Coeur d’Alene High senior Elliott Sparks isn’t the guy scoring all the touchdowns on the football field.

He doesn’t score a ton of points on the basketball court.

Or hit a lot of three-run home runs on the baseball field.

Not even close.

But it is almost guaranteed that he’ll be right in the middle of that result.

“I love it,” Sparks said. “I enjoy setting the next guy up. I get as much joy out of them having success or the guy next to me doing well. I like getting them a chance to succeed. That’s the way I’ve been raised and the way I’ve been coached in recent years.”

“He’s a guy that’s in the background,” Coeur d’Alene High baseball coach Nick Rook said. “In football, as an offensive tackle and guard, if a guy runs for six, he’s usually the guy leading the charge. He’s not the one that’s getting the headlines, but that’s fine with him.”

At first, football wasn’t his sport.

“To be honest, it took Elliott some time to find and accept his role in our football program,” Coeur d’Alene football coach Shawn Amos said. “His senior year, I think he put his faith in us and decided this was his last year and he was going to do it the right way.”

Sparks was a part of the Vikings’ 2013 state 5A championship team that beat Highland of Pocatello 31-28 at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow for the school’s third title in four years.

“That had to be my favorite football moment,” said Sparks, who started as a 6-foot-3, 215-pound offensive and defensive lineman his senior year. “A close second was our game with them this year (won by Highland 13-10 in Coeur d’Alene on Sept. 26). Even though we lost, it was one of the best games I’ve ever been a part of.”

“He ended up being a very valuable part of our team,” Amos said. “Elliott is a great kid and has a great mind for athletics. He will definitely be able to leave here knowing he totally sold out his senior year and made a positive impact — not just in one sport, but three.”

In basketball, Coeur d’Alene upset Lake City in a loser-out game in the 5A Region 1 tournament, before falling short of a state tournament appearance with a loss to Borah High of Boise in a play-in game in Grangeville.

When a Viking player was lost for the season due to injury at the start of January, Sparks stepped in, much like he always does.

“A whole bunch of things had to happen for me to even get that role,” Sparks said. “But once I got the chance to start, I wanted to take advantage of it the best I could. I really enjoyed playing basketball this year.”

As far as baseball goes, Coeur d’Alene enters this week 10-3-1, with an Inland Empire League doubleheader against Lewiston scheduled for today at Church Field starting at 3 p.m. Both teams are 2-0 in league.

“I think we’ve got something special with this group,” Sparks said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing what this group can do.”

In a North/South Spring Classic tournament in Lewiston, Coeur d’Alene went 3-1, beating Mountain View of Meridian twice along with Boise, and losing to Rocky Mountain of Meridian.

“I really think that helped us a lot,” Sparks said. “Against Rocky Mountain, they threw their ace at us and we got a chance to see what they have. They play a different style of baseball than we do and we really don’t get a chance to see what those kinds of teams do. We get to play against them (during American Legion), so some of us kind of have an idea of what they do, but it definitely helps playing them earlier in the season and will benefit us down the road.”

Sparks is Coeur d’Alene High’s only three-sport athlete this year. Cole Williams would have joined him, but he was unable to play basketball after suffering a torn ACL during a football game against Hermiston (Ore.).

“To be the only three sport athlete at Coeur d’Alene, I think he feels at times, he has given up some development in some sports,” Rook said. “He wanted that experience to be a three-sport athlete and have that experience in high school.”

Chris Costa, the current Coeur d’Alene High Booster Club president, has coached Sparks in some fashion since Sparks moved to Coeur d’Alene in 2006.

“I was at a school function during the winter (of 2006) and I walked outside and saw this kid throwing snowballs,” Costa said. “And they were like BBs. I introduced myself to him, and he’s been on my team ever since.”

“He cares more about his teammates as much as anybody,” Rook said. “He’s in the top five percent of guys I’ve coached that — A: Loves being a Viking. B: Loves being part of a team and C: Gets the most out of himself each and every time he steps on the field.”

“It means everything to me,” Sparks said. “Sports have been my entire life since I moved here. I’ve dreamed of playing sports with my friends and made the best of friends from these sports. The memories that I’ll have, I will remember my entire life and eventually shape me into the person I’ll become.”

Sparks will also play his third and final year for the Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen ‘AA’ American Legion baseball team this summer. After that, he said he’ll be done with competitive sports.

“I’ve got a couple of chances to continue playing either football or baseball,” Sparks said. “But I’m just looking forward to going to school next year and enjoying that part of it.”

Lewis and Clark and Pacific are interested in Sparks for football, and Clark College, Wenatchee Valley and Big Bend of the Northwest Athletic Conference have shown interest in baseball.

Sparks plans to major in fire ecology and management.

“I’m hoping to be a firefighter,” Sparks said. “There’s a team atmosphere with being a firefighter and it’s something I’ve grown up with — working with others — to get a job done. Eight guys, battling for their lives, and that’s something I’ve always enjoyed.”

Costa feels that he might be better suited for another spot on the sidelines.

“Nobody knows this, but Elliott’s going to be a good coach if he chooses to do that,” Costa said. “Nobody knows the intricacies of the game like he does. When I used to pick him up for school, he’d be waking up at 5 a.m. to watch SportsCenter and study the stats for each of the games. He just knows everything inside and out. I’ve never met a kid that knew the rules like him.”

His role on the Viking baseball team is simple — be ready for anything.

“I play a little bit of outfield, but mostly pitch,” Sparks said. “I can start, relieve or come in and close games out. It’s really whatever role the coaches feel they need me in. My arm seems to recover faster than a lot of guys, so I’ve been relieving a lot more this year.”

Sparks has started in three of his four appearances, throwing 16 1/3 innings and holding a 1.22 earned run average. He is second on the team with nine strikeouts and has walked one batter this season.

“It sometimes gets a little frustrating,” said Sparks of his role with the team. “But it’s all to help this team win. I think we’ve got a special group and if we all buy in on what our coach is teaching us to do, we can be successful.”

The state 5A baseball tournament is May 14-16 at Boise Hawks Stadium.

“These guys mean everything to me,” Sparks said. “If we can go out on top and put that legacy for Viking baseball to where it hasn’t been before, that would mean the world to me. And I’m ending it with all of my best friends.”