THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Friday’s Lake City-Cd’A games are more than just Fish-y

For the fans, it will be a chance to convene in a place where it’s OK — encouraged, in fact — to scream at the top of their lungs for some four hours.

The boys and girls basketball teams from Coeur d’Alene and Lake City high schools will feed off that enthusiasm, to be sure.

The sub-plot to Friday’s return of the Fight for the Fish spirit games for the first time since WAY back in 2020 — just prior to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic — is that the boys and girls games at Coeur d’Alene High’s Viking Court will also be fairly important ones in the Inland Empire League standings.

Not critical clashes by any means — the Vikings and Timberwolves will meet again two weeks later at Lake City, and possibly once again at regionals — but Friday’s games could be a precursor of what’s to come.

In the first girls media poll of the season, Lake City (13-2, 4-0 IEL) is ranked second, Coeur d’Alene (11-2, 3-0) fourth and Post Falls (16-0, 4-0) fifth.

"The 5A IEL is tough this year," Coeur d'Alene girls coach Nicole Symons said. "With three of the four teams in the top 10 in the state, it will make for some great games in January and February."

The first boys media poll of the season is scheduled to be released this afternoon, with Lake City (10-0) the presumed No. 1 team in 5A, and Coeur d’Alene (9-3, 1-0) landing somewhere in the top five.

LAST YEAR, Lake City’s boys beat Coeur d’Alene by 29 points in the first meeting, but by only 11 in the second matchup.

While Lake City has beaten defending 5A champion Owyhee, and knocked off last year’s Washington 4A champ Curtis of University Place, Wash., on its home court, Coeur d’Alene has tested itself as well, at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.

“Coeur d’Alene’s had a great start; we’ve watched them closely, they’re playing well,” Lake City coach Jim Winger said. “They’re shooting the ball extremely well. We’ve got our work cut out for us. It’s going to be a great matchup.”

This year, Coeur d’Alene has more depth, perimeter athleticism and shooting,” third-year Viking coach Jon Adams said.

“We also have a lot more experience, returning three starters,” he said. “This allows us to play faster, stretch defenses and execute more offensive and defensive schemes.”

As for the T-Wolves …

“Lake City is as good a team as I've ever seen from North Idaho,” Adams said. “They have uber size at every position, rim protection, physicality, shooting and speed. Plus five guys who have been together now for 3-4 years, which you can't put a price on. They've played a difficult schedule this fall and are well battle tested.”

So about Friday’s matchup …

“I feel our team is well prepared for Friday,” Adams said. “Due to scheduling we've had two weeks off (Coeur d’Alene last played Dec. 29; Lake City last played Jan. 4), but that's helped in getting us healthy and focused on the upcoming games. We've also played a tough pre-conference schedule and have grown in toughness and composure. Beating Lake City would be a monumental task, but we're well prepared, we'll have the crowd behind us and up for the challenge.”

WITH THE exception of Lake City and Post Falls owning wins over Lewiston, the rest of the IEL games thus far have been 5A/4A matchups. The bulk of the 5A vs. 5A matchups will take place in the next three weeks.

Last year, Coeur d’Alene beat Lake City by 14 and 2 points during the regular season — but Lake City won by six at Coeur d’Alene in the regional title game. Post Falls then eliminated Coeur d’Alene in the second-place game, and went on to win a state play-in game.

“Obviously the league is super strong this year,” Lake City coach James Anderson said. “That is good for all of us in preparation for state.”

The T-Wolves tested themselves with four games at a tourney in Mesa, Ariz.

“We do a lot of things really well,” Anderson said, “but in order to take one more step forward we have to be more detailed and disciplined on both sides of the ball. We also have to get more comfortable playing with more force & toughness. League play will be physical and we have to embrace that.”

"Lake City can shoot and that makes them tough," Symons said. "They have played together for a long time as well, which is an advantage. It (the Fish game) will be a fun game for sure. The crowd and energy always makes the game interesting."

Coeur d’Alene lost one Division I player (Skylar Burke), who is at UC Santa Barbara. But the Vikings added another D-1 recruit in junior guard Teagan Colvin, and also added Ferris transfer Kendall Omlin.

“Coeur d'Alene has an unreal amount of talent,” Anderson said. “Adding the transfers really bolstered their lineup. Playing them and matching up is a huge challenge but we have a lot of girls really learning to embrace and crave challenges so hopefully we will be ready for the test. Because of the new faces we aren't as familiar with them as we typically would be. There will be a learning curve trying to contain and guard Teagan. She is one of the better guards ever to come through this state and you pair that with a two-time league MVP in Madi (Symons) and we have definitely given ourselves a challenge.”

"Our team this year is made up of a well-rounded mix of guards, posts, shooters, etc.," Nicole Symons said. "It allows us to score at all levels. Any night 4-5 players can have double figures. Kendall Omlin and Teagan Colvin have fit right in, being that they have played club with Madi Symons and Libby Awbery over the past six years. It has been such a blessing for the four of them to come together again."

Post Falls figures to have something to say about things as well. Region 1 receives 1.5 berths to state, which means the regional champ goes to state, and the runner-up has to win a state play-in game to join them.

So one really good team — at least — is going to be kept home from state, just because of the numbers game.

“Post Falls is also very different from a year ago,” Anderson said. “Kudos to them for such a great start to the season. Obviously, we are familiar with how difficult Capri (Sims, a Central Washington signee) is to guard but they have some younger players really stepping up and gaining confidence. They play at such a reckless speed it will be a challenge in a different way. It seems they thrive in chaos, which is a nice strength to have because the game is so often chaotic."

"Post Falls is playing tough right now," Symons said. "They play fast and look to score quick. Capri is so tough around the basket and her outside game is improving each day. They will be fun to play."

“(First-year) Coach (Brian) Hall is doing a great job getting them to play hard and get up and down the floor,” Anderson added. “Coaching transitions can be very difficult, especially following a guy like Marc (Allert, who led the Trojans to two state titles in his 11 seasons), but he has them in a really good place and they are in this conversation every bit as much as us and Coeur d'Alene.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.