The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT April 20, 2013

There's no mistaking it.

When rivals face each other in sports, you're bound to get all you paid for to watch them play.

WITH A few of the rivalries in the area, say what you want about how it's just another game - and you still have to play them again.

Believe me, it matters.

In situations like watching teams such as Coeur d'Alene and Lake City face off, chances are, eight times out of 10, the players aren't going to be meeting somewhere after the game to tell them great game, or that they appreciated just how tough and physical the game was.

That just doesn't happen in some cases.

And while I don't expect that to change anytime soon, they could be heading toward something special in a little under a month from now.

In a little under a month, the state 5A softball tournament will be held at Ramsey Park in Coeur d'Alene, with the 4A tournament at Post Falls High.

Unless either stumble, it could wind up coming down to Coeur d'Alene vs. Lake City for the state title for a second straight year.

The only difference this time, the state has returned to a double-elimination tournament for the championship, so if both enter the final game unbeaten, they'll have to win twice to win a state championship.

Watching the championship game between Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene in the state girls basketball tournament - that finished with the Trojans winning 46-44 in overtime - some of the players met on the court, hugged and congratulated each other for a hard fought game.

And whatever rivalry they had, ended when the final buzzer went off.

IT MIGHT be difficult to imagine a situation where rival players actually play on the same team, but look no further than the Coeur d'Alene and Prairie American Legion baseball programs, as well as club softball, soccer or Junior Tackle Football.

And for as good as some of those games are when the rivals play each other, it's almost just as good when they're on the same team.

With the Coeur d'Alene Legion, players are made up of Coeur d'Alene and Lake City High students, with the Prairie squad mixed from Post Falls, Lakeland and Timberlake.

In the last two years, both have advanced to the state tournament and played fairly well once getting there. Members of the Coeur d'Alene Sting and Idaho Thunder soccer program have also enjoyed some success in recent years with players often times mixed in with other schools.

The way that these teams compete against each other - win or lose, it's worth it to watch how it goes.

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.