Gridiron Guesses Oct. 30, 2026: Lake City gets another shot to make up for lost time

Six weeks ago, when Lake City played Highland of Pocatello, things couldn't have gone much worse for the Timberwolves. 

The vehicle carrying Lake City's equipment to the neutral-site game in Butte, Mont., broke down, and didn't arrive until 5 minutes before the game. 

Lightning delayed the start of the game by a half-hour, and six Lake City players suffered injuries, including four starters, among those a wide receiver hurt during an abbreviated warmup. 

On top of that, the T-Wolves were shut out by the Rams, 36-0. 

Lake City gets another chance at Highland this week, in the first round of the state 6A playoffs. This time, the 12th-seeded T-Wolves (6-3) and the fifth-seeded Rams (4-5) hook up Saturday at noon PDT at Highland's home field, Iron Horse Stadium in Pocatello. 

For this trip, Lake City plans to leave today. In September, with a late-afternoon/early evening kickoff, the T-Wolves left that morning.  

"I do think we’re a different team than a few weeks ago," Lake City coach Byron Hout said. "We have a a few guys that will start in this game that didn’t play or got very limited reps in the last matchup, including the quarterback position. We’ve also had more time for those guys to develop in those roles and so overall we’re a better team than we were the first time." 

In the first Highland game, sophomore Jax Pearson came on at quarterback in the second half, his first varsity appearance. He started the following week, and has started ever since. 

"However it’s not like Highland got worse after beating us; they’ve also improved as the season went on and are playing their best ball right now." 

Lake City is the lone local team in action this week; several other local squads earned first-round byes, and will play next weekend in the quarterfinals. 

In 6A, Coeur d'Alene won the 6A Inland Empire League and is the top seed, and will play host to the winner between No. 8 Boise (8-1) and No. 9 Kuna (5-4). 

In 5A, Lakeland (5-4) won the 5A IEL and is seeded fourth. The Hawks will play at home in the quarterfinal round against an opponent to be determined, as the quarterfinals are re-seeded with the remaining teams. 

On Friday, No. 7 Sandpoint (5-4) plays host to No. 10 Minico (5-4) of Rupert.  

On Saturday, No. 5 Lewiston (4-5) is home vs. No. 12 Pocatello (3-6). 

In 2A, Wallace (8-1) won the Scenic Idaho Conference and earned a first-round bye with a No. 5 ranking. The Miners will learn their quarterfinal opponent and site following this week's first-round games. 

In 1A, North Star League champion Coeur du Christ (9-0) was one of the four district champs to earn a first-round bye, and will play at home in the quarterfinals against a foe to be determined by this week's results. 

Clark Fork (3-5), the North Star runner-up, is No. 7 of the eight qualifiers and will travel to No. 2 Salmon River (6-3) of Riggins on Saturday at noon PDT. 

In 4A, Bonners Ferry (4-4) won the Intermountain League, but was the odd team out as only the top four-ranked district champs earned first-round byes. Worse, the 10th-seeded Badgers will travel in the first round, to No. 7 qualifier Cole Valley Christian (5-4) of Meridian, in a game scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. PDT at Eagle High. 

In 3A, all three qualifiers from the Central Idaho League will play in the first round. The top four district champs statewide earned first-round byes. 

Grangeville (8-1), the CIL champion, was the odd team out among district champs. Ranked No. 1 among the qualifiers, the Bulldogs will play host to Aberdeen on Saturday at 1 p.m. 

CIL runner-up Priest River (6-2), the No. 3 qualifier, will play host to No. 6 New Plymouth (5-4) on Friday at 7 p.m. 

Third-place Logos (7-2), the No. 4 qualifier, will play No. 5 Nampa Christian (6-3) on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bear Field in Moscow. 

Lake City is in the playoffs for the first time since 2019, and seeking its first playoff win since 2014. 

"We’re excited and grateful for the opportunity to keep playing, and what this means for our program moving forward," Hout said. "Hopefully it continues to motivate next year‘s class in the future of our program." 

As for the picks, Josh McDonald went 7-0 last week, Jason Elliott 6-1, Mark Nelke 5-2. 

For the season, Josh and Jason are 58-16, Mark 57-17.

SATURDAY'S GAME 

Lake City (6-3) at Highland (4-5), noon PDT 

NELKE: In three of Lake City's six wins, I picked against the T-Wolves that week. So, just trying to help the local team ... 

Highland, 14-13 

ELLIOTT: If Lake City can keep it close, which it can with a strong running game ...

Lake City, 34-30

McDONALD: There's a cruel irony in these two meeting again. Thanks to the MaxPreps rankings, Lake City gets another crack at Highland, the team that handed the Timberwolves one of their most frustrating losses of the season. Lake City has grown considerably since that September meeting and would love nothing more than a shot at redemption. But have they improved enough?   

Highland, 35-24