THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016
In a year that brought us a World Series title for the Chicago Cubs, as well as Peyton Manning riding off into the sunset with a Super Bowl title with the Denver Broncos, it was quite the year for teams celebrating championships.
A little closer to home there was plenty of big achievements to behold in 2016.
ONE OF them happened fairly new into the year as the Timberlake Tigers girls basketball team rolled to a state 3A championship at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
At the end of that day, five other teams got the chance to hoist that championship trophy, but it was seemed a little more special coming back with the kids from Spirit Lake.
Timberlake had advanced to the 3A championship game in four of its previous five years, finally breaking through against Marsh Valley for the championship. And with a handful of players back from last year’s team, chances are they’ll be right back where they were in 2016, playing for a second straight title.
Don’t forget, they took 5A Post Falls to the wire in a loss earlier this season and beat Washington 4A power Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, so maybe the best is yet to come in 2017.
It wasn’t on the football field when I could tell earlier this year that the St. Maries football team was destined for good things this season.
After making the trip to interview a few of the senior members of the team, you could just sense how relaxed and composed the team was — even as it prepared for a Central Idaho League opponent in Grangeville that they hadn’t beaten since moving from the 3A Intermountain League to the 2A Central Idaho League in 2012.
The Lumberjacks didn’t lose the rest of the season, winning the program’s first state title with a 31-8 win over Declo at Holt Arena in Pocatello.
A FEW area girls basketball teams have taken full advantage of their chance to see some Boise-area schools in recent days.
Lake City finished off a four-game stint with wins against Boise, Borah of Boise and Mountain View of Meridian.
Mountain View is the two-time defending state 5A champion. Boise, which played for third in last year’s state tournament, beat Lewiston in the Braves’ brief visit to North Idaho last weekend.
“It was a good trip for us,” said Lake City coach Bryan Kelly, whose team wrapped up the TimberLion tournament in Boise with a loss to Eagle on Friday. “Now, we’ve got some time to work on some things. I’m excited for the rest of the season. Our league is going to be tough, but I think we’re right in the mix.”
Post Falls wrapped up its four-game stint in Boise with a setback against Borah, the Trojans’ first loss of the season.
After a brief hiatus for the holiday break, they’ll get right into league play, with Lake City traveling to Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls hosting Lewiston on Jan. 3.
And with that, another long and winding road to the postseason.
Should be another fun ride.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.