The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT Oct. 12, 2011

Regardless of who your favorite football team is, you've got to admit - there are some odd happenings in high school football this season.

From the defending state champion Coeur d'Alene Vikings playing for the first time at home on a Friday night in October to the Kellogg Wildcats winning in the final seconds on the road, this year has already been a special one.

COEUR d'ALENE took its show on the road early on, with games at Rocky Mountain of Meridian and facing Moses Lake at CenturyLink Field on Labor Day weekend - the Vikings didn't get a chance to step on the turf at Viking Stadium until Sept. 10 against Skyview.

From that point, they beat Whitney (Calif.) 55-6 and Sandpoint 88-12 before returning home to face Moscow on Friday night.

The host Vikings, who had spent most of their bye week wondering if the game was going to be played as Moscow attempted to back out, then opted to play the game with some provisions - like should the game get lopsided, a running clock could be used to get the game over with.

Once the Vikings scored to make it 41-0, the running was truly on - as the clock started to run and the game concluded in less than an hour.

By comparison, Friday's homecoming game between Lewiston and Lake City was at halftime once the lights went out at Viking Stadium.

And with no mercy rule, it could be the only time that fans will ever see two games start at the same time at the 5A level and have one game go final before the king and queen are crowned at the other.

While the game might not be considered odd to some, I can't remember the last time an 11-man game had to be finished with a running clock.

Or will see one again.

MEANWHILE, A little farther north on U.S. 95, the Kellogg Wildcats and Bonners Ferry Badgers were locked in a 14-14 tie with less than 10 seconds remaining Friday night in Bonners Ferry. The Badgers had a chance to play for overtime, but that didn’t quite happen.

As time was winding down, a pass was deflected off a receiver’s hands into the hands of a Wildcat defender and returned for a touchdown to steal a win on the road as time expired.

Kellogg, with a win against either Priest River this Friday or Timberlake in two weeks could qualify for the state playoffs, despite losing its previous 15 games before a homecoming win over St. Maries in late September.

With area schools getting deep into their respective league schedules, things are still wide open in a few leagues.

After getting a key win over Lake City two weeks ago, Post Falls will have to beat either Coeur d’Alene or Lewiston to make a return to the state playoffs.

Lakeland appears to be in the driver’s seat for the lone 4A berth, but will have a tough test on Friday when the Hawks travel to Sandpoint to face a hungry Bulldogs team.

Right now, nobody wants to be the odd man out.

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 email at jelliott@cdapress.com.