Settling things when it comes to the Star

After playing eight to nine games, it could be over in a flash for one school come Monday night.

The game of 8-man football is exciting enough on its own.

Throw in a Kansas tiebreaker, and it could be chaos on the Harrison Flats starting at 6 p.m.

WHILE OTHERS beat up on each other in the opening round of the state high school football playoffs this weekend, two teams still are waiting around for their turn to settle things.

Thanks to a rare Wednesday night win by Lakeside, the Knights and Mullan-St. Regis will compete in a Kansas tiebreaker to determine the North Star League football champion and lone representative to the state 1A Division II playoffs next weekend.

Talk about two programs deserving that spot, you couldn’t really go wrong with either team.

Lakeside is in the midst of its best season since 1997 — the Knights were 9-2 and lost to Deary in the state 4A semifinals — at 6-1.

As small school coaching goes, it might not get any more complicated should the Knights advance.

Chris Dohrman, in his seventh year as football coach, is also the girls basketball coach. Lakeside begins basketball practice on Monday.

“We might have to hold off practice a day or two,” Dohrman joked. “It’s going to be interesting.”

Mullan-St. Regis football coach Stetson Spooner is a little more familiar with the tiebreaker scenario, which involves putting the ball at the 25-yard line, giving both teams a chance to possess the ball and playing until there’s a winner.

“It’s a riot, man,” said Spooner, who played defensive back at NAIA Western Montana from 2006-2010. “It’s a very exciting situation. We’re looking forward to the opportunity.”

MULLAN-ST. REGIS lost at Lakeside 38-6 on Sept. 20 before topping the Knights 50-36 Oct. 25 at John Drager Field in Mullan.

“Not much changes for us,” Spooner said. “We stick to our strengths and attack weaknesses that we see on film or that stuck while playing. Small adjustments can be made. But with two teams this successful, it’s going to be a battle of will.”

Due to low numbers, Mullan canceled its 2014 football season. A similar fate was close to happening with St. Regis — a school 45 minutes over the Montana border — to open the door for the teams to merge for the first time for the 2018 season.

Mullan-St. Regis is 6-2 this season.

“The guys are eager to compete,” Spooner said. “They obviously know that Lakeside is the real deal and are excited to try and leave no doubt as to who was the squad from the North this year.”

Monday night, whether its in five minutes or a hour, a worthy team is going to extend its season by a few more days.

Should be something to see for sure.

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 jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.