THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Huddling of a different sort for Lakeside, Wallace

For a couple of years, the 1A high school football league in North Idaho was an entertaining little four-team skirmish. 

Lakeside, Wallace and Clark Fork, all 2A schools by enrollment in the Scenic Idaho Conference, were able to petition down in football in 2024 and ‘25 and join Coeur du Christ, the lone 1A school in the North Star League. 

Wallace won the league in 2024, helped in part by Coeur du Christ bumping off Lakeside, and lost in the state quarterfinals. 

Coeur du Christ won the league this past year, losing in the quarterfinals to the eventual state champions. Wallace also earned an at-large bid, and reached the semifinals. 

For the upcoming two-year cycle which begins this fall (the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years), Clark Fork’s enrollment dropped the Wampus Cats back down to 1A, where they have been for years. 

Wallace and Lakeside, still with 2A enrollments, petitioned down again, but this time their petitions were denied — in Wallace’s case, in part because of its success in football the past two years as a 1A school. 

That meant two schools in North Idaho would play football in the 2A division, and the other two would play in 1A. 

The Wallace and Lakeside folks huddled (as it were) separately, trying to figure out what to do. 

IN THE end, they were allowed by the Idaho High School Activities Association to play in a two-team Scenic Idaho Conference, with the league champ (basically, the winner of their game against each other Oct. 23 at Lakeside’s home field) earning an automatic bid to the 12-team state playoffs. The other team could also earn one of seven at-large bids to the playoffs, based on MaxPreps rankings.

“I think we’re in good shape where we’re at for the moment,” said Lakeside athletic director Tyler Petty, after all was said and done. “I’m still frustrated that we’re moving up to 2A; I feel that we should be at a 1A level, but we’ll do the best we can.” 

The other options for Lakeside and Wallace were to play as a 2A independent and hope for an at-large bid through MaxPreps rankings, or join the Whitepine League, and play teams around Lewiston and Moscow, and farther south. 

"Lakeside’s decision only affected whether we operated as a two-team 2A league or as independents,” Wallace athletic director Corey Miller said. “Otherwise, each school made decisions independently based on its own circumstances.” 

But one thing they agreed on — neither school wanted to play in the Whitepine League (District 2) because of the travel costs, even though that would mean most of their schedule would be guaranteed, with league games. 

When the opportunity to stay in the North and play as a two-team league presented itself, with the winner automatically qualifying for the state playoffs, it became a no-brainer. 

“It kinda went back and forth,” Petty said, “and it made sense that we kinda stuck together with it. And we’ll see how the next two years go, and adjust from there.” 

The five district (league) champions statewide earn automatic berths. The top four champions, based on MaxPreps rankings, receive first-round byes, while the fifth champion will play in the first round. 

(The road to state is the same for Clark Fork and Coeur du Christ in 1A — the winner automatically qualifies for state, and the other team could earn an at-large bid. The other two local 1A teams, Kootenai (with St. Maries) and Mullan (with St. Regis), remain in co-ops). 

OF COURSE, Lakeside and Wallace still had to fill out their football schedules with seven or eight nonleague games — no easy task around here. 

Wallace has one more game to find, but so far will play Clark Fork twice, Potlatch, Coeur du Christ, Genesee and Troy in nonleague. 

Lakeside’s nonleague opponents include Coeur du Christ and Clark Fork, along with Lapwai, Clearwater Valley, Wellpinit (Wash.) and Entiat (Wash.) 

“Our goal out of those nonleague games will be to set it up for the highest MaxPreps ranking possible, for that seeding at state,” Petty said. 

TWO YEARS from now will be another classification cycle, for the 2028-29 and 2029-30 school years. 

Lakeside’s enrollment for 2026-28 classification purposes is 125.5 — based on two counts of students, in November 2024 and March 2025. 

The 2A division is for schools with between 90-174 students in grades 9-12. 

“We’d love it if we could drop down to 1A, depending on what the next two years look like,” Petty said. “That is the best direction for us at this time.” 

Wallace's enrollment for classification purposes is 129.0. 

“Looking ahead, we would ideally like to see more 2A schools in our area,” Miller said. “It’s possible that circumstances could change: Coeur du Christ could grow, Clark Fork could move back to 2A, or Kootenai Classical could eventually start a football program. While two years is a short window, a lot can change in that time. The eight-man football landscape is always evolving, and we’ll reassess when the next cycle comes around.” 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.