Busy slate on opening weekend
Prep football
Times PDT
Tonight's Games
Coeur d'Alene at Skyline, 6 p.m.
Lake City at Rocky Mountain, 6
Post Falls at Sandpoint, 7
Lakeland at Lewiston, 7
Kellogg at St. Maries, 7
Saturday's Games
Oakley at Lakeside, 1 p.m.
Timberlake vs. Frenchtown at Missoula, 6
All but one local team - Kootenai - is in action this weekend as the high school football season in Idaho gets under way.
One reason for the busy "Zero Week" schedule - with the playoffs expanded to a fourth week in most divisions, most schools are playing this week in an attempt to get nine games in before the postseason.
The area's three 5A teams all open on the road tonight - defending state champion Coeur d'Alene travels to Idaho Falls to face Skyline, Lake City buses to Meridian to face Rocky Mountain, and in the one game close to home, Post Falls visits Sandpoint.
Coeur d'Alene at Skyline: These teams met last year in Coeur d'Alene, with the Vikings opening up a 51-0 halftime lead en route to a 54-14 triumph. The Grizzlies finished 3-7 last year.
This will mark the fourth straight season Coeur d'Alene has opened the season with a lengthy road trip - last year it was to West Linn, Ore., two years ago it was to Skyview of Nampa, and in 2011 it was to Rocky Mountain. The Vikings won all of those games.
Lake City at Rocky Mountain: These teams met in Meridian in last year's opener, with Rocky prevailing 63-41. Rocky Mountain finished 10-2 last year, losing to Highland of Pocatello in the state 5A semifinals.
More than 200 kids turned out for football at Rocky Mountain this season.
"Rocky's the biggest school in the state," Lake City coach Van Troxel said. "They lost 4-5 Division I kids from last year, including a three-year starter at quarterback. We like the opportunity to go to Rocky."
This is Lake City's third straight trip to the Boise area for a season opener - two years ago, the Timberwolves opened at Eagle.
Post Falls at Sandpoint: Post Falls has dominated this series lately, winning the last eight meetings, including a 46-25 triumph last year at Eastern Washington University's Roos Field in Cheney.
Sandpoint's last win over Post Falls was in 2005 - the Bulldogs' eighth straight win over the Trojans. Sandpoint went 4-5 last season, an improvement over its 1-8 mark in 2012, when Satini Puailoa began his second stint as Bulldogs coach.
Lakeland at Lewiston: The teams meet in the opener for the third straight season - Lewiston won 14-5 last year at Rathdrum, and won 20-7 at home in 2012.
Kellogg at St. Maries: The teams split their two meetings last year, St. Maries winning 48-7 at home, then losing 19-12 at Kellogg. That was Kellogg's lone win in a 1-8 season last year.
They'll play again twice this year - the second coming Sept. 19 at Kellogg.
Oakley at Lakeside: After going 1-8 last year as a 1A Division I school, Lakeside drops down to 1A Division II.
After two years playing 11-man football in class 2A, Oakley, located in south-central Idaho, is back playing eight-man. The Hornets went 3-6 last season.
Timberlake vs. Frenchtown at Missoula: This game at Montana's Washington-Grizzly Stadium is the finale of the three-game Hometown Pride Classic, pitting Idaho schools vs. Montana schools.
Frenchtown, located some 18 miles west of Missoula, is coming off a 2-6 season.