor included cops and robbers, giant handcuffs and plenty of signs, one depicting the Monopoly man in a striped inmate suit next to the words "break out of jail free."

"It's our biggest rivalry thing with Lake City," said Chris Anderl of Coeur d'Alene. Anderl, in her 10th year of being the parent liaison for the associated student body and student councils of CHS, said planning for the sold-out event began back in October.

"The student council kids literally have worked this last week all day and night," she said. "They get here at 7 a.m. and then they work after school to get all these signs and things done."

The CHS theme was "Under the Deep Blue Sea." They pulled out all the stops with the decorations, which included handcrafted paper jellyfish hanging from a giant fishing net and oversized remote-control fish balloons.

Anderl's daughter Brooklynn, 17, is the senior CHS ASB vice president. Her Fight for the Fish costume was a handmade mermaid suit. Earlier in the day she led the pep assembly, where she taught the student body special cheers and encouraged good sportsmanship between the rival schools.

"The respect between our two student councils is pretty high. We respect each other," she said. Brooklynn said she feels the experience, not winning, is what matters.

"It brings us all together, as a student body and the student council, especially," she said. "More important than winning a wooden fish ... you're going to have a memory of this forever."

LCHS freshman cheerleader Tevis Lujan, 14, stood amid the frenzy with friend and fellow freshman Kaelyn Lower, 14. They both enjoyed decorating and helping promote their school.

"I think having the schools come together for a 'cheer-off'" is the most exciting part," Tevis said.

Some students wore costumes and most were decked from head to toe in their school colors.

"Today's going great, the kids are so excited," said CHS assistant principal and athletic director Todd Gilkey. "This is almost more excitement than homecoming. Some of the kids you'll see at the game are kids that have never come to another event for high school. But the fish is something they really enjoy."

The Fight for The Fish included two basketball games between the schools' varsity girls and boys teams, with spirit challenges woven throughout the event. It changes location from CHS to LCHS each year. The loudest and most spirited school wins the fish and displays it until the next year, when it may or may not slip from the previous winner's grasp.