Today's Games

All 7 p.m. except where noted

Coeur d'Alene at Lewiston

Post Falls at Lake City

Sandpoint at Lakeland

Timberlake at Priest River

St. Maries at Grangeville

Kendrick at Kootenai

Lakeside at Mullan, 3 p.m.

League play begins tonight in the 5A Inland Empire League, 4A IEL and Intermountain League, and playoff positioning will begin to take focus.

Post Falls (3-3, 0-0 5A IEL) at Lake City (5-1, 0-0): The Lake City machine was rolling along until two weeks ago, when the Timberwolves stumbled at Tumwater (Wash.).

Last week, Lake City rebounded with a 54-25 victory over Sandpoint, getting back on track as league play begins.

"I think their minds are focused," Troxel said, "and I think they understand that we've got to practice hard every day and play hard every week."

Post Falls, meanwhile, has had somewhat of a roller coaster season to date - one win, followed by two losses, followed by two wins, then a loss last week to Moses Lake. The Trojans have bigger concerns than how to defend Lake City's inside/outside combo of Connor Newby and Jerry Louie-McGee.

"Our nemesis has been ourselves," Post Falls coach Jeff Hinz said. "In our three losses, we've had 13 turnovers and we didn't tackle very well. We have to worry about ourselves."

Coeur d'Alene (5-1, 0-0 5A IEL) at Lewiston (1-5, 0-0): The Vikings haven't had much trouble with the Bengals in recent years, winning the last six meetings by an average of 32.8 points. However two years ago, when Coeur d'Alene last visited Lewiston, the Vikings won by just 26-16.

Coeur d'Alene is coming off a 31-27 victory over Hermiston (Ore.), which beat visiting Lewiston 52-26 the week before.

"We watched them play Hermiston very tough in the first half," Coeur d'Alene coach Shawn Amos said. "Then they (Hermiston) pulled away in the second half. It's a league game, and very important that we play and perform at a high level."

Lewiston's lone win came 41-7 over North Central at Albi Stadium in Spokane. The Bengals, who have lost four straight, were swept by the 4A IEL schools, losing to Lakeland (24-10), Sandpoint (35-19) and Moscow (25-21).

With the 5A playoffs expanded to 12 teams, as many as three 5A IEL teams could make the playoffs. The league champ earns a first-round bye, the runnerup travels for its first playoff game, and the third-place team is in the mix for a wild-card berth.

Sandpoint (3-3, 0-0 4A Inland Empire League) at Lakeland (4-2, 0-0): Lakeland has had the upper hand against the Bulldogs in recent years, winning the last three meetings. Sandpoint has its best team since last it made the playoffs in 2010. Since then, Lakeland has won league two of the last three seasons.

This year, the teams have three similar opponents. Lakeland beat Lewiston 24-10, Sandpoint won 35-19; Lakeland lost to Post Falls 41-21, Sandpoint lost 42-39; Lakeland beat East Valley 41-10, Sandpoint won 57-15. The Bulldogs have also played University, Mt. Spokane and Lake City in nonleague games, beating Mt. Spokane; Lakeland's other nonleaguers were against West Valley, Cheney and Timberlake. The Hawks went 2-1 in those, losing to Cheney.

"Their quarterback (Tyrel Derrick) is the key to their offense. Everything revolves around him," Sandpoint coach Satini Puailoa said of Lakeland. "He's their best running back, their best athlete, their playmaker. They feel like it might be the best senior class they've ever had. They have 10-12 guys that are just solid football players."

Where in the past only the 4A IEL champ advanced to the postseason, this year two and possibly three teams could. The league champ earns a bye to the quarterfinals, the runner-up plays host to a play-in game in the first round; and the third-place team could contend for an at-large berth.

Timberlake (4-1) at Priest River (2-3): It's the Intermountain League opener for both teams, and Timberlake has dominated the IML in recent years. The Tigers have won 22 straight league games, their last loss coming to Orofino in the 2008 season. Timberlake started 4-0 before suffering a 71-21 loss to Lakeland last week. Priest River lost 43-12 to St. Maries last week.

The top two teams from the four-team IML make it to the expanded 16-team state 3A playoffs this year. Both will host play-in games in the first round.

St. Maries (5-1, 0-0 Central Idaho League) at Grangeville (4-2, 0-1): Grangeville, which won the CIL each of the last two seasons since St. Maries joined the league, was upended 34-31 by Orofino last week. After a bye next week, St. Maries plays host to Orofino.

All three CIL teams again will make it to the play-in round to the state 2A playoffs

Kendrick (3-2, 3-0 White Star League) at Kootenai (0-5, 0-4): Kendrick has won its three league games by a combined 168-42, including wins of 52-12 over Lakeside and 60-6 over Lewis County. Kootenai lost 32-8 to Lakeside and fell 48-8 to Lewis County last week.

Lakeside (2-4, 2-2 WSL) at Mullan (1-4, 0-4): Lakeside is coming off a 34-12 loss to Timberline of Weippe in White Star League play. Mullan is coming off its first victory of the season last week, 56-20 at St. Regis (Mont.).