THE FRONT ROW WITH ERIC PLUMMER: Sunday, August 17, 2014

Don't look now, but area teams are already practicing for the 2014 fall sports season, with the reigning state 4A champion Bulldog girls soccer team set to kick things off by hosting Post Falls on Saturday.

Continuing a recent tradition, the Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene boys soccer teams will play three times this season, with the first battle, considered a "friendly," set for Aug. 26.

Is there a bigger misnomer than "friendly," which is soccerese for an exhibition game. Randy Thoreson, the architect behind a dominating Bulldog boys program that owns eight of the possible 14 state titles in 4A history, always joked that nothing friendly ever seemed to transpire when the Vikings and Bulldogs took the pitch.

Unfriendly is a more apt description for games that are traditionally physical and spirited.

Even though the first football games are still 12 days away, it's never to early too start the hype machine. Two football teams with high hopes for the upcoming season will christen the Friday Night Lights when the 5A Trojans head north to face the Bulldogs at Barlow Stadium. With SWX televising the game live, a little extra prime time sizzle has been added to the anticipated opener.

The Bulldogs got an up close and personal look at the Trojans during the Border League Camp this summer, and head coach Satini Puailoa was impressed by Post Falls.

"We felt they were one of the best teams at the Border League Camp. They were real physical, well coached," said Puailoa of the Trojans. "It's going to be a great opening game."

A QUICK perusal of the Idaho High School Activities Association state tournament manual revealed a number of interesting tidbits about fall sports.

One of the things that really jumps out is located under the state 3A volleyball champions. The words St. Maries and coach Mitch Santos are listed vertically next to each other for 10 straight lines from 1984-1993.

Only Jerome, which won 10 straight class B cross country titles from 1973-1982, can match the dynastic run.

You never say never, especially in the unpredictable world of sports, but it's a pretty safe bet that in this day and age of specialization and parity, no team will ever win 10 straight state titles again in any sport in any classification. Whatever or however Santos was coaching back then, it worked wonders, as the banners tell the tale.

Speaking of volleyball dynasties, the prodigal daughter returns to steward a Sandpoint team that boasts a whopping 14 state championships.

Erin Roos, formerly Erin McGovern, played for the Bulldogs in the early 90's, before a successful college career as a setter at the University of Michigan. Oddly enough, she never won a state title as a player at Sandpoint, and will be looking to exorcise those demons as the new head coach. Roos follows the successful tenure of Vandal Hall of Famer Karen Alsager, who added two banners to the tally.

Easily the most surprising revelation in the manual was the fact that just one player from the panhandle owns a state football record. Considering the team success from the north, it comes off as an anomaly.

Sandpoint's Brent Scott owns the state 4A record for the longest punt, a 72 yard bomb he hit in a crushing 15-13 loss to Century in the 2003 state championship game.

"We punted from our own 25 down to their 10 in a pivotal point in the game," remembers Puailoa, whose team dominated everywhere except the scoreboard in the tough loss. "It hit the carpet after 50 yards and rolled to pin them down."

LOOKING EVEN deeper into the IHSAA manual reveals that the recent spate of cross country success from North Idaho is breaking with tradition. Idaho started hosting cross country state meets in 1968, but it wasn't until Emmett Arndt coached the Coeur d'Alene girls to a state title in 1982 that a north school won a title.

Mike Dilley would coach the Viking girls to another title three years later, and along with Cathy Compton's 2004 and 2012 girls teams and 2011 boys team, boast the only 5A team state titles from the north.

Cheryl Klein coached the Sandpoint girls to the 4A team title in 2002, Ivan Benson coached Priest River to the class B (3A) boys championship in 1990, and most recently, Shawn Lawler led the Timberlake girls to three straight titles from 2009-11 to round out the champs from the north.

Since 1968, only nine athletes from the panhandle have won individual state XC titles, a number so small it bears mentioning the runners.

Jenny Reese was the first to break through for the Vikings in 1985 and 1987, and two years later Corissa Yassen gave the Vikings three individual state titles in five years.

Other state titles were earned by Forest Braden of Bonners Ferry (2000-01), Ali Brosch of Sandpoint (2002-03), Breana Sande of Lake City (2002), Michael Armon of Coeur d'Alene (2004), Frank Lagrimanta of Timberlake (2005-06), Megan Bartlett of Sandpoint (2007) and most recently, a three-peat by Coeur d'Alene's Kinsey Gomez (2007, 2009-10).

Will there be another name to add to the list in 2014? Tune in to find out.

Eric Plummer is the sports editor of the Daily Bee. For comments, suggestions or story ideas, he can be reached at "eplummer@bonnercountydailybee.com."