THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Thursday, July 31, 2014
Suffering through Tuesday's 102-degree day, it was only natural to think that the first Idaho high school football games are only four weeks away.
(Of course, we would have been thinking about this if temperatures were in their normal 80-degree range, or if it were raining, or windy, or ... you get the drift.)
That said, perusing local teams' football schedules for this fall, here are some games involving local 5A teams that jump out:
Aug. 29
Lake City at Rocky Mountain: These two met in an entertaining opener last year in Meridian. Lake City ran up 41 points - and still lost by 22. Rocky Mountain made it as far as the state 5A semifinals, while Lake City saw its run of 16 straight trips to the state playoffs come to an end - despite a 6-3 record.
Sept. 12
Coeur d'Alene vs. Ferris at Albi Stadium, Spokane: Thanks to Greater Spokane League administrators giving the OK for its teams to pursue nonleague games, 5A Inland Empire League teams worked fast to schedule as many as they can. Coeur d'Alene could only fit two on its schedule, but Ferris has been among the top GSL teams in recent years. Lake City scored three (Lewis and Clark, Central Valley and Shadle Park), and Post Falls picked up one (University).
Sept. 19
Shadle Park at Lake City: The Highlanders, led by Boise State commit Brett Rypien, the most prolific passer in GSL history, cross over the state line, where the Timberwolves defense will be tested.
Sept. 27
Highland (Pocatello) at Coeur d'Alene: What a neat little rivalry this has become of late. The two schools, separated by roughly 525 miles, have played four times in three cities over the past two years, each team winning twice. Highland won the regular-season meeting both years in a home-and-home matchup, only to see the Vikings win the two postseason clashes - in the
2012 semifinals at Holt Arena in Pocatello, and, of course, last fall in a thrilling finish in the state 5A title game at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow. Wouldn't be surprised if this year's scheduled meeting was the first of two this season.
Oct. 17
Lake City at Coeur d'Alene: In most years, both teams would go on to the playoffs, and this game was for city pride. But last year, the 5A IEL got just one berth, with Coeur d'Alene routing Lake City for the berth, leading to the end of the T-Wolves' streak. And with the chances of the North getting more than one state berth in the future somewhere between slim and none, schools from the North were successful in getting the playoff bracket expanded from 8 to 12 teams (see below).
Oct. 24
Coeur d'Alene at Post Falls: The Trojans, despite some good teams over the years, have been on the outside looking in since their last playoff appearance, in 2004. At the very least, this could be a game Post Falls needs to make it into the play-in round the following week (see below):
Oct. 31
Play-in round, state 5A and 4A playoffs: Thanks to the 5A and 4A playoffs expanding from eight to 12 teams this year, the No. 2 teams in the 5A and 4A Inland Empire League have a shot at the postseason as well. The top four teams will have first-round byes, with the remaining eight to square off for a chance to face the top four in the quarterfinal round.
* MaxPreps recently came out with its list of the 20 most dominant Idaho high school football programs over the past decade (2004-2013). Each team was awarded points based on where it finished in MaxPreps' computer rankings at the end of the season - 25 points for finishing No. 1, down to 1 point for finishing No. 25. Teams also got 30 points for winning a state title, 15 for finishing as runner-up.
The No. 1 team after all this data was plugged in?
Shelley, which won five state 3A titles and had three perfect seasons since 2004, totaled 292 points.
Coeur d'Alene was a close second, with 284 points. The Vikings have played in five state title games and won three of them over that span.
Lake City, helped by a state title in 2006, was 10th. Post Falls was 18th.
Blackfoot was third, followed by Fruitland, Highland (Pocatello), Bishop Kelly, Capital, Eagle and Pocatello.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.