THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: As numbers drop, interest grows

If we’ve learned anything from watching football in the North Star League and Scenic Idaho Conference over the past few years, it’s that you’ve really got to be ready for anything in any given year.

When the games are played, they are some of the most entertaining on any given Friday night, or afternoon in some cases.

Other times, it just winds up being a large numbers game.

TEAMS from the north in the Scenic Idaho Conference include 1A Division I schools Wallace and Lakeside (for football, plus Genesis Prep in basketball and other sports), while in the North Star League, it’s 1A Division II schools Kootenai and Clark Fork, plus the co-op of Mullan and St. Regis (Mont.). Genesis Prep does not field a football team.

Lakeside had 18 players on its roster for a Sept. 10 game against Mullan/St. Regis at John Drager Field in Mullan. The host Tigers had 20.

By comparison, Clark Fork had 16 on its roster in 2020 and Kootenai has 13 this year.

The Knights were missing three starters in last week's game, a 72-20 loss to the Tigers.

Next year, the Idaho High School Activities Association is allowing schools to petition to move down a classification if numbers are trending that way. Both Lakeside and Wallace are looking to move down to Division II in football only, starting next fall, and their fate will be determined at the next board meeting on Sept. 28.

“We’re right on the borderline of going down,” Lakeside coach Chris Dohrman said. “It’s pretty difficult to be competitive (in 1A Division I) unless you’re running a junior varsity program. And you’ve got to have anywhere from 25 to 30 kids. You almost have to get every kid in the school out. We’ve got enough kids in the school to get there, but getting them all out has been a struggle.”

Wallace, which at times has been close to being big enough to move up to the 2A ranks, has 22 players on its football roster. Last fall, the Miners did not field a junior high program due to a lack of players.

But as one athletic director explained to me, the struggle is real for those teams in the north as far as finding games. Lakeside’s only games this year against teams from its own division are Wallace, Sept. 24 in Silverton and again to conclude the season on Oct. 22 in Plummer.

Getting those five teams back together, in the Division II North Star League, is likely the best option for those teams going forward.

Not only does the schedule fill up fast, with eight games within the league each year. But all those traditional rivalries will begin again.

And that could be the best thing moving forward.

IT IS still too early to decide if last week’s unbeaten run by the teams in the NFC West was just luck or if it’s a sign of things to come for the Seahawks, Rams, Cardinals and 49ers.

For years, we’ve been told that the West is the best division in football, so it’s only natural that the teams went out and showed it the first week. Of the three, only the Rams were at home last week.

Sure, Seattle looked sharp with its new offense and Russell Wilson had a great day for those that started him in fantasy football, throwing four touchdowns in a win over the Colts.

But, can he keep it going?

Wilson started the season last year on fire, even being talked about as the league’s MVP after the first eight games of the season. What happened is that the Seahawks still found a way into the playoffs, but lost, and Wilson still is looking for his first MVP vote.

The Rams looked a lot better with their new quarterback Matthew Stafford and Arizona looked to be pretty good, even without Larry Fitzgerald at wide receiver.

And don’t be fooled, San Francisco was handling Detroit before things got a little crazy at Ford Field toward the end.

No, I don’t think that all four teams from the NFC West will make the playoffs this year, even though they all looked the part in the first weekend.

Then again, I’ve been wrong before and it could be a season to remember for those squads.

As long as it keeps adding up to wins.

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.