GRIDIRON GUESSES: October means it's time for league games for the big schools

By Press staff

As the seasons change, so does the importance of each and every game as the calendar turns to October.

Especially those in the Inland Empire League, who begin league play en masse this weekend.

Coeur d’Alene travels to Lake City, while Post Falls visits Lewiston in the 5A IEL. Lakeland plays at Sandpoint in 4A league play, while Moscow is idle this week.

Coeur d’Alene picked up a win against Union High of Camas, Wash., 40-10 last week in Vancouver. The Vikings have won twice by shutout this season, beating Sandpoint 19-0 on Sept. 1 and Lakeland 54-0 on Sept. 15.

“We haven’t had a steady climb, but we’ve been climbing,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said. “Our kids are pretty focused on the start of our real season. With three league games, you can’t afford to overlook anyone. Anyone is good enough to beat anyone else.”

Coeur d’Alene beat Lake City 14-2 last year in a game that had a combined eight turnovers and zero offensive touchdowns.

“It’s our first league game, so it’s critical to get off to a good start,” Amos said.

Post Falls beat Lewiston 42-35 at Trojan Stadium in 2022 en route to winning the 5A IEL title.

“They’re always the biggest three games of the season,” Post Falls coach Blaine Bennett said. “Lewiston’s a good team, and they’ve always been a good team. In the last five or six years, usually the home team has had the advantage. Lewiston’s well coached and it’s one game at a time at this point. Our league is really tough and we’ve got to get better, focused up and ready to go.”

Lakeland, which has lost three straight, returns off a bye to face Sandpoint.

“The bye week came at almost the perfect time for us,” Lakeland coach Mike Schroeder said. “We got a few back (against Post Falls on Sept. 22), so we’ll see what we’ve got after that.”

In other league matchups, St. Maries hosts Grangeville in a Central Idaho League game tonight at 7. Lakeside faces Wallace tonight at Sather Field in Silverton. Lakeside won the previous game over Wallace 52-34 on Sept. 1 at the Marimn Health Coeur Center in Worley.

In the only nonleague game on the schedule, Kellogg visits former Intermountain League rival Bonners Ferry.

As for the picks, Mark Nelke, Jason Elliott and Josh McDonald all went 5-2 last week — which happens when we all pick the same teams to win. Overall, Mark and Josh are 37-16, and Jason is 36-17.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

All 7 p.m.

Coeur d’Alene (4-2, 0-0 5A Inland Empire League) at Lake City (2-4, 0-0)

NELKE: Coeur d'Alene has played just twice at home this year, having piled up the frequent bus-riding miles. But rumor has it the Vikings have found some offense in recent weeks.

Coeur d'Alene, 36-12

ELLIOTT: Coeur d’Alene has put together a couple of good weeks on the road. Less travel this time helps.

Coeur d’Alene, 40-14

McDONALD: This one might get ugly quickly.

Coeur d'Alene, 45-12

Post Falls (4-2, 0-0 5A IEL) at Lewiston (3-3, 0-0)

NELKE: Post Falls may or may not have its starting quarterback for this one. If not, and the Trojans hope to repeat as league champs, their run game and defense will have to step up against a Bengals team with playoff aspirations.

Post Falls, 28-26

ELLIOTT: Weird things happen in Lewiston sometimes.

Lewiston, 21-20

McDONALD: After last week’s loss, the Trojans should use this as a tuneup for what will decide the 5A IEL championship against Coeur d'Alene next week.

Post Falls, 52-18

Lakeland (3-3, 0-0 4A IEL) at Sandpoint (3-3, 0-0)

NELKE: Sandpoint isn't the juggernaut of the past two seasons, but in recent weeks the Bulldogs have shown they're still doggone tough. Lakeland has been decimated by injuries, but if the Hawks get some of those guys back ...

Sandpoint, 30-20

ELLIOTT: Lakeland could be getting healthy, but Sandpoint just might have a little more speed on its turf.

Sandpoint, 33-28

McDONALD: Will the Hawks be healthy? If not, this probably won’t be much of a game. If they are though, this might be a banger.

Sandpoint, 28-8

Kellogg (2-4) at Bonners Ferry (1-5)

NELKE: After a slow start, the Wildcats seem to be coming to life.

Kellogg, 24-18

ELLIOTT: Bonners Ferry, 28-20

McDONALD: The Wildcats picked up a big win over New Plymouth last week — forcing six turnovers and managing the clock on offense. For purposes of rankings, Kellogg must win, and win big on the road.

Kellogg, 32-8

Grangeville (2-3, 1-0 Central Idaho League) at St. Maries (2-4, 1-0)

NELKE: It was this week last year where the Lumberjacks began their playoff run.

St. Maries, 26-22

ELLIOTT: Could be a showdown of the two playoff teams from this league.

St. Maries, 18-14

McDONALD: The Lumberjacks can clinch the CIL if they beat the Bulldogs — a Grangeville win makes things in that league very interesting.

St. Maries, 24-20

Lakeside (3-3, 2-1 NSL) vs. Wallace (2-3, 1-3) at Sather Field, Silverton

NELKE: Lakeside beat Wallace 52-34 earlier in the season. The Knights need a win to remain in playoff position.

Lakeside, 44-38

ELLIOTT: Wallace, 34-30

McDONALD: The Knights can move one step closer to a spot in the playoffs if they beat Wallace this week, but the Miners could very well play spoiler.

Lakeside, 34-28

SATURDAY'S GAME

Shelby (Mont.) (3-3) vs. Mullan/St. Regis (6-0) at St. Regis, noon PDT

NELKE: The Coyotes have dropped their past two games by a combined 125-0.

Mullan/St. Regis, 48-24

ELLIOTT: Mullan/St. Regis, 36-30

McDONALD: The Tigers are a win away from locking up at least a share of the North Star League — playing at St. Regis this week, they need to avoid the Shelby trap game.

Mullan/St. Regis, 56-32

STANDINGS

5A INLAND EMPIRE LEAGUE

League Overall

W L W L

Post Falls 0 0 4 2

Coeur d’Alene 0 0 4 2

Lewiston 0 0 3 3

Lake City 0 0 2 4

Friday’s Games

Coeur d’Alene at Lake City

Post Falls at Lewiston

4A INLAND EMPIRE LEAGUE

League Overall

W L W L

Lakeland 0 0 3 3

Sandpoint 0 0 3 3

Moscow 0 0 1 5

Friday’s Game

Lakeland at Sandpoint

Moscow is idle

INTERMOUNTAIN LEAGUE

League Overall

W L W L

Timberlake 0 0 4 3

Bonners Ferry 0 0 1 5

Friday’s Games

Kellogg at Bonners Ferry

Timberlake is idle

CENTRAL IDAHO LEAGUE

League Overall

W L W L

Grangeville 1 0 2 3

St. Maries 1 0 2 4

Kellogg 1 1 2 4

Orofino 0 2 0 4

Friday’s Games

Grangeville at St. Maries

Priest River at Orofino

Kellogg at Bonners Ferry

Priest River is playing a JV-only schedule in football this year

NORTH STAR LEAGUE

League Overall

W L W L

Mullan/St. Regis 5 0 6 0

Lakeside 2 1 3 3

Clark Fork 2 3 2 3

Wallace 1 3 2 3

*Kootenai 0 3 0 4

Friday’s Game

Lakeside vs. Wallace at Sather Field, Silverton

Saturday’s Game

Shelby (Mont.) vs. Mullan/St. Regis at St. Regis

Clark Fork is idle

*Kootenai canceled its season, citing low numbers, in late September