Season begins today ... we hope

The high school football season for local teams is scheduled to begin today ... or Saturday ... or, if air quality doesn't improve, maybe not until next week.

Four games - involving Coeur d'Alene, Lake City, Post Falls and St. Maries - were rescheduled for the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, while school officials will roll the dice on decent air quality for three other games - at Lakeland, Lakeside and Timberlake.

Kootenai is idle, and is scheduled to open next Friday at home vs. Clark Fork.

All four games involving local teams at the Kibbie Dome - Coeur d'Alene vs. Skyline, and Lake City vs. Rocky Mountain on Friday, and St. Maries vs. Kellogg, and Post Falls vs. Sandpoint on Saturday - are slated to be webcast on idahosports.com.

All told, seven games were rescheduled for the Kibbie Dome this weekend - including Genesee vs. Kendrick on Thursday night, Moscow vs. Grangeville tonight at 8, and Deary vs. Potlatch on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Skyline vs. Coeur d'Alene: Coeur d'Alene won last year's meeting, 26-13 in Idaho Falls, and went on to finish 7-4, bowing out in the state 5A quarterfinals. Skyline went on to finish 5-5, losing at Capital in the first round of the state playoffs.

Rocky Mountain vs. Lake City: Rocky beat Lake City 39-37 last year in a wild season opener in Meridian.

Lake City is in rebuilding mode after going 9-2 last season and reaching the state 5A semifinals. Rocky Mountain went 8-3 and also reached the state semis, losing to eventual champion Highland of Pocatello.

Rocky is picked to win its six-team pod in the 12-team 5A Southern Idaho Conference. The Grizzlies return Jake Roper, a first-team All-Idaho running back last year, and quarterback Christian Blaser.

Lewiston at Lakeland: Lewiston has 40 returning lettermen, including 18 starters, one of them quarterback Colton Richardson. Lakeland has zero of each. Lakeland went 7-3 last year, including a 24-10 victory at Lewiston in the season opener, and reached the quarterfinals of the state 4A playoffs. Lewiston went 1-8 last year.

Lewis County at Lakeside: In a coaches poll of White Star League teams conducted by the Lewiston Tribune, Lewis County and Lakeside finished in a tie for fourth. The teams meet twice this season; this one is a nonleague game. Lakeside won last year's matchup 48-17 in Plummer.

Sandpoint vs. Post Falls: This could be one of the most entertaining openers of the weekend. Post Falls won last year's opener 42-39 in Sandpoint, and both teams went on reach the state playoffs - Post Falls (5-5 last year) for the first time since 2004, where the Trojans fell in the first round; Sandpoint (6-5 in 2014) advanced as far as the quarterfinals.

Sandpoint senior running back Kyle Perry rushed for 1,535 yards last season and scored a total of 27 touchdowns, and has been offered by the University of Idaho.

Frenchtown (Mont.) at Timberlake: Timberlake won last year's matchup 48-27 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula.

This year's game has had two time changes and nearly a change of sites - Timberlake had reserved the Kibbie Dome for a Saturday night kickoff, before deciding to play the game at home in Spirit Lake. The original 7 p.m. kickoff time was changed to noon, then changed again to 5 p.m.

St. Maries vs. Kellogg: 2A St. Maries beat 3A Kellogg twice last season, 41-0 and 26-18. St. Maries went on to finish 6-4, won a state playoff game for the first time since 1987, and reached the state quarterfinals. Kellogg finished 2-7.

Prep football

Friday's Games

Rocky Mountain vs. Lake City at Kibbie Dome, Moscow, 3 p.m.

Skyline vs. Coeur d'Alene at Kibbie Dome, 5:30 p.m.

Lewiston at Lakeland, 7 p.m.

Lewis County at Lakeside, 7 p.m.

Saturday's Games

Sandpoint vs. Post Falls at Kibbie Dome, 7 p.m.

Frenchtown (Mont.) at Timberlake, 5 p.m.

St. Maries vs. Kellogg at Kibbie Dome, 4:30 p.m.