THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Jan. 9, 2014
When Emily Callahan entered the game in the closing seconds of Coeur d'Alene High's girls basketball victory at Lake City on Tuesday, that doubled the amount of reserves who played for the Vikings that night.
Senior forward Kayli Matheson scored a basket and grabbed a couple of rebounds for Coeur d'Alene, and earned kudos from Viking coach Dale Poffenroth for her play off the bench.
But Matheson and Callahan are about it for the Vikings' depth - at least for now.
"It (lack of depth) is always a problem, but you do what you can," Poffenroth said. "Three kids move (in the offseason) because their dads get different jobs, and two kids get injuries that are threatening to be season-ending injuries. There goes all your depth. It's hard to suck up five people."
COEUR d'ALENE (12-2) has a solid starting five of guards Sydney Parker, Madison Sumner and Sara Chalich, and forwards Brittany Tackett and Sydney Williams - all seniors. Which is a good thing, because they will be asked to carry more of the load and starters on other teams.
Of course, as Coeur d'Alene has played in seven of the last eight state 5A championship games, expect no sympathy from the rest of the state. The Vikings can still make it to another title game -- they just have less margin for error - or injury - or foul trouble.
Callahan a sophomore guard, slowed by leg injuries from cross country season, actually made her basketball debut Tuesday night - and only for a few seconds. Poffenroth hopes to play her a little bit here and there over the next couple of weeks, with an eye on Coeur d'Alene's Jan. 24 game at Lewiston, which won at Coeur d'Alene in December.
Maddy Scholwinski, a 6-foot-sophomore forward, hasn't played because of back issues. She could be back in a couple of weeks, Poffenroth said - or she could end up missing the entire season.
Another reserve from earlier in the season left the team.
WITH HIS numbers dwindling, Poffenroth brought up a freshman, a sophomore and a junior, just in case.
"You try to season the other kids, but they should be a year away," Poffenroth said. "They should be strictly JV, for another year, then be able to step in, and those other five kids should be right there ... coming into the season, you have 12 kids, and the season starts and you have six kids."
If Scholwinski can return, and Callahan can stay healthy, they'll join Matheson to give the Vikings at least an eight-player rotation.
Poffenroth said he won't change the Vikings' playing style just because of the shortage of healthy bodies.
"Naw, we'll just have to go after 'em and see what happens," he said.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.