Support when the Knights needed some
High school sports are supposed to, in a way, bring a community together.
Whether it be a Friday night under the football lights, or just a night in the gymnasium watching the area basketball or volleyball team take on whoever it might be that night.
A few weeks ago, while the small community of Plummer-Worley was suffering a great loss, that same community — as well as the one they compete in — stepped in when they needed them the most.
A LITTLE over two weeks ago, Lakeside called off all athletic events due to the sudden passing of a student-athlete at the high school.
After a little over a week away from the game of football, Lakeside returned to the field against Lewis County in a nonleague game on Oct. 18, winning 24-14 to remain undefeated on the season.
“I was proud of the boys,” Lakeside football coach Chris Dohrman said. “They did a good job of focusing and getting the job done, especially in a difficult week or two for them. We had a short week, but it was good to be playing some football again.”
According to social media posts, community members delivered snacks and water to the school for the students during classes at the high school.
Lakeside postponed a North Star League game at Clark Fork on Oct. 11, then didn’t practice again until Oct. 20 leading up to the Lewis County game.
“We had one practice, but only had half the team there,” said Dohrman, who has 12 players on his roster this year. “We didn’t practice on Monday (Oct. 14), and it showed we’re a little rusty.”
As for that Lakeside-Clark Fork game, the teams rescheduled it for next Wednesday. Lakeside is seeking its first playoff berth since 2001. The league champion won’t have a playoff game until the quarterfinals (Nov. 8).
“If we get the one against Mullan-St.Regis, it won’t matter as far as the playoffs go,” said Dohrman, in his seventh year as football coach. “But we wanted to get that game in. It’s Clark Fork’s senior night, and they were really good for us. They came down and supported us when we needed it.”
Lakeside’s volleyball team returned to the court by beating Kootenai in a North Star League match on Oct. 15.
“I think getting back to playing really helped the kids,” said Lakeside volleyball coach Brad Veile, who has coached at the school for 19 years. “We’ve been trying to change the focus of practice to having more fun. Being a senior-dominated team, we’ve seen what the different attitudes have done for them on the court. In that third set of the Kootenai match, we put some JV kids in, and the varsity kids were loud, supportive and cheering each other on.”
DOHRMAN THANKED his colleagues in the North Star League for their understanding as the Knights grieved.
“It’s super nice to be in the league we’re in,” Dohrman said. “We’re all competitive and trying to win. But when it comes down to it, there’s a lot of good people in this league. We really appreciated it from all the other schools. The student didn’t play football, and was a basketball player. But our school was so small, he was extremely popular and everyone knew him. We found out what had happened as we were coming off the field a few weeks ago, and it hit our kids pretty hard, and the entire school as well. It was good to get out and play some football and get back to normal (against Lewis County). I was proud of the effort. Our kids pulled together and got the job done.”
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.