Lake City to honor 2002 football state champions
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 3 years, 6 months AGO
The road to Lake City’s first state title in football began with a muddy loss at Sandpoint in the Timberwolves’ first playoff game in school history, in 1997.
That was followed by a trip to the semifinals in 1998.
Then, Lake City was undefeated before falling in the state title game in 1999.
The next year, the Timberwolves were upended in the first round in 2000, then reached the state title game again in 2001 before losing.
Lake City finally broke through in 2002, romping past Madison of Rexburg 47-26 in the state title game at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow
Lake City plans to honor the Timberwolves’ 2002 state 4A championship football team, coached by Van Troxel, on Saturday, when Lake City plays host to Bishop Kelly of Boise at 1 p.m.
Former players and coaches will be recognized at the game, and a tailgate and celebration afterward is planned.
Lake City reached the playoffs in its fourth year of existence, and won it all in its ninth season.
In 2002, the 4A IEL consisted of Lake City, Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Sandpoint and Moscow.
Lake City, Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint finished tied for the league title with 3-1 records, and met at Post Falls for a Kansas tiebreaker.
Lake City and Sandpoint advanced to the playoffs, with Lake City beating Sandpoint in the “title” game, and Coeur d’Alene was the odd team out. That kept Lake City at home in the first round of the playoffs, and sent Sandpoint on the road, to Mountain Home.
That proved big two weeks later, when Lake City avenged a 38-13 loss to Sandpoint in league play by beating the Bulldogs 28-14 in the state semifinals.
In the state title game, Lake City scored six straight touchdowns for a 40-7 lead, then fended off a late rally by the Bobcats and finished 9-3.
“This is major redemption,” T-Wolf senior defensive back Mick Gray told The Press after the game. “For the basketball team that lost to Madison last year. (Nineteen) ninety-nine, we broke the scoring record that Vallivue broke against us. This was redemption for the whole Lake City program.”