THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Numbers add up for Dohrman, Lakeside football this year

In 2001, Chris Dohrman was just another guy living on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation near Plummer.

Long before taking over the football program from Ron Miller, or had the girls basketball team challenging for the state tournament each year.

WHEN DOHRMAN started coaching in 2003, it was in youth leagues, as well as the junior high.

"I was just a community member, and might have been coaching some youth programs," said Dohrman, 44, who is an accountant for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. "I was working in finance for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and hadn't really got into coaching quite yet."

Even the North Star League, which wasn't broken into two divisions, was a lot different in 2001. Team included Falls Christian, Kootenai, Lakeside, Clark Fork and Mullan. Upon Wallace's arrival to the North Star League in 2004, the Knights had to get through the Miners to advance to the state 1A Division I playoffs.

Lakeside, Falls Christian, Kootenai and Clark Fork competed for a playoff berth in 1A Division II. All six teams competed for the North Star League title.

"Our league has been really tough," Dohrman said. "Wallace was a powerhouse when they came into the league and Kootenai had a really good program and a nice state run for a few years. We've had some good teams in our league over the last 19 years."

Lakeside dropped to Division II in 2014, then with a boost in enrollment, moved back up to the Division I level this fall, where the Knights broke through, beating Wallace 36-0 in the snow on Oct. 23 to clinch the inaugural Scenic Idaho Conference championship and return to the state playoffs for the first time since 2001, when Miller was coach.

In that state 1A quarterfinal game in ’01 in Plummer, Lakeside lost 62-20 to Notus.

GETTING TO last Friday's game was a lot more challenging than Dohrman could have imagined as the area was blanketed in snow.

"I thought the game was going to get postponed at first," Dohrman said. "I had the day off from work, so I drove into Coeur d'Alene to get a few things done. I hadn't put my snow tires on yet, and it was just like normal winter driving and a little sketchy. We knew how bad the roads were and didn't think the game was going to happen."

Dohrman added he was in communication with Lakeside athletic director Jerel Hight, as well as personnel at Wallace High before the team left for the game.

"We were unsure right up until bus time," Dohrman said. "Wallace was already limiting visiting fans due to COVID concerns. Once the weather hit, there wasn't a lot of parents traveling anyway."

Once Lakeside arrived at Sather Field in Silverton — where the Miners play their home football games — it was a scene out of a movie.

"They had a good eight inches of snow on the field," Dohrman said. "I thought it was the worst-case scenario. I didn't know how the kids were going to handle it. It took about 70% of our offense away, so it was a real north/south game to be honest. We knew at the start of the week it was going to snow a little, so we were prepared and working on our normal stuff. Once we got to the field, we really realized we were going to do some different stuff."

And after the pregame warmup ...

"We realized we might not be able to snap under shotgun," Dohrman said. "We do some stuff under center, but primarily, we do most of our offense out of shotgun. Our passing was not the greatest, but we didn't do that very often and the kids did a good job. Us coaches were worried a bit on how we'd handle the elements, but the kids did a great job. Defensively, it was our best game of the year, kept them to 101 yards of total offense and kept them scoreless."

As for how Lakeside handled the elements ...

"They had quite a bit of fun," Dohrman said. "By the end of the third quarter and going into the fourth, we had a good control of the game. We scored twice in the first half, but in 8-man football, it's never too comfortable and it could have disappeared in a second. I challenged our kids to win the second half and they did that. Once we had a bit of a lead, it became a lot more fun. Probably the most difficult part was those reserves that had been on the sideline getting cold we asked to go into the game and play, and it was pretty tough for them to get warm after sitting all night."

LAKESIDE NEARLY advanced to the state football playoffs in 2019, but lost in a Kansas tiebreaker to Mullan-St. Regis for the lone Division II berth.

Last season, Lakeside had 13 players out for football as some opted not to turn out for football in order to stay injury-free for basketball.

The Knights have 22 players, some from the boys basketball team, on their football roster this season.

"A lot of years, we've been as low as 11 finishing the season and can't really do anything in practice," Dohrman said. "To get those numbers back up, it's more reflective with our size again. We need to have those numbers to be successful, and we're still missing some kids that could be out. We're still hoping to get some kids out in the future and continue to grow the program and keep being successful."

Due to the coronavirus, Lakeside had games against Troy and Lapwai canceled. Another game against Kootenai on Sept. 18 was canceled due to the Warriors not having enough players to field a team at that point in the season.

"We've had a good group of kids," Dohrman said. "All of them have wanted to come out and work. We had to deal with COVID and be super flexible all season. We had to do what we could not to get sick and have any cancellations. We had a few more byes that we'd like, but we're happy to be playing football. Across the border, Washington is not playing right now, so we were happy we were able to keep playing."

Today, Lakeside (4-2) takes on Oakley (7-1) in the state 1A Division I playoffs at Parma High.

"I'm proud of these kids," Dohrman said. "They've worked hard. Making it to the playoffs, that's what you're working for and it's been a goal for a lot of these teams."

Last March, Lakeside's boys basketball team won its first state title since 1997.

"The one thing I've noticed with basketball is that the more you get to the postseason, and state, you get another week or two of practice," Dohrman said. "Hopefully, this will carry over into basketball, as well as football."

Of the 22 players on the roster, nine are freshmen, including Francis Louie, who scored on a 21-yard touchdown run to close out the win against Wallace.

Louie is the cousin of Tucker Louie-McGee and Jerry Louie-McGee — both Lake City High standouts who grew up in Plummer — who went on to play at Idaho State and Montana respectively.

"He's going to be a pretty athletic kid," Dohrman said of Louie. "He's a good little running back and one of our best tacklers as a freshman. Alberto (Arroyo) is our best tackler on the team, and a solid defender. Francis still has a lot to learn, but before it's said and done, he's going to be a good athlete."

Which the Knights will need plenty of as they take on Oakley today at Parma High in the state playoffs.

"They're going to be a big challenge," Dohrman said. "They're well-coached and have some big team speed. We'll have our hands full."

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The 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.