The Front Row with MARK NELKE July 8, 2010

Timberlake and Fruitland, who have squared off five times in the state high school football playoffs since 2002, will play for the first time in the regular season this fall.

This year's game is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 24 ... in Kamiah.

Why Kamiah?

As Timberlake athletic director Tim Cronnelly explained, both teams had an open date on the same weekend during the regular season. Rather than have one team have to pay expenses for an overnight trip to the other's field, the schools decided to meet somewhere in the middle - both will travel, but neither will have to stay overnight.

At first, the game was planned for Lewiston ... then Lapwai ... then Genesee ... then Lapwai again. Finally, Kamiah's field was available on that date.

The teams are scheduled to play again in 2011 ... somewhere in the middle again.

Fall sports nears: I'm of the opinion it's never too early to look ahead to the next high school football season - which in Idaho is just seven weeks away.

Many of our local schools' schedules have trickled in to the office, and with the Greater Spokane League not having the openings it has had in the past, most have had a hard time filling their schedules with games close to home.

Coeur d'Alene opens Aug. 27 at Moscow. The Vikings' other road games are at Skyview (Vancouver, Wash.) on Saturday, Sept. 11, Vallivue of Caldwell, Lewiston and Post Falls. Coeur d'Alene is home vs. Moses Lake, Sandpoint, Rocky Mountain of Meridian and, in the regular season finale, vs. Lake City on Oct. 29.

Lake City will also make one trip to the Boise area (to Capital of Boise) and one to western Washington (Glacier Peak High in Snohomish, Wash., on Saturday, Sept. 25). The Timberwolves open at Lakeland on Aug. 27, and also play at Lewiston and Coeur d'Alene. Lake City is home vs. Mountain View (Meridian), Post Falls, Wenatchee and Sandpoint.

Not to be left out apparently, Post Falls will also make one trip south and one trip west. The Trojans will open at Caldwell on Thursday, Sept. 2, and travel to Ellensburg, Wash., to play Centennial Secondary School of Coquitlam, British Columbia, on Saturday, Sept. 11. Post Falls is home vs. East Valley, Timberline of Boise, Coeur d'Alene and Lewiston, and also travels to Lakeland, Lake City and Sandpoint. The Trojans play five of their first six on the road, and finish with three at home.

Lakeland's longest trip is a 4A Inland Empire League game at Moscow in the final week of the regular season. The Hawks' other road games are at East Valley, Timberlake and West Valley - a combined round-trip distance of roughly 100 miles. The Hawks are home vs. Lake City in their opener, and also play host to Colville, Post Falls, Pullman and Sandpoint.

In addition to its game with Fruitland at Kamiah, Timberlake opens at Libby (Mont.) on Saturday, Aug. 28, and also travels to St. Maries, Moscow and Kellogg. The Tigers are home vs. Riverside, Lakeland, Priest River and Bonners Ferry.

So long again, Henry: Henry Hamill, the longtime assistant football coach at Coeur d'Alene and Lake City high schools, headed back home to his old stomping grounds in Montana last week.

Hamill, who resigned as an assistant coach at Lake City following the 2007 season, retired as a teacher from Lake City and in Idaho at the end of 2009-10 school year, and has accepted a superintendent of schools position at his old high school - Wolf Point High in Montana.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at [email protected].