PREP SPORTS: Taking care of their own again

The goal when the Inland Empire League combined the 5A and 4A classifications was to make sure each of the seven schools was taken care of when it came to competitions.

Last month, when the Moscow School District opted to cancel all travel for sports, the district announced it was going to play intramural sports only this fall.

Area athletic directors scrambled, but filled those spots with a third matchup against a league opponent, or another game against the 3A Intermountain League.

Late Tuesday, Moscow changed its mind, and will compete in fall sports starting as early as Sept. 18 in football.

“I kind of thought it was going to be kind of hard for them to sit out when the rest of the conference was still playing,” said Lakeland athletic director Mike Divilbiss, who along with Sandpoint, compete with Moscow for berths to state tournaments in the 4A classification. “Everyone is just trying to make the right decision for the safety of their kids and fans. There’s both a physical and mental side to it right now, and it’s hard right now. That’s part of the reason why we formed the conference was to be there to help each other. And that’s what we’re here to do.”

For those fans attending games at Moscow, the district requires face coverings and social distancing are required for all spectators and capacity at Bear Den — where Moscow plays its home volleyball matches — will be approximately 250. Seating will be marked, and every other row will be vacant.

While some dates have already been confirmed — Lakeland will now travel to Moscow in football on Oct. 9, then host Sandpoint on Oct. 23 as previously scheduled last month — it’s a little more complicated when it comes to Moscow getting dates back against some 5A schools.

“We don’t play them in football, but the other three sports — volleyball and soccer — we would,” Post Falls athletic director Craig Christensen said. “But we don’t have any openings right now. We might try in October with volleyball, but I don’t think we’re going to have any openings in soccer because of having three matches in a week.”

Had the season went off as planned, the seven IEL teams — Coeur d’Alene, Lake City, Post Falls, Lewiston, Sandpoint, Lakeland and Moscow — were to have played twice, counting both toward league standings for regional seeding in volleyball and soccer. Scheduling for the winter sports — wrestling and basketball — has not been finalized yet.

“Since some of us probably aren’t going to be able to play them twice, we’ll probably have to discuss that later,” Lake City athletic director Jim Winger said. “In the fall, it’s going to be tough to do, but there’s a few scenarios that will be discussed, but nothing that’s been voted on yet.”

Post Falls already has played nonleague volleyball matches against Kellogg and Timberlake, matches that were added due to Moscow canceling in August.

“I tried to fill our schedules to the max,” Christensen said. “And we filled a lot of that stuff and already played both Kellogg and Timberlake.”

And for Post Falls, it’s in the Orange (moderate risk) stage of its reopening plan. Moscow can only play schools that are in the green (slight) and yellow (minimal) stage, where Lakeland is currently. The Coeur d’Alene District, with both Coeur d’Alene and Lake City High, are also in the Orange level.

“Since we’re in the Orange, they can’t play us anyway,” Christensen said. “If that changes, we’ll try to schedule a tri-match with them and St. Maries. But the biggest thing for them is to make sure they can get their games with the 4A schools.”

And while Lake City hasn’t had talks with Moscow directly as of yet, Winger said his school could make something happen.

“It’s going to be on a week-to-week basis on how we’re dealing with Moscow,” Winger said. “If something works, we’ll put them on the schedule.”

Lakeland has added soccer games with Coeur d’Alene Charter to fill out its schedule.

“Everyone is just trying to be helpful,” Divilbiss said. “It’s going to be a tough year and we’re trying to do the best for the kids. We’re all about trying to find ways for the best interest of everyone involved.”