Gridiron Guesses: Lakeland looks to pick off another 5A foe

By MARK NELKE

And JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writers

First-year Lakeland coach Mike Schroeder tries not to think about where his team is right now.

On the one hand, it’s a place where the Hawks — at 4-0 thus far — haven’t been since the 2001 season, when they took an 11-0 record into the state 3A championship game.

On the other hand is what’s ahead, starting with some visiting 5A Inland Empire League schools over the next two weeks that are looking to make a little noise of their own.

“I truly try to avoid it,” said Schroeder of the team’s 4-0 start. “My wife reminds me of how wonderful it is, but I don’t care. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re going to get into the meat of our schedule with two 5A schools next, so we’ll definitely have our hands full.”

Coeur d’Alene (1-2) is coming off a bye week, after beating Sandpoint 27-15 in its last game for its first victory of the season.

Coeur d’Alene beat Lakeland 48-7 in the team’s most recent matchup, in 2020 at Viking Field.

Lakeland last beat Coeur d'Alene in 2001. The teams have meet just eight times since then, and only once since 2009.

“They might be 1-2, but they might be the best 1-2 team in 5A,” Schroeder said of Coeur d'Alene. “They’re very well coached and execute pretty darn well. It’s great to have the game at home and have them come into our community. I think it will be a good contest.”

Lakeland beat West Valley 23-0 on Sept. 8 in its last game.

“Hopefully we show up and play a little better,” Schroeder said after that game. “Our effort was there, but the execution wasn’t. And that’s on me as a coach and getting better in preparation in practice.”

Lakeland already owns a win over a 5A school, triumphing 30-21 at Lake City in its second game.

Post Falls has won two straight home games, whipping Timberline 34-6 on Sept. 2, then holding off Sunnyside (Wash.) 28-25 last Friday.

Post Falls travels to University for the teams' first meeting since 2019. Post Falls won that one 48-12.

“We need to keep getting better,” Post Falls coach Blaine Bennett said. “We’re still making a lot of mistakes out there. We’re doing a better job of securing the ball, and that’s been a positive and creating some turnovers. We’re taking care of the ball, and that’s something we’ve been focused on. We need to take a look at where our good players are and make sure we’re asking everyone to do things they can do. U-Hi’s a good football team, so it’s going to be quite the challenge for us.”

St. Maries and Kellogg are in the same league for the first time since the fall of 2012, when the Lumberjacks dropped from the 3A Intermountain League to the 2A Central Idaho League. Kellogg (and Priest River) dropped from 3A to 2A and the CIL this season.

As for the picks, Mark and Jason both went 3-1 last week, and are both 16-4 for the season. The Timberlake vs. McCall-Donnelly game was postponed due to poor air quality.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Coeur d’Alene (1-2) at Lakeland (4-0), 7 p.m.

NELKE: A win over Coeur d'Alene, and a 5-0 start, would REALLY open some eyes in Rathdrum and throughout North Idaho. Coeur d'Alene looked like it was starting to figure things out in its win over Sandpoint, and with an extra week to prepare ...

Coeur d'Alene, 28-24

ELLIOTT: Lakeland likes to run the ball with its talented tailbacks. Coeur d'Alene looked pretty tough against the run against Rigby when I saw the Vikings earlier this year.

Coeur d'Alene, 34-20

Post Falls (2-1) at University (0-2), 7 p.m.

NELKE: The Titans opened their season against the Mead School District, losing 30-14 to Mt. Spokane and 24-7 to Mead.

Post Falls, 28-13

ELLIOTT: Post Falls has looked impressive the past two weeks by running it right at teams. That won't stop this week.

Post Falls, 20-13

Moscow (0-3) at Timberlake (1-1), 7 p.m.

NELKE: 3A Timberlake has won the last three meetings with 4A Moscow, which has been outscored 129-24 this season.

Timberlake, 43-8

ELLIOTT: Timberlake, fresh off its 5 1/2-hour bus trip to get canceled due to smoke, runs past the Bears, who are rebuilding.

Timberlake, 34-14

St. Maries (0-2) at Kellogg (2-1), 7 p.m.

NELKE: Even after St. Maries dropped down a level, these teams kept playing each other — sometimes twice per season. Deer Park 7, Kellogg 0 last week looked like a first-quarter score, but indeed Kellogg was unable to score against the Stags, after racking up 100 points in their first two games.

Kellogg, 42-12

ELLIOTT: Kellogg seems to be on another level after moving from the 3A Intermountain League. It's homecoming for the Wildcats too, so they might be a little motivated.

Kellogg, 34-20

Lakeside (0-2, 0-2) at Kootenai (0-3, 0-2), 7 p.m.

NELKE: Both teams have played Wallace, with Lakeside losing 56-14, and Kootenai falling 60-12.

Lakeside, 24-18.

ELLIOTT: Kootenai had to forfeit last week's game against Mullan/St. Regis due to injuries. Lakeside returns from an early bye week.

Lakeside, 28-26

SATURDAY’S GAME

Bishop Kelly (3-0) at Lake City (1-2), 1 p.m.

NELKE: The Knights have outscored their three opponents 123-6 — though those opponents are a combined 0-9. Lake City has scored 84 points in three games, but has allowed 107.

Bishop Kelly, 36-28

ELLIOTT: Bishop Kelly has been playing some good football this season. Lake City should be able to keep it close, but ...

Bishop Kelly, 34-20