THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Prime-time hoops matchup for the Paddle

The girls get the spotlight on Friday night in Rathdrum. 

But bring your earplugs. 

The annual Battle for the Paddle spirit competition between Lakeland and Sandpoint high schools is scheduled for that night at Lakeland High’s Hawk Court. 

The boys basketball game between the two schools starts things off at 4 p.m., followed by the wrestling dual at 6 p.m. 

The girls basketball game, pitting the top two teams in the 5A Inland Empire League, is the finale at 8 p.m. 

USUALLY THE boys game is the finale, but ... 

“Sandpoint had asked last year about switching the order up, and we decided to go ahead and switch it up for this year,” Lakeland athletic director Matt Neff said.

Makes sense. 

The two girls programs have battled each other for regional supremacy for the past decade or so. 

Last year, Sandpoint defeated Lakeland in the best-of-3 championship series for the district’s lone berth to the state 5A tournament. 

That, despite Lakeland taking both meetings from Sandpoint during Inland Empire League play. 

That’s because last year, all games among the three 6A teams and four 5A teams in the combined league counted equally toward seeding for each classification’s district tourneys. 

Despite getting swept by Lakeland in league, Sandpoint did better against the 6A schools than the Hawks did, and the Bulldogs wound up with home-court advantage in the district championship series. 

Sandpoint edged Lakeland in a pair of close games at Les Rogers Court and advanced to state, while Lakeland stayed home. 

THIS YEAR, the rules have changed and it’s not quite as cutthroat, as 5A District 1 receives 1.5 berths to state. So the loser in the district championship series can still advance to state by winning a play-in game. 

Also this year, the 5A vs. 5A games (and the 6A vs. 6A games) matter most in the league standings. The crossover (5A vs. 6A games) are only used as a tiebreaker. 

Still, being the top seed means something.  

And Lakeland (12-3, 2-0 5A IEL) has the early upper hand on Sandpoint (13-3, 2-1), with the Hawks winning 49-42 last Tuesday in the Bulldogs’ gym. 

A Lakeland win on Friday night would go a long way toward the Hawks getting the top seed and home-court advantage if it reaches the district championship series. 

But a Sandpoint win? 

Well, those games against the 6As could come into play again. 

AS FOR the boys game ... 

They’re a little earlier into their league play. Lakeland won at Moscow last Saturday in the boys’ lone league game to date. 

Lakeland (6-4) last qualified for state in 2003. 

Lewiston is the reigning district champion. 

Sandpoint’s (7-4) new boys coach is the old girls coach, Will Love, who as part of a successful run on the girls side, guided the Bulldog girls to the program’s first state title, in 2023. 

And now for the Paddle ... 

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.