Vikings took a while to jell

Somewhere hidden in the euphoria of Coeur d'Alene High winning its first state football championship in 25 years was the fact some of the key players on the gridiron were also going to be counted on heavily on the basketball court.

Early on, the transition wasn't easy.

"I think starting the season about 10 days late because of the football playoffs probably slowed us down from jelling a little earlier," Coeur d'Alene coach Kent Leiss said.

The Vikings started off 4-3, but have won 11 of their last 15, including four in a row.

The Region 1 champions (15-7) open the state 5A tournament today vs. Eagle (14-10), the fifth-place team from District 3, at 12:15 p.m. PST at the Idaho Center in Nampa.

Post Falls (19-4), the defending state champion, plays the final game tonight at state vs. Borah (18-5) of Boise, the District 3 runner-up, at 7 PST (see more on Post Falls in The Front Row on B1).

Senior Jake Matheson and juniors Chad Chalich and Deon Watson, all basketball starters for Coeur d'Alene, were instrumental in the football state title. Watson averages 16.8 points and eight rebounds per game, Chalich 14 points and seven boards, Matheson 13.4 points per game.

“This may sound funny, but we had to get the football players to change their mindset from football to basketball, and I don’t think we started to forget about the football season until about January. It just took this team a little longer to jell, and luckily the timing is pretty good right now. I think it took us a while to come down from that (state title), and to catch up from the week and a half they missed.”

Coeur d’Alene is at state for the third time under Leiss, in his eighth season at Viking coach. Coeur d’Alene was sixth at state in 2007 and runner-up to Vallivue of Caldwell the following year.

None of the current Vikings have played at state in basketball, but obviously several of them have football experience at the state level. How much can that help?

“I think it helps a lot, because you learn how to play under pressure,” Matheson said. “And most of all, I think you just learn how to win. And you can say what you want about winning, but it’s definitely a quality, as much as it is an action.”

“It’s a definite plus,” Watson added. “Winning is winning, whether it’s on the field or on the court.”

Speaking of winning, Chalich, who was the quarterback on the football champs, is the inside banger on the basketball team at 6-foot-1, while the 6-4 Watson and the 6-2 Matheson roam the perimeter.

“He’s not comfortable playing guard; we tried that for his first two years,” Leiss said. “And finally last summer I walked up to him at a summer tournament and I said ‘Hey, this experiment of trying to make you a guard is over.’ And he had this big smile on his face like, thank God. And he wants to play inside. He’s a physical kid, he’s a tough kid, he likes banging down there with the big guys.”

Said Chalich: “Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always been down low. It’s just all heart to play down low. It’s not about size, it’s just about heart.”

Should Coeur d’Alene win today, the Vikings will likely run into Centennnial (18-5), the District 3 champions, in the semifinals Friday night.

n St. Maries: The Lumberjacks (18-5), the District 1 runners-up, play District 6 champion Sugar-Salem (16-7) in their state 3A opener today at 5:15 p.m. PST at Meridian High.

It’s the third straight trip to state for St. Maries, which finished fourth two years ago, then went two and out last year. Senior Zach Lehman, a mainstay on both those teams, averages 11 points a game. Jake Mercer averages 10.8 points and Ian Heath averages seven rebounds.

First-year head coach Craig Wicks pointed at a 63-51 home victory over Priest River on Feb. 11 as a turning point to the season.

“Until we beat Priest River at home, I didn’t think we were clicking on all cylinders, but since then we’ve been clicking,” Wicks said.

Wicks was an assistant when the Lumberjacks went to state in 1998 and ‘99. He was a basketball official in recent years before getting back into coaching.

“I run a whole lot of different stuff than he (former coach Jeff Mercer) did, and the kids had to learn a whole new process,” Wicks said. “They had to get used to me, and I had to get used to them.”

n Kootenai: The Warriors (6-11), who won the 1A Division II District 1 title, open state today vs. Murtaugh (13-9) at 7 p.m. PST at Caldwell High.

Kootenai, led by Jake Zarpentine, went two and out last year in its first trip to state since 2004.

