THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: The crazy season that was for St. Maries boys soccer

When it was all over on Tuesday, all Chris Renaldo could do was laugh.

After all, with all that has transpired during this crazy fall sports season, what else could the St. Maries High boys soccer coach do?

COVID-19 impacted every team in every sport in North Idaho, some more than others.

But few had their season affected more than the St. Maries boys soccer team.

The Lumberjacks were able to play all of four games all season — three of them in a five-day stretch in late September — and finished 2-2.

"It was a crazy year, but I think the kids had fun," said Renaldo, in his 22nd season as Lumberjacks coach. "I don’t think kids were under the illusion that sports weren't going to be challenging. I commend (St. Maries athletic director) Todd Gilkey and (principal) John Cordell for having senior night our first and only home game."

THE SEASON got off to a late start for the Lumberjacks, as the St. Maries School Board voted, on the night the first day of fall sports practice was scheduled to begin, that the start of practice for all Lumberjack fall sports teams would be pushed back from Aug. 10 to Sept. 10, due to coronavirus concerns.

Later in the month, the school board met again and decided the Lumberjacks could start practice Aug. 31 — still, three weeks after most other schools began.

And there was still the mandatory 10 practices teams had to have before playing their first game.

St. Maries' first five scheduled games were scratched, because the ’Jacks hadn't had enough practices. When they were finally eligible to play, their opener was canceled because of a shortage of refs.

The next game was scrapped due to poor air quality.

"We had practice for three weeks before we had a season," Renaldo said.

St. Maries finally opened Sept. 22, a Tuesday, with a 6-3 win at Priest River in a Central Idaho League game. Two days later, the Lumberjacks lost 4-0 to Immaculate Conception Academy in Post Falls. That Saturday, in what turned out to be their lone home game of the season, St. Maries blanked Orofino 6-0 in CIL play.

Then a member of the Lumberjacks' boys soccer program tested positive for COVID-19, and the team had to quarantine for two weeks.

St. Maries then had two days of practice prior to this week's 3A District 1-2 tournament. The first was last Saturday morning "in the pouring rain," Renaldo said, and the other was Monday night, under the lights on their home field.

And even for that practice, "only the south end of the field was lit," Renaldo said. The lights on the other end were still out because an osprey nest caught on fire during a St. Maries girls game last week, and authorities deemed those lights unsafe to use.

"It will be good for the father/son game (next week)," Renaldo said of the lights.

St. Maries' abbreviated season ended Tuesday with a 1-0 loss to Timberlake in the first round at districts.

"We were supposed to play Monday at districts," Renaldo said. "As of last Saturday, we were playing Grangeville. We showed up today and played Timberlake."

St. Maries was the only undefeated and untied team in the CIL — OK, the Lumberjacks only played the two league games — and thus were seeded fifth at districts.

But just playing at all was a victory of sorts.

"The kids had fun, they got to be out with their buddies, they got to play," said Renaldo, a licensed surveyor. "Kudos to these administrators, for what they were doing against pretty tough odds."

ST. MARIES, a 2A school which competes against 3A schools in soccer because Idaho doesn't sponsor a state 2A (or 1A) tournament, has never been to state in boys soccer. The Lumberjacks have been close on numerous occasions in recent years.

Renaldo laughed at the notion that this year, a year when his team barely played during the regular season, would be the year St. Maries finally broke through.

"I've got to hope and pray that teams that have been playing and practicing much more than us would have gone instead," he said. "It would have been pretty embarrassing if this was the year we went. Maybe I'd stop coaching; they obviously didn't need me."

NOT TRUE.

High school sports needs more coaches like Chris Renaldo.

He said he didn't have any false illusions of how the season would go — though he certainly thought his squad would play more than four games — less than half of what any other team played.

"The kids love playing, and they play because they love the game — they're not going pro," Renaldo said. "And they had fun.

"And let's face it — isn't that why you coach high school sports?" he said. "They should be having fun."

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.