GRIDIRON GUESSES: Post Falls 'excited' to keep playoff streak going
By MARK NELKE
and JASON ELLIOTT
Sports writers
They were beaten fairly handily in last week's de facto 5A Inland Empire League football championship game on their home field.
But the bigger picture was not lost on the Post Falls Trojans.
The Trojans (5-3) still made the state 5A playoffs, and will play host to Mountain View (3-3) of Meridian in a first-round game tonight at Trojan Stadium.
"And we’re excited about that," fifth-year Post Falls coach Blaine Bennett said. "We get to host a playoff game, again. We’ve been in the playoffs four straight years, and that’s a big deal for Post Falls football."
Last week's 30-14 loss to Coeur d'Alene at Trojan Stadium was played in a half-foot of snow.
On Wednesday, with Post Falls athletic director Craig Christensen behind the wheel, the Trojans borrowed a screen drag from the baseball program, and cleared the snow from the football field.
Mountain View is the No. 6 seed from the West (Boise-area) pod. The Mavericks lost their first three games to Rocky Mountain, Eagle and Meridian, who are a combined 15-3. Mountain View has won its last three games over Centennial, Kuna and Timberline, who are a combined 3-15.
Lakeland (3-4), in the playoffs for the first time since 2017, plays at Century (5-3) of Pocatello tonight at 6 in a state 4A first-round game. Lakeland last won a playoff game in 2007.
Lakeland is seeded 14th in the 16-team 4A playoffs, and Century is seeded third. Lakeland finished 14th, Century eighth in the final MaxPreps rankings, which are used to seed playoff teams. As one of the five conference champions, Century earned one of the top five seeds.
Sandpoint (3-4), which won the 4A Inland Empire League, earned the No. 5 seed — though its MaxPreps ranking was 13th, just one ahead of Lakeland.
All three 4A IEL teams made the playoffs. Moscow (3-1), which beat Lakeland and lost to Sandpoint in league play, is seeded 13th, with a MaxPreps ranking of 11th.
St. Maries (2-1, 1-0 Central Idaho League) travels to Grangeville (3-2, 1-0) tonight to decide the CIL title, and what became a de-facto play-in game to the quarterfinals of the state 2A playoffs next week.
Lakeside (4-2), in its first playoff appearance since 2001, will take on Oakley (7-1) in a 1A Division I first-round game Saturday at Parma High.
Kootenai (0-4) wraps up its season on Friday at home vs. Lewis County (2-6) in a nonleague game.
Coeur d'Alene (7-0), which earned a first-round bye this week by winning the 5A IEL, will play host to tonight's winner between Timberline (2-3) and Skyview (4-2) next Friday in a state quarterfinal game.
Timberlake (4-3) has a bye this week after winning the Intermountain League, and will likely travel next week to a site to be determined in the state 3A quarterfinals.
As for the picks, Mark and Jason both went 5-2 last week. Both missed on Lake City beating Lewiston — but didn't mind seeing the Timberwolves finish on a winning note. And Lakeland had more than a snowball's chance of beating Sandpoint, coming up just one play short.
HIGH SCHOOL
Mountain View (3-3) at Post Falls (5-3)
Friday, 7 p.m.
NELKE: No less an authority than Coeur d'Alene football coach Shawn Amos says Post Falls has a chance to win a few games in these playoffs. If the Trojans have thawed out from last week ...
Post Falls, 28-21
ELLIOTT: If Post Falls can get the ball to Tommy Hauser, Cole Rutherford, James Lee and Christian Curlee, I think the Trojans could score enough points to win this one at home.
Mountain View, 38-35
Lakeland at Century
Friday, 6 p.m.
NELKE: This Lakeland team is hard to figure out. It seemed like the Hawks could have been the No. 1 seed from the 4A Inland Empire League just as easily as it ended up being the No. 3 seed.
Century, 24-17
ELLIOTT: I watched a little bit last Friday's Sandpoint-Lakeland game on television on Sunday morning waiting for the Seahawks game to start. Hopefully the weather is a little better this week.
Lakeland, 24-20
St. Maries (2-1, 1-0 Central Idaho League) at Grangeville (3-2, 1-0)
Friday, 7 p.m.
NELKE: Both teams have shut out Orofino, the other team in the three-team CIL. Grangeville won 42-0, St. Maries 20-0
Grangeville, 32-28
ELLIOTT: Grangeville has always been a tough place for the Lumberjacks to play in. Just who wants this one more?
St. Maries, 8-0
Lewis County (2-6) at Kootenai (0-4)
Friday, 7 p.m.
NELKE: How sweet would it be for Kootenai, which couldn't field a team last year, and has only had enough players to take the field twice this season, to finish with a win?
Kootenai, 18-12
ELLIOTT: Kootenai's last win came against Lewis County in 2018.
Kootenai, 14-12
Lakeside (4-2) vs. Oakley (7-1)
Saturday, 11 a.m. at Parma High
NELKE: Lakeside's only losses have come to Mullan-St. Regis, and the Tigers-Tigers co-op could make a deep run in the 1A Division II playoffs. Oakley, ranked third in 1A Division I, was unbeaten until a two-point loss to second-ranked Raft River last week. Oakley is averaging 55 points per game, twice scoring in the 70s.
Oakley, 46-42
ELLIOTT: Lakeside, which clinched a playoff spot in a blizzard against Wallace in Silverton last Friday, might be able to score with the Hornets.
Oakley, 44-38
COLLEGE
Boise State (1-0, 1-0 Mountain West) at Air Force (1-1, 0-1)
Saturday, 3 p.m., FS1
NELKE: In the midst of last week's busy slate of high school events, picking Boise State's opener slipped through the cracks. Or maybe because the Pac-12 hasn't returned yet, and Idaho and Eastern Washington won't play until spring, it didn't seem like college football in the area was REALLY back.
Boise State, 32-9
ELLIOTT: Seems like this is a game where the Broncos could get picked off if they're not careful.
Boise State, 30-24