The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT September 8, 2010

For those fans that couldn’t wait for the first moments of the high school football season, they were treated to a great show last Friday.

And in some places — it actually had nothing to do with football.

MOTHER NATURE opted to put on a show with some dry lightning seen in the area, delaying games at nearly every field in Kootenai County.

Lakeland, Timberlake and Coeur d’Alene each had to wait more than an hour after starting to get going again. Clark Fork near Sandpoint had its game vs. Noxon called to a halt in the second quarter on Friday night.

Lakeside and Lake City went on without a delay, with the Timberwolves’ nonleague game turning into the best high school game I’d seen in a long time.

As the teams kicked the ball off, both looked as though they’d take advantage of the early momentum, but neither could keep a drive going early on.

After Lake City took a 20-6 lead, the visiting Mavericks rallied behind a freshman quarterback to win 27-20 in their first game of the season.

Lake City moved ahead on a pair of Allen Carmichael touchdowns and looked to be in control following a Dylan Eastin interception return for a touchdown to put the host Timberwolves on top 20-6 with 7:36 to go in the third quarter.

Mountain View quarterback Kai Turner took over from there, running for one score and connecting on two passing scores to put the Mavericks on top 27-20, with 14 of the final 21 unanswered points coming in just three plays on offense.

Lake City had some chances late in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t move the ball when it needed a break and dropped its home opener.

IN MY experience covering high school sports, I’ve seen weather completely wipe out a football game twice, with both instances coming in the Silver Valley.

The first instance was a nonleague game between Wallace and Kellogg, which resulted in the game being delayed to eventually postponed. Later that same season, Wallace and Thompson Falls had a game delayed due to lightning after rain poured down on Sather Field in Silverton.

A difference in both cases was that fans of the Wallace-Kellogg game are still waiting for that game to be replayed. Since the postponement, Wallace has played eight games which count as North Star League games, making another nonleague matchup at the start of the season nearly impossible to happen.

I’VE COVERED some great football games — whether it was in a rainstorm, a snowstorm or an 85-degree day. But nothing compared to some of the events of Friday’s game.

While the lightning was a far enough distance away from Lake City High, it still brought a little bit of nerves to some the closer it seemed to get to Coeur d’Alene.

Whether it’s rain, snow or freezing cold, this year could be interesting for anyone coming out to support their local teams.

Just be prepared for anything.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via e-mail at jelliott@cdapress.com.