State high school football playoffs continue

The state high school volleyball tournaments and state cross country meets wrapped up last weekend, but there’s still some area athletes in fall sports mode.

Coeur d’Alene and St. Maries are the only local teams remaining in the state high school football playoffs.

Coeur d’Alene (7-2) was idle last week with a first-round by in the state 5A playoffs, and will play host to Madison (8-1) of Rexburg in a quarterfinal game Friday at 7 p.m. Madison beat Timberline of Boise 49-7 in the first round last Friday in Rexburg. Madison and Coeur d’Alene met most recently in the state championship game in 2012, with Madison winning at Holt Arena in Pocatello.

St. Maries (8-1) travels to southeast Idaho to face Aberdeen (9-0) in the quarterfinals Saturday at 2 p.m. MST. St. Maries blanked New Plymouth 35-0 at home last weekend in the first round, while Aberdeen edged Firth 16-12.

Lakeland (4A) and Timberlake (3A) each lost last weekend at home in the first round of their respective playoffs.

Also, the state swimming championships are scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Boise, with prelims on Friday and finals on Saturday.

And girls basketball teams can begin practicing today, with some teams starting their seasons as soon as next weekend.

First practice for boys basketball is Nov. 13, and for wrestling, it starts Nov. 16.