THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: High school football schedules: A mix of shopping local, an eye on MaxPreps rankings, the return of alumni and the quest for the ‘perfect’ schedule

In just 43 days, football season for local high school teams kicks off. 

On Friday, Aug. 21, Lake City opens vs. Boise at Dona Larsen Park in Boise. 

One hour later, Lakeland and Coeur d’Alene get started at Corbit Field in Rathdrum. 

On Saturday, Aug. 22, Coeur du Christ plays host to Lewis County (Highland/Nezperce) at the Marimn Health Coeur Center in Worley.

The other area schools begin the following week. 

Here’s a look at how the high school football schedules for our five biggest schools came together. 

COEUR d’ALENE 

Schedule 

Aug. 21 — at Lakeland. Aug. 28 — at Silverton (Ore.) 

Sept. 4 — vs. Lewis and Clark. Sept. 11 — vs. Moses Lake. Sept. 18 — at Sandpoint. Sept. 25 — at Lewiston. 

Oct. 1 — vs. Rigby. Oct. 16 — vs. Lake City. Oct. 23 —    at Post Falls. 

Overview 

Yes, the Vikings are willing to travel to play good competition — to Northern California, to Oregon, to western Washington and elsewhere in Idaho. 

But hey, if you can find that competition a little closer to home ... 

“Our schedule turned out great,” said Shawn Amos, entering his 30th season as Coeur d’Alene football coach. “We were able to pick up quality games with schools in our area with the addition of Lakeland, Lewis and Clark and Moses Lake. It is nice to not have to travel as much and still play high level programs.” 

He noted that six of the Vikings’ seven nonleague opponents made the state playoffs last season, and two — Rigby and  Silverton (Ore.) — won state titles. 

“We still get our long road trip we like to take each year traveling to Silverton,” Amos said. 

That’s in Week 2, after Coeur d’Alene opens at Lakeland. The teams have met just three times since 2009 — in 2020, ‘22 and ‘23.  

Silverton won at Coeur d’Alene last year. The teams are scheduled to play for a third straight year in 2027, site TBD.  

All the other nonleague games are the first year of home-and-home series. 

Rigby visits Coeur d’Alene on Oct. 1, a Thursday. In recent years, the teams have met in the season opener — a couple of times in Missoula. But the Trojans had an opening later in their schedule this year, Amos said, allowing the Vikings to add Lakeland. 

The Rigby game is on a Thursday. 

“Rigby wanted to play Thursday because they start their league play the next week and with the travel and our games tending to be pretty physical,” Amos said. “They wanted that extra day for travel and recovery.” 

As for Coeur d’Alene, the Vikings have a bye the week following the Rigby game, then play its two 6A Inland Empire League games — Oct. 16 vs. Lake City and Oct. 23 at Post Falls. 

Coeur d’Alene will play Lewis and Clark for the first time since 2001 and Moses Lake for the first time since 2017. 

In both cases, those teams had openings the same week the Vikings needed games, Amos said. 

LAKE CITY 

Schedule 

Aug. 21 — at Boise (Dona Larsen Park). Aug. 28 — vs. Lakeland. 

Sept. 4 — vs. Central Valley. Sept. 11 — at Eisenhower. Sept. 19 — vs. Highland (at Montana Tech, Butte). Sept. 25 — vs. Sandpoint. 

Oct. 9 — vs. Post Falls. Oct. 16 — at Coeur d’Alene. Oct. 23 — at Lewiston. 

Overview 

When Lake City plays host to Central Valley on Sept. 4, it will mark the return of two former Timberwolves now on the CV coaching staff — Bears defensive coordinator Travis Harmon and offensive coordinator Dante Menard. 

Both played for Van Troxel at Lake City, and will coach that night on Van Troxel Field. 

“Just that Troxel connection is pretty cool,” Lake City athletic director Troy Anderson said. 

The teams last met in football 2016, but the schools have played since in basketball and other sports. 

