Two, and maybe three, of the four teams in the 5A Inland Empire League will advance to the state football playoffs.

But winning a league is always a big deal.

And this year, it’s a really big deal.

Not only does the league champion earn a first-round bye, but it will be the home team in the quarterfinals and, if it wins that one, the semifinal game as well. And if a team from the 5A IEL reaches the state championship game, it will be at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.

The second-place team from the 5A IEL will play at home in the first round, but would travel to the top-seeded team from the Boise area in the quarterfinals. However, if it wins that, it would host a semifinal game.

The third-place team, if it earns one of the three at-large berths in the 12-team tournament, would travel in the first round and the quarterfinals.

The fun begins Friday, when Coeur d’Alene plays host to Lewiston, and Lake City travels to Post Falls.

In the 4A IEL, the league champion would play at home in the first round, quarterfinals and semifinals. If a team from the north reaches the finals, it would play at the Kibbie Dome.

The league runner-up would travel in the first round, host in the quarterfinals and travel in the semis.

Play in the three-team league begins Friday, with Sandpoint traveling to Moscow. Lakeland visits Sandpoint next week, and hosts Moscow the following week.

In the Intermountain League, the league champ earns a bye into the 3A quarterfinals. The league runner-up would host one of three first-round games. After the first round, the eight remaining teams would be seeded by RPI, a new way of seeding for the 3As this year.

League play begins Friday, with Timberlake at Bonners Ferry and Priest River at Kellogg.

In the Central Idaho League, all three teams will more than likely make the 16-team 2A playoffs. After the first round, RPI will be used to seed the eight quarterfinal teams.

League play starts this Friday, with St. Maries at home vs. Grangeville.

North Star League play has been going on for weeks. Only the league champ advances to the playoffs, where it would earn a first-round bye, and play at home in the quarterfinals and travel in the semis.

As for last week, the dogs were good dogs, but the picks ... they smelled a little bit.

Mark went 3-3 on high school picks, and 2-1 on college picks. For the season, he is 24-11 on high school picks, 14-7 on college picks for a total of 38-18.

Jason increased his lead by one game, going 4-2 on high school picks (picking Timberlake to beat Lakeland) and 2-1 on college picks. For the season, he is 26-9 for high school, 16-5 for college for a total of 42-14.

Now only if Jason had a cat ...

HIGH SCHOOL

All games Friday at 7 p.m.

Lewiston (3-3) at Coeur d’Alene (4-2)

NELKE: Often the only thing that slows down the Vikings is Viking miscues. Even then ...

Coeur d’Alene, 48-14

ELLIOTT: Coeur d’Alene showed it was back after getting beat by Highland with a win at Central Valley. The last time Lewiston came up north, it was shutout by Sandpoint.

Coeur d’Alene, 45-17

Lake City (3-3) at Post Falls (4-2)

NELKE: Does Lake City have the running game to keep the high-powered Post Falls offense off the field? How will Lake City sophomore quarterback Josiah Weaver fare with a full week of practice behind him? How many more questions is Mark going to ask in this paragraph?

Post Falls, 42-28

ELLIOTT: Post Falls bounces back from that lightning delayed loss by beating Lake City at home.

Post Falls, 38-14

West Valley (3-2) at Lakeland (2-4)

NELKE: The Hawks need to generate some momentum heading into next week’s league opener at Sandpoint.

Lakeland, 28-24

ELLIOTT: Lakeland looked pretty tough a few weeks ago against Post Falls. Playing at home ...

Lakeland, 34-24

Timberlake (5-0) at Bonners Ferry (0-5)

NELKE: 5-0 vs. 0-5 pretty much says it all.

Timberlake, 50-6

ELLIOTT: Timberlake gets league play off to a great start.

Timberlake, 48-0

Grangeville (3-3) at St. Maries (4-2)

NELKE: Both teams play “up” in nonleague play, so overall records don’t mean much. Because the Lumberjacks are playing at home ...

St. Maries, 22-20

ELLIOTT: This could be one of the better matchups in the area this weekend. This one is huge for whoever wins.

St. Maries, 14-8

COLLEGE

Washington State (3-2, 0-2 Pac-12) at Arizona State (4-1, 1-1)

Saturday, 12:30 p.m.

NELKE: All signs point to a Sun Devil victory in Tempe, extending the Cougars misery of the last three weeks — two lost football games and one lost defensive coordinator. So naturally ...

WSU, 37-32

ELLIOTT: In a game with two coaches known for some good interviews.

Arizona State, 44-34

Idaho (2-4, 0-2 Big Sky) at Portland State (3-3, 1-1)

Saturday, 2 p.m.

NELKE: Maybe the Vandals will make those two extra plays this week in Hillsboro, Ore. Maybe they’ll find the sweatshirt I apparently left behind in that town a little over a year ago.

Idaho, 26-21

ELLIOTT: Idaho lost a game it should have won on the road a few weeks ago. Since the Vandals are on the road again ...

Portland State, 34-27

Hawaii (4-1, 1-0 Mountain West) at Boise State (5-0, 2-0)

Saturday, 7:15 p.m.

NELKE: Hawaii should test the Broncos ... for a while.

BSU, 38-13

ELLIOTT: Boise State keeps itself in prime shape for a big time bowl game.

BSU, 34-20

Northern Colorado (1-5, 1-1 Big Sky) at Eastern Washington (2-4, 1-1)

Saturday, 1 p.m.

NELKE: OK, so it appears the Eagles aren’t who we thought they were. But they should be good enough to handle the Bears, whose lone win was a surprise over Idaho. If not, the grumbling will get louder in Cheney.

EWU, 38-17

ELLIOTT: Eastern at home is a different animal.

EWU, 45-20