PREP FOOTBALL: It's the week before ...
MARK NELKE | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 3 months AGO
Mark Nelke covers high school and North Idaho College sports, University of Idaho football and other local/regional sports as a writer, photographer, paginator and editor at the Coeur d’Alene Press. He has been at The Press since 1998 and sports editor since 2002. Before that, Mark was the one-man sports staff for 16 years at the Bonner County Daily Bee in Sandpoint. Earlier, he was sports editor for student newspapers at Spokane Falls Community College and Eastern Washington University. Mark enjoys the NCAA men's basketball tournament and wiener dogs — and not necessarily in that order. | September 30, 2016 9:00 PM
Today’s Games
All at 7 p.m. except where noted
Sandpoint at Lake City
Wenatchee at Post Falls
Lakeland at Timberlake
Bonners Ferry at St. Maries
Clark Fork at Kootenai
Lakeside at Mullan, 3 p.m.
For most area 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A teams, this is the final week before league play begins next week.
The only league game today pitting area teams sends Clark Fork to Kootenai in White Star League play.
Next Friday marks the start of 5A Inland Empire League play, with Coeur d’Alene (which is idle this week) at Lewiston and Post Falls at Lake City. In the 4A IEL, Lakeland visits Moscow. In the Intermountain League, it’s Bonners Ferry at Timberlake and Kellogg at Priest River. In the Central Idaho League, St. Maries travels to Grangeville.
Clark Fork (3-2, 1-1 WSL) at Kootenai (3-1, 2-1): Kootenai is in third place, Clark Fork fourth in the seven-team White Star League. The teams have played three common opponents this season. Both have beaten Timberline and Mullan; Kootenai beat Lakeside 28-12 last week, two weeks after Lakeside won 38-14 at Clark Fork.
Sandpoint (2-3) at Lake City (2-3): Lake City has alternated losses and wins through the first five weeks of the season. Sandpoint is playing the first of two scheduled regular-season games at Lake City — the Bulldogs, due to the renovation of their bleachers at Barlow Stadium in Sandpoint, are slated to host Moscow at Lake City on Oct. 21.
Sandpoint beat Lake City 48-19 last year at home. Before that, Lake City won five straight, and 10 of the last 11.
Wenatchee (1-3) at Post Falls (4-1): The Trojans have won three straight since a loss to Mead in Week 2.
The lone win for the Panthers — the Wenatchee version — was a 12-7 triumph over Kelowna, British Columbia two weeks ago at the Apple Bowl in Wenatchee. The week before, Wenatchee lost 40-12 at home to Richland, the top-ranked 4A team in Washington.
Lakeland (2-3) at Timberlake (0-5): Timberlake won 31-28 at Lakeland last year, after Lakeland won the previous five meetings.
Lakeland’s three losses have been by a combined four points.
Timberlake, which opened in 1998, is off to an 0-5 start for the first time in school history.
Bonners Ferry (0-5) at St. Maries (5-0): The Badgers of the Intermountain League have been shut out in three of their five losses. The Lumberjacks are coming off a 47-7 thrashing of Timberlake, the top team in the IML in recent years.
Lakeside (1-3) at Mullan (0-3): Lakeside gets its turn playing 6-man football for the first time. Mullan has scored 94 points and allowed 215 points in its three 6-man games this season.
5A INLAND EMPIRE LEAGUE
League Overall
W L W L
Lewiston 0 0 5 0
Post Falls 0 0 4 1
Coeur d’Alene 0 0 3 2
Lake City 0 0 2 3
Friday’s Games
Sandpoint at Lake City
Wenatchee at Post Falls
Lewiston at Moscow
Coeur d’Alene is idle
4A INLAND EMPIRE LEAGUE
League Overall
W L W L
Moscow 0 0 2 3
Lakeland 0 0 2 3
Sandpoint 0 0 2 3
Friday’s Games
Lakeland at Timberlake
Sandpoint at Lake City
Moscow at Lewiston
INTERMOUNTAIN LEAGUE
League Overall
W L W L
Priest River 0 0 1 2
Kellogg 0 0 1 3
Timberlake 0 0 0 5
Bonners Ferry 0 0 0 4
Friday’s Games
Lakeland at Timberlake
Kellogg at West Valley
Bonners Ferry at St. Maries
Priest River at Orofino
CENTRAL IDAHO LEAGUE
League Overall
W L W L
St. Maries 0 0 5 0
Orofino 0 0 2 2
Grangeville 0 0 3 3
Thursday’s Game
Grangeville 33, Lewiston JV 12
Friday’s Games
Bonners Ferry at St. Maries
Priest River at Orofino
1A DIVISION I
WHITEPINE LEAGUE
League Overall
W L W L
Wallace 3 0 3 1
Troy 2 0 4 0
Prairie 2 0 3 1
Lapwai 1 1 3 1
Clearwater Valley 1 2 2 2
Kamiah 0 2 1 3
Genesee 0 2 1 3
Potlatch 0 2 0 3
Friday’s Games
Wallace at Genesee
Prairie at Kamiah
Troy at Potlatch
Clearwater Valley at Lapwai
1A DIVISION II
WHITE STAR LEAGUE
League Overall
W L W L
Kendrick 2 0 3 1
Deary 2 0 3 1
Kootenai 2 1 3 1
Clark Fork 1 1 3 2
Lakeside 1 2 1 3
Lewis County 1 2 2 3
Timberline 0 3 0 5
Friday’s Games
Clark Fork at Kootenai
Lakeside at Mullan
Kendrick at Timberline
Lewis County is idle
Deary is idle
ARTICLES BY MARK NELKE
PREP FOOTBALL: Post Falls runs past Sandpoint
Sandpoint (2-1) hosts Davis High of Yakima on Friday.
Big Sky Football Kickoff: Plenty of new faces will need to step up for Vandals
“I’ve been very impressed by Zach’s natural ability to rush the passer,” Eck said. “And he’s worked hard on his body, he’s up to about 222 pounds now, and I really think he can be a difference maker for us. He’s still doing some things with the linebackers, but I think his speed can give some offensive linemen problems (as an edge rusher).”
THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Journey to a title in Bonners — with a brief stop in Cd’A
“The whole process has been completely amazing,” said Nathan Williams, now in his fourth season as the Badgers boys basketball coach. “And the parents … it’s an hour and a half to Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, when we’d play an AAU game, and an hour and a half back, and there were so many times there was 6, 8 inches of snow. And we’ve got a game at 8 a.m. They’d always schedule us at 8 a.m., coming from Bonners. So we’re waking up at 5 … it was crazy. But the commitment from the parents and the kids has been amazing.”