THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: The school year in prep sports — A time for honoring, a dose of sportsmanship (and, of course, a cute dog)

A few things I'll remember from the recently completed high school sports year:

• Staying upright for an entire football game at Coeur d’Alene High — after taking plenty of good-natured ribbing before and during. The love is appreciated.  

• Gianna Callari of Coeur d’Alene High, rising up from the right side for the kill. 

• Lake City’s joy, after beating Post Falls in football for the first time in 10 seasons. 

• The gong at Timberlake High, rung by Tiger players after home wins, indoors and out. 

• Wondering where Coeur d’Alene junior Tannar Stern was on the football field — quarterback, running back, linebacker, rush end, special teams ... 

• Hearing the P.A. announcer describe a “Heavenly host of Saints” making the tackle at a Coeur du Christ home football game at the Marimn Health Coeur Center in Worley. 

• Caden Symons of Coeur d’Alene High, with the other team and everybody else in the gym knowing that he was going to try to make something happen, still finding a way to make the tough shot. 

• Josh Watson’s growth over his four seasons in a Lake City High boys basketball uniform. 

• The ability of Jordan Carlson of Lake City to score at all three levels. 

• The fight from the senior-led Post Falls High boys basketball team, and the grit the team showed against Lake City in that grueling best-of-3 series  for the district’s lone berth to state. A shame the Trojans didn’t get to play at state. 

• The emotion of watching local first responders being honored ... and hugged ... and hugged again ... by Coeur d’Alene and Lake City high school officials, players and coaches at the Fight for the Fish spirit basketball games. 

• Watching Josh Watson trying to score in the post, and Caden Symons bodying up on him, trying to stop him ... then watching the two after the game, after going through the handshake line, laughing together about their battle — joined by Jordan Carlson. Turns out Symons and Watson were teammates on the same AAU team last season. Carlson was in the same AAU club program, but on a younger team. And Symons and Carlson knew each other for years growing up, as Symons’ dad is the North Idaho College men’s basketball coach, and Carlson’s parents formerly coached the NIC women. 

Such is the “rivalry” between the city’s schools sometimes. 

"It’s war on the court, but off the court, after the game you can be buddies, and there’s no hard feelings,” Carlson said. “As a competitor, I want them to be competitive, I want the game to be competitive, so there’s never any hard feelings.” 

"It’s just about sportsmanship, to be honest,” Watson said. “We have that competitive nature that we both want to win, but after it’s just sportsmanship and being competitive.” 

• Watching players honor their teachers at halftime of a high school boys basketball game. 

• Lake City junior wrestler Katie Rippentrop is a transfer from a school in Nebraska. In February Rippentrop, who comes from a jui jitsu background, qualified for state. 

“At the beginning of the season it was rough,” recalled Timberwolf girls wrestling coach Nathan DeLeon. “She had a tendency to go to her back. In jiu jitsu, it’s a natural defensive position. Not good in wrestling.” 

• Saturday, March 7 at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa — and not just because of the mini-doughnuts.

• Tyson Charley bookending his high school career with another state title, leading Lakeside’s boys basketball team to its second state title in four seasons, and third in seven seasons. On this day, the Knights took it to the multisport juggernaut known as Kendrick. It wasn’t an upset. 

• The stool the St. Maries Lumberjacks got for boys basketball coach Bryan Chase, who was diagnosed with pancreatic liver cancer last June, so he could better address the team in sideline huddles. It was only fitting that the talented Lumberjacks capped an emotional season by winning a state title in commanding fashion.  

• And finally, in “The Main Event,” Lake City continually shutting down Owyhee of Meridian with its defense for the Timberwolves’ second state boys basketball title in four seasons. One year earlier, Lake City endured a 31-point loss to the Storm, who won their third state title in their fourth year as a school. One year later, the T-Wolves not only gave Owyhee a much better game, but eventually wore down the Storm with their defense — something Lake City had worked to get better at this season. This was a decisive victory for a basketball program which was about much more than basketball this season. 

• Shooting a Timberlake baseball game, then only having to take a few steps to shoot a Timberlake softball game. But oh, that hill ... 

• Coeur d’Alene High junior Jenna Davenport singing the national anthem before a Viking game. 

• Coeur d’Alene High junior Jenna Davenport pitching and hitting in a Viking softball game. 

• The candy toss from Lakeland coach Dwayne Curry to a Hawk player as they round third base after hitting a home run. 

• Lake City’s celebration after Brooklyn Caan’s game-winning hit to send Timberwolf softball back to state for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• The joy from Post Falls baseball players, after qualifying for state for the first time since 2018. 

• Arlo, an 8-week-old wiener dog, at a Lake City-Coeur d’Alene district softball game. 

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.