Closing the book on fall sports season
And with that gutsy fourth-down pass completion by Homedale on Saturday afternoon, on a snow-speckled field in Spirit Lake, the fall sports season for area high school teams was over.
Who’da thunk Timberlake would be the last team standing, albeit by one day — the Tigers’ state 3A football semifinal was scheduled for one day after Coeur d’Alene played at Rocky Mountain in the state 5A semis.
Still, Timberlake had a snowball’s chance of making it to its first state title game in football. More importantly, the Tigers were again a factor in the state playoffs, something fans might have taken for granted until last fall, when Timberlake missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
The Tigers will return a handful of young talent, including quarterback Joey Follini, running back Jeremy McLemore, tight end Joshua Yanez, running back Louis Powell, etc. If Timberlake shores up some other areas, puts in the work and remembers what got it this far this season, the Tigers should dominate the Intermountain League and be back in the state title hunt again.
SPEAKING OF young football teams who made nice playoff runs, how about those Post Falls Trojans?
Last year’s state playoff team was loaded with seniors, meaning nearly every starter this season was a new one. And not only did Post Falls surprise some by making it back to the state 5A playoffs, but they also won a first-round game before being ousted in the quarterfinals.
And many of their standouts this year were juniors and sophomores.
It’s possible the Trojans could be the favorite in the 5A Inland Empire League next fall — an honor usually bestowed on the Coeur d’Alene Vikings for most of the last decade.
OTHER THOUGHTS on the recently completed fall sports season:
- They didn’t get that state title they had hoped for, but the Lake City Timberwolves put together a dazzling little two-year run on the volleyball court.
Lake City finished second at the state 5A tournament last year to Bonneville of Idaho Falls. And with most of the core of that team back, the Timberwolves had their eyes on a state title this year.
Like last year, Lake City reached the semifinal match and like last year, the T-Wolves lost — this time to Madison. But unlike last year, Lake City was unable to play its way back to the finals, losing to 5A newbie Skyview and finishing third.
Still, a second and third at state in back-to-back seasons should be nothing to be down about.
And next year, the state volleyball tournaments return to North Idaho, so area fans can see how it all ends up.
- The area big schools fell short in their bids to reach state title games in soccer. But lil’ Coeur d’Alene Charter came through once again in the 3A division, winning its third straight state girls soccer title, and fourth in five straight appearances in the state title game.
Heading into state, Panthers coach Stacy Smith admitted there was a little pressure on the team to 3-peat. But all the Panthers have done under Smith is win. She has coached Charter for three years, and the Panthers have won three state titles.
Smith readily admits she’s simply building on the foundation set by Dave Baxter, who started the program in 2012 and coached the Panthers to a state title in 2014.
Charter is 108-24-8 in seven seasons of girls soccer, with four state titles, a state runner-up trophy and a consolation championship in six trips to state.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.