THE FRONT ROW with Jason Elliott Aug. 21, 2013
Can this fall prep sports season really top last year?
Teams playing for a state championship in the highest (5A) classification in football, volleyball, boys and girls soccer - as well as cross country, will lightning strike twice?
IT MIGHT be difficult to imagine a similar situation with three of four teams from the area playing for state championships on the same day as was the case when Post Falls faced Boise in the boys title game, then Post Falls and Lake City girls faced off for the girls title.
For the teams up north, there won't be a play-in game this year as the top two finishers at the regional tournament at the 5A level qualify for state. Lake City, which had to win its way into the state tournament, beat Post Falls in a shootout to claim the girls championship.
Post Falls lost only once on the way to the first boys title in program history.
The Coeur d'Alene girls cross country team won a state title in impressive fashion at Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston and return almost all of those competitors for another run this fall.
At the state swim meet in Boise, the Coeur d'Alene and Lake City boys finished third and fourth respectively, with the Lake City girls sixth.
THOUGH TWO area football teams advanced to the state 5A semifinals in the state football playoffs last year, it won't happen again this year.
The number of bids from the north has been decreased by one - leaving Boise (with 10 teams) with 5 bids, eastern Idaho (with five teams) with two and the north (with four teams) with only one bid to the state playoffs.
No pressure on a couple area teams, with Coeur d'Alene advancing to three straight 5A title games and Lake City advancing to the playoffs 16 straight seasons.
Something has to give this year, and with Post Falls and Lewiston also improving, games between the schools at the end of the season won't disappoint either.
When the final weekend of the high school volleyball season arrives on Nov. 1-2, so will a host of state tournaments around the area.
Championships are scheduled for Lake City, Post Falls, Coeur d'Alene and Lakeland High - as well as the 1A level in the Lewiston area.
IN TALKING to a few coaches, it's important to remember that it's still early and most teams won't really know just how good they are until the middle of September by the earliest.
With soccer, some teams will have played at least four games by the time they've even started school.
Who know if area teams can repeat the success they enjoyed last year.
It's going to be fun seeing if they can.
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].