Lake City’s opener is on Zero Week, a rare regular-season football matchup vs. a 6A Southern Idaho Conference school. Anderson said Boise reached out early, and it worked for Lake City as well. Boise is also visiting Post Falls three weeks later. 

"We definitely wanted to have a Zero Week game,” Anderson said, instead of nine games in nine weeks, as the T-Wolves have usually done.  

“We wanted to put ourselves somewhere with a bye.” 

This year, that bye comes right before Lake City’s two 6A IEL games — vs. Post Falls on Oct. 9 and at Coeur d’Alene on Oct. 16. 

Lake City drew the league bye the final week of the regular season — normally a hard week to find a nonleague game. But Lewiston also was idle that week. 

Lake City will play Lakeland for the ninth straight season. The T-Wolves and Sandpoint have played annually since Lake City opened in 1994.   

Lake City played Eisenhower and Highland each of the past two years, home and away.  

However, with Highland this two-year cycle, rather than one game at Lake City and one game in Pocatello, the teams will play each of the next two seasons at Montana Tech University in Butte. 

“It cuts down on travel and expenses,” said Anderson, noting Lake City will bus over the day of the game, play the game with a late-afternoon kickoff, then return home following the game. 

With MaxPreps rankings determining at-large playoff berths, Anderson said those rankings have an influence on scheduling. 

"Even good losses can be good for your MaxPreps rankings,” Anderson said. “You do want to win, and you want to be competitive, but MaxPreps definitely has us thinking through.” 

POST FALLS 

Schedule 

Aug. 28 — vs. Lewiston. 

Sept. 4 — vs. Sandpoint. Sept. 11 — vs. Boise. Sept. 18 — at Lakeland. Sept. 25 — at Eastmont (East Wenatchee, Wash.)  

Oct. 2 — vs. Moses Lake. Oct. 9 — at Lake City. Oct. 16 — at Timberline (at Dona Larsen Park, Boise). Oct. 23 — vs. Coeur d’Alene. 

Overview 

Post Falls ended up with not one, but two games vs. Boise schools. 

The Trojans will play host to Boise on Sept. 11, then travel to Timberline of Boise for an Oct. 16 game at Dona Larsen Park in Boise. 

"When we went down for the statewide (scheduling) meeting, they wanted to give us some games,” Post Falls athletic director Craig Christensen said.  

The Timberline game comes in the next-to-last week of the regular season, between the Trojans’ two 6A IEL games — Oct. 9 at Lake City and Oct. 23 vs. Coeur d’Alene. 

Post Falls played Timberline in a home-and-home in 2022 and ‘23. 

All the nonleague games are the first year of home-and-home series. 

Post Falls played Eastmont (East Wenatchee, Wash.) and Moses Lake each of the last two years in home-and-homes. 

“And it just happened that Eastmont and Moses Lake had openings the weeks we had openings (this year),” Christensen said. “We played them the previous two-year cycle, so it fell into place pretty good. We just tried to figure out the weeks we had open, and when I got the Big Nine schedule I saw Eastmont and Moses Lake had openings those weeks so I contacted them, and said, let’s keep playing.” 

ADs say football is the hardest schedule to put together each year, with so few dates to play. But Christensen said compiling this year’s slate “was a little easier than it’s been.” 

And while MaxPreps rankings are important, he said you can’t get too picky in scheduling. 

“Not in football,” Christensen said. “You can be a little more picky in basketball and some of the other sports; volleyball, soccer, you can play the system with those sports a little bit. But you’ve got to take whatever you can get in football.  

“You don’t mess around with your football schedule. You get a game, you take it.”

LAKELAND 

Schedule 

Aug. 21 — vs. Coeur d’Alene. Aug. 28 — at Lake City.  

Sept. 4 — vs. Weiser. Sept. 11 — at Walla Walla. Sept. 18 — vs. Post Falls. Sept. 25 — at Timberlake.  

Oct. 9 — at Lewiston. Oct. 16 — at Moscow. Oct. 23 — vs. Sandpoint. 

