THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Sept. 3, 2014

The first weekend of football in the high school and college game has come and gone.

Plenty of things to be excited about, and others that left me scratching my head.

KEEP IN mind, that's it is early, but you can't help but be encouraged by the showing of area teams over the weekend.

For both Coeur d'Alene and Lake City, who jumped on a bus to travel in openers - and find ways to win - it was a good start.

Coeur d'Alene, which made the trip to Idaho Falls to face Skyline, struggled with penalties, but made plays when it mattered most to come away with a win.

In a game that could have gone either way in Meridian, Rocky Mountain took a late lead only to have the Timberwolves put together a game-winning drive, capped by a field goal as time expired.

Wins by Post Falls and Lakeland at Sandpoint and Lewiston, respectively had to be decided in the final quarter, but you can never underestimate the value of a win on the road early in the season.

Timberlake, which had to wait an extra day to start its season, made the most of a chance to play at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, beating Frenchtown (Mont.) 48-27.

That game, which Timberlake led 28-27 after three quarters, featured a standout performance by Daniel Buck, who ran for 176 yards and five touchdowns.

As a team, the Tigers ran for 334 yards, which is an impressive amount, no matter who or where you're playing.

NOT SO impressive were a few other in-state teams in their debuts.

Boise State, which some believed could possibly return to that BCS buster mentality this year, showed that they're no closer to the college football playoff than they are another low-end bowl bid.

Mississippi is a good SEC team, but that's about it. BSU had its chances to play with the Rebels, but couldn't stay out of its own way.

Maybe Ole Miss is a little better than some thought, but maybe the Broncos really aren't who we thought they were.

This year, the Idaho High School Activities Association changed the rules for 8-man football, changing the 45-point mercy rule - which ended the game after halftime if a team had built that lead - to moving to a running clock to play the entire game, thought with the clock only stopping on scoring plays, timeouts or an official's timeout.

While it seems like a good idea, with teams able to get more players in the game - should they choose if ahead or trailing that much - that might help build some of the smaller programs in the area.

Losing a game, whether by 50, 60 or even 70 points, what exactly is being learned in that situation?

The only thing that is apparent for all teams is that it's early, with plenty of time to build on what worked well.

That clock hasn't stopped running quite yet.

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 jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.