THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: September 4, 2013

What fans learned after the first week of football in the northwest is, there's plenty of work still to be done.

At the high school level, it was an interesting start to the season to say the least.

IN THE first half of the Capital-Post Falls football game last Friday at Trojan Stadium, there was plenty of good things to build on.

A fast, up-tempo offense helped Post Falls move the ball really well, but a dropped pass on fourth down and interception kept them from scoring early on. Keep in mind that Post Falls lost a few starters from last year and those younger players in time will be better prepared this week when the team hosts Graham-Kapowsin on Thursday.

Out of the area, the Coeur d'Alene Vikings found themselves down 28-6 in the first half of their opener at West Linn, Ore., on Friday night, but played faster, quicker and stronger in the second half to come away with a 49-35 win, scoring 43 straight points.

Another slow start this Saturday against Bothell High at Husky Stadium might be a lot tougher to bounce back from, but consider they did it a week ago, we'll see.

If somebody told me on Friday morning that Lake City and Rocky Mountain were going to combine for 105 points in their season opener, I probably might have called you insane.

That's what happened however, with the Timberwolves coming up on the short end of a 63-41 final score in Meridian.

One thing is for certain however - the Timberwolves can score the ball offense- but will need to find a way to stop it from happening to them on defense.

IN THE one classification where teams combining to score in the 100s is almost expected, two of the top teams in the North Star League didn't disappoint in their opener either.

Wallace beat Kootenai 74-40 on the Harrison Flats on Friday night and while it won't matter in the league standings as far as qualifying for the state playoffs, with Wallace in Division 1 and Kootenai in Division II, the games are always competitive between the two schools.

Out to stop Kootenai in its attempt to make it to the state playoffs for the eighth straight season is Clark Fork and Mullan, which both opened the season in the Kibbie Dome in Moscow on Saturday.

Clark Fork got defensive in its game against Lewis County, losing 14-6 in a game that could have gone either way.

Meanwhile Mullan, which has 10 players on the roster this year, found a way to win its opener for the second straight year, beating Timberline of Weippe 60-34.

Lakeland, Timberlake and Lakeside will be on the field for the first time this Friday.

It was a good start for area schools.

If it results in a great finish remains to be seen.

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.