THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: If you ask, it's been a week

“How’s it going kid?”

Well, to be honest, I’ve been better.

Don’t misunderstand me, things couldn’t be much better at this time of year.

We’ve got playoff baseball on the television, playoffs in high school soccer and volleyball will be well underway later today.

TAKE NOTHING away from the Coeur d’Alene and Lake City boys soccer programs. Wednesday’s 5A Region 1 championship match was one of the better-played matches I’ve seen between the programs in a long time.

As Lake City coach Kevin Jump said, it really could have gone either way.

Kind of like a heavyweight boxing match, both teams took the other’s best shot, and in the end, the shot Coeur d’Alene landed wound up being just enough.

A little later today, should Lake City win in its state play-in match against Rocky Mountain of Meridian in Lewiston, the Timberwolves could advance to play Coeur d’Alene in the opening round, based on MaxPreps rankings which are used to seed most of Idaho's state tournaments.

Coincidence must follow Lake City when it comes to the boys state tournament as the T-Wolves opened at state last year against Lewiston.

IT HAS been a while since I’ve actually been to a Wallace High football game.

Being from there, and covering football at Sather Field in Silverton for eight years, along with many years growing up, I’ve got more memories to make up for my 12-year absence from those sidelines.

If you know Wallace football, then you’ve likely known guys like Norm Walker and Dave Rounds, who coached the program for years.

Another one of those guys was Dale Wickam.

Dale, for years, ran the score clock at all the Wallace High home football and basketball games, and volleyball matches. He even did some announcing at times.

Basically when Dale spoke, you listened.

Growing up, and being involved in a volunteer group that sold the game programs at Wallace, I’d often mess with Dale when he’d come and ask for a roster.

“Umm, they’re five dollars,” I’d try to tell him.

“Just grab me one off the bottom and shut up,” he’d answer.

To be honest, I might have convinced him to buy one once in a while, but he might have won that battle more times than I did.

Dale, after battling health problems, passed away on Thursday morning after suffering a medical emergency last week. He was 80.

Dale was a special guy for the Wallace School District. Often times, because when it came to the little things, like helping clean up the old Civic Auditorium or putting a fresh coat of paint on some of the classrooms at another school in the district, who else but Dale stepped up to do it.

SO IF Dale was to ask me today ... how’s it going?

Well, not great.

But better for knowing him as long as I did.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.