Gridiron Guesses Aug. 30, 2024: Lake City hosts Lakeland on special night

Despite being in different classifications, Lake City and Lakeland have developed a pretty good rivalry in football since the series resumed in 2018.  

Lake City, a 6A school, and 5A Lakeland are just 10 miles apart. 

“They're the closest nonleague team that we play, right?” second-year Lake City coach Byron Hout said.  

Lake City won the first four meetings once the series resumed. Lakeland won at Lake City in 2022, its first victory over the Timberwolves since 1994, the year Lake City opened. 

Last year, Lakeland eked out a 13-12 win in Rathdrum in Hout’s debut as coach of his alma mater. 

*They executed really well; we probably weren’t prepared enough on our side for that game, and hopefully we can get that corrected this fall,” Hout said. 

It’s the season opener for Lake City. Lakeland opened with a 41-0 win at Bonners Ferry last week. 

Scheduled for halftime of tonight’s 7 p.m. game is the official dedication of Van Troxel Field, named after the man who started the Lake City football program, and coached the T-Wolves for 22 seasons. Troxel is expected to lead the team onto the field before the game. 

“There's going to be a lot going on,” Hout said. “But for us, it’s just about going out and playing.” 

Elsewhere, Coeur d’Alene takes on Shadow Ridge of Las Vegas at the Rocky Mountain Rumble at the ICCU Dome in Pocatello. 

And Post Falls opens its season at home against Lewiston, in what now is a nonleague game, since Post Falls is a 6A school and Lewiston dropped to 5A with the new classification boundaries. 

Also, Sandpoint and St. Maries meet tonight for the first time since 1988. 

As for the picks, Mark Nelke and Jason Elliott each went 6-0 on the first week, and Josh McDonald went 5-1.

FRIDAY’S GAMES 

Coeur d’Alene (1-0) vs. Shadow Ridge (Las Vegas) (1-0) at ICCU Dome, Pocatello, 3 p.m. PDT 

NELKE: The Mustangs of Las Vegas opened last week with a 28-20 victory over Spanish Springs of Sparks, Nev. According to their MaxPreps stats, Shadow Ridge rushed 56 times last week and passed just once, and two Mustangs ran for more than 100 yards and the team totaled 426 on the ground. Coeur d’Alene is more balanced, but imagine if the Vikings decided to throw it 56 times and rush it once? 

Coeur d’Alene, 28-24 

ELLIOTT: Coeur d'Alene takes care of business.

Coeur d'Alene, 30-20

McDONALD: Coeur d'Alene had better be ready to stop the run because Shadow Ridge had 440 yards on the ground last week. I think the Viks get another win over a quality opponent.

Coeur d'Alene, 24-17

Lewiston (0-0) at Post Falls (0-0), 7 p.m. 

NELKE: League or nonleague, Post Falls has had the upper hand of late — seven wins in the last eight games vs. The Bengals, and 12 of 16 since 2010. 

Post Falls, 34-20 

ELLIOTT: Make it eight out of nine. Post Falls has a little too much speed.

Post Falls, 36-20

McDONALD:  Post Falls returns a lot of players from a potent offense a year ago. They'll be too much for Lewiston.

Post Falls, 38-21

Lakeland (1-0) at Lake City (0-0), 7 p.m. 

NELKE: Most signs point to Lakeland in this one — the Hawks have won the last two meetings with the Timberwolves and, unlike Lake City, have a game under their belt. The intangible is: Will the T-Wolves honor the man who built their program with an inspiring performance and victory? 

Lake City, 18-16 

ELLIOTT: If they let Van Troxel give the pregame speech tonight, the Timberwolves will be fired up. They might be anyway.

Lake City, 24-20

McDONALD: The Timberwolves are my sleeper team this year. They have a solid veteran core of players and should win more than they lose.

Lake City, 28-20

Grangeville (0-0) at Timberlake (0-1), 7 p.m. 

NELKE: Timberlake, then 3A, won last year at then-2A Grangeville. And even though the Tigers are REAL young this year ... 

Timberlake, 28-20 

ELLIOTT: Could be one of the better games of the night.

Grangeville, 24-22

McDONALD: The Tigers should bounce back after last week's drumming. These two teams always seem to play each other tough, so I expect it to be another quality matchup.

Timberlake, 30-24

Sandpoint (1-0) at St. Maries (0-0), 7 p.m. 

NELKE: As I’m sure you remember, Sandpoint won that 1988 game, 49-0 at home. In 1987, Sandpoint won 21-12 at St. Maries, and one of the Lumberjack players in that game was Jeff Choate. 

Sandpoint, 36-20 

ELLIOTT: St. Maries might be really, really good in the 3A Central Idaho League this year. But these Bulldogs seem to have something to prove this year.

Sandpoint, 34-24

McDONALD: The Lumberjacks will open their season against a legitimate 5A contender. Could be a long night for St. Maries.

Sandpoint, 35-7

Lakeside (1-0) at Clark Fork (0-0), 7 p.m. 

NELKE: Tyson Charley of Lakeside showed last week he could put up points on the football field like he does on the basketball court, passing for three touchdowns and throwing for three more in a win over Coeur du Christ. This would have been a league game anyway with the Wampus Cats moving up, but both schools (plus Wallace) petitioned down to 1A in football, where they join Coeur du Christ in a four-team league. 

Lakeside, 42-36 

ELLIOTT: Lakeside has some athletes at receiver and can make it exciting to watch, rain or shine.

Lakeside, 34-20

McDONALD: The Wampus Cats will have to figure out Tyson Charley. But once they do, they should be able to pull away.

Clark Fork, 35-24

Wallace (1-0) vs. Coeur du Christ (0-1, 0-1 North Star League) at Marimn Health Coeur Center, Worley, 7 p.m. 

NELKE: In defeat, Coeur du Christ put up 32 points last week in an entertaining debut as a high school football program. Wallace freshman Cooper Miller passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more in a Miners’ victory. 

Wallace, 48-42 

ELLIOTT: Maybe the most talked about game between freshmen quarterbacks since Clark Fork's Stillman Berkley faced Casey McKinnon of Mullan at John Drager Field ... Coeur du Christ got better as the game went on in its debut last week.

Wallace, 44-34

McDONALD: The Miners have scoring all over the place and their defense is aggressive and fast.

Wallace, 35-14