THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Oct. 18, 2014

You'll have to pardon the St. Maries Lumberjacks football team.

It's not the players' fault that they don't remember who was the president of the United States the last time they had five wins in a season.

It has been a few years.

THE LUMBERJACKS raced out to a 5-1 start before a setback in the team's Central Idaho League opener at Grangeville last Friday, losing 56-8.

"We've been a little more fortunate with injuries this year," fifth-year St. Maries coach Craig Tefft said. "We've just been working hard on turning things around the last few years. We're not beating ourselves and doing a better job of figuring out how to win close games."

St. Maries started 2-2 last season, then lost starting quarterback Luke Feasline to a torn ACL the week before league play.

The Lumberjacks didn't win again the rest of the way, finishing 2-7.

This year, with senior Logan Feasline - who moved over from receiver to quarterback for his older brother - back at quarterback, they've done a better job of limiting turnovers and taking care of the ball.

"In our losses, we've been reverting back to turning the ball over," Tefft said. "In our wins, we're winning those battles and also winning the field position battle."

St. Maries was idle on Friday. With a win next Friday at home against Orofino, St. Maries can force a three-way tie for the league title. Lose, and the Lumberjacks will advance to a state 2A playoff play-in game against the District 3 champion in two weeks.

In the five wins, St. Maries has outscored its opponents 168-62. In the two losses, the Lumberjacks have been outscored 105-15.

On Friday, the team got to enjoy something few and far between since the start of practices - a night off.

"It's definitely hitting us at a good time," said Tefft of the bye. "The kids have been grinding since Aug. 12, so it's nice to get a night off. We've had some kids out with the flu, and it's nice psychologically to get the kids back to the basics to what led to our success and what was working for us earlier in the year, instead of just game-planning each week for a different opponent."

WHAT NO coach could ever plan on is losing a recent team member - which happened on Sept. 18 when St. Maries graduate Brandon Avalos, 18, was killed in a fall while visiting Glacier National Park in Montana. Avalos was an avid motocross racer.

He went to St. Maries all 12 years - wrestling and playing football. Prior to the Lumberjacks' homecoming game against Bonners Ferry on Sept. 26, members of the team walked through a lineup of motorcycles in honor of Avalos.

"We've tried to move on from it the best we can," Tefft said. "We had that memorial for him, and that was a nice thing. For a lot of the kids, they've had him on their minds, but they've kept on the task at hand and moved forward."

During the varsity team's bye week, the priority on Friday was simple. Get rested, and get in the woods to do some hunting.

"You better believe it," Tefft said. "We took today off, and a lot got pre-arranged to be absent. I told them to go hunting, get mentally ready and get back Monday and prepare for Orofino."

ST. MARIES is off its best start since 1999, when Bob Bucsko's team finished 5-4. To find the most wins in consecutive seasons, you'd have to look as far back as the 1995-96 season, when teams lead by Curt Carr - who is now an assistant at Lakeland - had teams that finished 9-1 and 6-4. The '95 team was also the last to go undefeated in league play (5-0 in the Intermountain League).

"I still don't know that we've reached the full potential of this team," Tefft said. "The fun part is we've done so many good things during games, that when we see the film, we're seeing where we can improve. The kids keep trying to achieve those goals they've set for themselves."

Another history lesson - the president the last time the Lumberjacks had a .500 or better record - Bill Clinton.

"We were kind of laughing that they didn't know who was in office the last time they won five games," Tefft said. "Our attendance is up at home games, the morale at school is really high. The student body is really excited for them. It's just been a great year in that regard."

Help might be on the way as well, as the school's junior varsity team went unbeaten until an 11-man loss on Thursday night against Wallace, which was playing its first 11-man game since 2007.

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 [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.