Of the Warriors’ 11 losses, 10 came to schools in larger classifications — four to 3A schools, one to 2A squads and five to 1A Division 1 teams.

“Our record might not be too impressive, but everyone is 0-0 at state,” fourth-year Kootenai coach Andrew Whipple said. “We played a tough schedule and we have just as good of a chance as anybody to come back with a trophy.”

Times PST

At the Idaho Center, Nampa

Game 1 — Coeur d’Alene (15-7) vs. Eagle (14-10), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 — Centennial (18-5) vs. Timberline (15-8), 2

Game 3 — Idaho Falls (13-11) vs. Mountain View (18-5), 5:15

Game 4 — Post Falls (19-4) vs. Borah (18-5), 7

Friday

Game 5 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 — Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 (loser out)

Game 7 — Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:15 (semifinal)

Game 8 — Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 (semifinal)

Saturday

Consolation championship — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:15 a.m. (at Columbia High)

Third-place game — Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 a.m. (at Columbia High)

Championship game — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7 p.m.

At Borah High, Boise

Game 1 — Minico (22-1) vs. Rigby (16-10), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 — Moscow (8-13) vs. Skyview (19-4), 2

Game 3 — Bishop Kelly (15-8) vs. Madison (14-8), 5:15

Game 4 — Century (13-9) vs. Twin Falls (18-7), 7

Friday

Game 5 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 — Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 (loser out)

Game 7 — Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:15 (semifinal)

Game 8 — Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 (semifinal)

Saturday

Consolation championship — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:15 a.m.

Third-place game — Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 a.m.

Championship game — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 5 p.m. (at the Idaho Center, Nampa)

At Meridian High

Game 1 — Kimberly (17-5) vs. Snake River (17-5), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 — Priest River (17-5) vs. Fruitland (16-6), 2

Game 3 — Sugar-Salem (16-7) vs. St. Maries (18-5), 5:15

Game 4 — Marsh Valley vs. Weiser (19-4), 7

Friday

Game 5 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 — Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 (loser out)

Game 7 — Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:15 (semifinal)

Game 8 — Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 (semifinal)

Saturday

Consolation championship — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:15 a.m.

Third-place game — Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 a.m.

Championship game — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 2:50 p.m. (at the Idaho Center, Nampa)

At Capital High, Boise

Game 1 — Soda Springs (18-3) vs. McCall-Donnelly (15-9), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 — Valley (15-8) vs. Melba (15-6), 2

Game 3 — Kamiah (21-1) vs. West Side, 5:15

Game 4 — New Plymouth (17-3) vs. Firth (19-4), 7

Friday

Game 5 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 — Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 (loser out)

Game 7 — Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:15 (semifinal)

Game 8 — Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 (semifinal)

Saturday

Consolation championship — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:15 a.m.

Third-place game — Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 a.m.

Championship game — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 12:40 p.m. (at the Idaho Center, Nampa)

1A Division I

At Vallivue High, Caldwell

Game 1 — Prairie (18-5) vs. Grace (17-7), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 — Cascade (18-5) vs. Clearwater Valley (18-7), 2

Game 3 — Shoshone (19-4) vs. Wilder (18-3), 5:15

Game 4 — Genesee (18-5) vs. Notus (21-2), 7

Friday

Game 5 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 — Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 (loser out)

Game 7 — Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:15 (semifinal)

Game 8 — Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 (semifinal)

Saturday

Consolation championship — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:15 a.m.

Third-place game — Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 a.m.

Championship game — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 10:30 a.m. (at the Idaho Center, Nampa)

1A Division II

At Caldwell High

Game 1 — Nezperce (14-8) vs. Castleford (18-2), 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 — Salmon River (16-6) vs. Rockland (16-2), 2

Game 3 — Carey (21-2) vs. Meadows Valley, 5:15

Game 4 — Kootenai (6-11) vs. Murtaugh (13-9), 7

Friday

Game 5 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m. (loser out)

Game 6 — Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 (loser out)

Game 7 — Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:15 (semifinal)

Game 8 — Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 (semifinal)

Saturday

Consolation championship — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:15 a.m.

Third-place game — Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10 a.m.

Championship game — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 8:30 a.m. (at the Idaho Center, Nampa)