The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT Sept. 19, 2012

After the final horn sounded in the final two games of the Idaho Football Classic on Saturday in Moscow, both the Coeur d'Alene Vikings and Lake City Timberwolves might have been awoken by the results of their nonleague games at the Kibbie Dome.

FOR EVERYTHING that Coeur d'Alene tried to do to stop Skyline quarterback Max Browne in Saturday's marquee matchup - Browne and his teammates had an answer.

When Coeur d'Alene's secondary put good coverage on receivers, they'd still find a way to get open. When the Vikings tried stopping the short pass, Browne just loaded up and threw deep over the Coeur d'Alene defense.

Browne, who verbally committed to USC last spring, looked the part of a future Trojan quarterback, hitting his receivers almost at will down the field.

If they were covered downfield, they'd find a way to get open - whether that meant coming back to the ball or just racing toward the end zone and waiting for Browne to get them the ball.

Skyline took a 50-7 lead before halftime, eventually winning 71-20 to snap Coeur d'Alene's 24-game winning streak.

For all that Coeur d'Alene has done in the last three years, it didn't matter on Saturday.

Defensively, the Spartans were able to take advantage of the Viking mistakes, whether it was penalties or incomplete passes.

With time and experience, Coeur d'Alene will improve from this game - and just in looking at the Vikings' remaining schedule, they won't see another team with the caliber of quarterback that Browne brought to the table.

Last year's Coeur d'Alene team, which possessed the speed and quickness on defense, might have been able to keep up with them, but that's only a guess.

Coeur d'Alene defeated Whitney (Calif.) last year 55-6 in a game where most of the Viking starters were out by the end of the third quarter.

For Cd'A fans, it was like deja vu - just on the wrong end this time.

AFTER PLAYING to a 27-27 tie in its previous game against Kennewick on Aug. 31, the Lake City Timberwolves wasted no time getting a jump on W.F. West of Chehalis, Wash., in the third game on Saturday, with the Timberwolves beating the Bearcats 52-14.

Lake City scored on the third play from scrimmage and just wreaked havoc on the Bearcats' offense, getting four sacks in the game.

W.F. West coach Bob Wollan was hoping that his team could weather the Timberwolves' storm early on in the game.

That storm never let up as the Timberwolves improved to 1-1-1.

AS COMPETITIVE as both games were or weren’t, there’s still a long way to go for both teams.

Despite the fact that Coeur d’Alene lost its first game in two years, that doesn’t eliminate the Vikings from the overall goal of winning a third straight state 5A championship, nor does it mean that Lake City is going to roll to its 16th straight playoff appearance under coach Van Troxel.

But we’ve got an idea now what both teams can do on the field.

And in both cases, neither will face the kind of competition they faced again this year.

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 [email protected].