Preps taking the game to a bigger field

The carrot at the end of the road when it comes to prep football is that if you play long enough, eventually the games are played on a bigger stage.

Make it to a championship game in Idaho, you could be playing either at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Holt Arena in Pocatello, or Albertson’s Stadium in Boise.

Depending on the kind of fall we have, a few non-championship games could be played at any of those sites a few weeks before the title game.

ON FRIDAY night, Post Falls High took on Mead of Spokane in a game previously scheduled for Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane. The game was scheduled to kick off at 5:30, with Lake City facing Lewis and Clark in the late game, but instead, the Trojans and Panthers kicked off on Friday at 5 p.m. in the Pine Bowl at Whitworth University.

“The athletic director at Whitworth and the coach at Mead got together and thought it was a good idea,” Post Falls coach Blaine Bennett said of moving locations. “We were over there for our summer camp, and obviously with coach (Adam) Shamion (the previous defensive coordinator at Post Falls before leaving for Whitworth in 2018), it helps to know someone on the coaching staff.”

Michael McKeown, a Post Falls High product who went on to play wide receiver at Whitworth, is a offensive graduate assistant and coaches the wide receivers. Post Falls graduates on the current Whitworth roster include junior Cameron McKeown (defensive back), senior Zach Hillman (defensive back) and sophomore Alan Ballew (wide receiver).

Post Falls played Mead at Roos Field in Cheney in 2017, a 54-40 Trojan win.

“As a Whitworth grad (in 1987), I’m excited to have our kids over there,” Bennett said. “They’ve done a great job with the facilities and venue. We’ll play anywhere, whether it’s Joe Albi, the Kibbie Dome, or anywhere. Anytime you get on a college campus, it’s a neat thing for these kids to get to experience.”

WHEN THE St. Maries Lumberjacks started on the road to a state 2A title in 2016, the team had to win at the Kibbie Dome, then play not once, but twice at Holt Arena in Pocatello, thumping Declo 31-8 for the program’s first 2A title.

“Our kids really enjoy playing in both those venues,” St. Maries coach Craig Tefft said of Holt Arena and the Kibbie Dome. “There is a different feel for the kids knowing the game is in a dome and knowing the stakes are high. In our case, it’s usually win or go home.”

In two of the past three seasons, St. Maries’ path to the playoffs ran through the Kibbie Dome, beating North Fremont in 2016 in the 2A quarterfinals and losing to West Side in 2017 — also in the quarterfinals. Last year, St. Maries won on the road at New Plymouth before falling to eventual champion Declo at Holt Arena in the quarterfinals.

Preparing for those indoor games are a challenge sometimes according to Tefft.

“We do stress more about playing in the dome,” Tefft said. “We really worry about conditioning and how well the kids will hold up in that setting. It really tests your depth.”

Due to smoke in 2015, the Lumberjacks’ season opener against Kellogg was moved to the Kibbie Dome in Moscow. St. Maries won that game 38-7.

“They are all special to me and the program,” said Tefft of the games in college stadiums. “We know that if we are playing in the dome, the game means more.”

Tefft added an idea has been kicked around between teams at the Montana Tech football camp to start a series of games at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula — home of the Montana Grizzlies — and the Kibbie Dome.

“We had the opportunity to play in Washington-Grizzly Stadium a couple of years ago against Ronan, and weren’t able to commit to the game,” Tefft said. “We talk about it every year at camp with coaches and love the idea of an Idaho vs. Montana series. We were thinking of rotating it between Washington-Grizzly Stadium and the Kibbie Dome. Coach (Jeff) Adams from Grangeville and I love the idea of trying something like this. But it usually comes down to money for travel and the many other expenses, so I don’t see it happening anytime soon.”

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 @JECdAPress.