Overview 

5A Lakeland had opened with Bonners Ferry, a strong 4A school, the past two years. 

“But with the IHSAA moving from a 16-team format to 12 next year (in the state 5A playoffs), it really puts your strength of schedule into a little bit more of a focus,” Lakeland athletic director Matt Neff said. 

So Lakeland reached out to 6A Coeur d’Alene. 

“I’m glad we’re able to make that work,” Neff said. “I just felt it was time to get them back on the schedule.” 

Lakeland last beat Coeur d’Alene in 2001. The teams have met 10 times since then.  

Lakeland has reached the state playoffs each of the last six seasons. 

“It’s still a tall task for us. Hopefully we can go out there and be competitive,” Neff said. “Hopefully we’re at a place now where we can pick up those kind of teams.” 

Lakeland regularly plays the other two 6A IEL schools, Lake City and Post Falls.  

“One of the things we do know from past years is, MaxPreps rewards strength of schedule,” Neff said. “Last year we played Sandpoint ... we go up to Sandpoint and lose a close one. We don’t even drop in the rankings. We go to Moscow, and we beat them, and we drop. So MaxPreps, they care more about your strength of schedule than winning the game.” 

Lakeland just completed a home-and-home with Weiser, and will do so again this cycle, with this year’s game in Rathdrum. 

The Hawks were hoping to play West Valley-Yakima for a second straight year, “but they dropped us. So I had to scramble,” Neff said. 

He reached out to all the teams in the 3A Mid-Columbia Conference. 

"And Walla Walla got back to me,” Neff said, “and I snatched that up as soon as I could, because if you don’t grab ‘em when you can get them, you’ll be hurting.” 

In 5A IEL play, Lakeland travels to Lewiston on Oct. 9 and plays host to Sandpoint on Oct. 23. The three teams tied for the league tle last year with 1-1 records. Lewiston won the Kansas tiebreaker for the league’s automatic berth to state, but Lakeland and Sandpoint both had good enough MaxPreps rankings to earn at-large berths to the playoffs.  

Moscow, a 5A IEL school in all other sports, is again playing down in the (4A) Intermountain League in football, but Lakeland will face the Bears in Moscow on Oct. 16. 

TIMBERLAKE 

Schedule 

Aug. 28 — vs. St. Maries. 

Sept. 4 — at Priest River. Sept. 11 — vs. Grangeville. Sept. 18 — at Kellogg. Sept. 25 — vs. Lakeland.  

Oct. 2 — at Colville. Oct. 9 — vs. Clarkston. Oct. 16 — at Bonners Ferry. Oct. 23 — vs. Moscow. 

Overview 

Last year, Timberlake had a stretch of three straight home games, followed by three straight away games. 

“My big goal was to get us back on a schedule of home and away,” Timberlake athletic director Catey Walton said. 

Mission accomplished. 

The Tigers open at home vs. St. Maries on Aug. 28, then alternate between away and home games for each of the next eight weeks. 

"I tried to stay as local as I could,” she said. “Everyone I reached out to this year, it just kind of fell into place.” 

Timberlake has played Grangeville each of the last three years, Kellogg the past two and in-district rival Lakeland since Timberlake opened in 1998. 

Timberlake will play Priest River for the first time since 2021, when the Spartans were in the Intermountain League. 

The Tigers will play Colville for the first time since 2021. 

“I tried to stay as local as I could,” Walton said.  

The past two seasons, Timberlake has traveled to Anaconda, Mont., to face Sugar-Salem, which has won six of the last eight state 4A titles.  

"But the travel is so expensive,” Walton said. “Yes, it (MaxPreps ranking) is the biggest factor right now in all scheduling, but also, it’s what can we afford to do, and what is best for our district. And find schools that have availability.” 

Timberlake’s IML games are its final two of the regular season — Oct. 16 at Bonners Ferry and Oct. 23 at home vs. Moscow. 

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.