Panhandle Picks With Greg Lee

It was a painful week for the scribe. I suffered my first defeat of the 1996 season.

And in so doing I also fell behind overall against the guests.

There’s no other way to put it: Lakeland High counselor Don Wilhelm took me to the woodshed. Wilhelm picked 10 of 12 correctly, improving the guests’ total to 26 of 32 (.813). Yours truly slumped to 8 of 12 and is 25 of 32 (.781) after three weeks.

As part of my counseling therapy, Wilhelm told me I must write “I will not pick against Lakeland again” 100 times.

I’ll attempt a comeback this week.

Last year I took on my first talking head (Jeff McLean, the voice of KVNI sports). Please welcome his better half, color commentator Steve Myklebust.

The M&M team have broadcast area high school sports since the early 1980s. Myklebust took a few years off to start a family, and rejoined his sidekick two years ago.

Lewiston at Post Falls: This could be the Game of the Year - at least until the teams meet again in the state playoffs.

We can’t overhype this game. In fact, anyone thinking about attending one of the other games in the area should reconsider. If you’re a true fan of prep football, this game is a must-see.

It’s simple what this game boils down to: Can Lewiston stop galloping Trojans running back Josh Mort? And can Post Falls keep the Bengals’ strike-quick offense off the field? The forecast here is no and yes. Mort won’t gain nearly 300 yards like he did last year when Post Falls beat Lewiston for the first time since the teams began playing in 1980. But he’ll score - and most likely often.

Lewiston will score, too. But the Bengals will get frustrated and the Trojans physical play will take a toll late. Post Falls 30, Lewiston 28.

Guest: The Bengals will be jamming the line to stop the run, but Austin Lee and Company will open holes for Josh Mort. Mort will add three more touchdowns to his total. Post Falls 21, Lewiston 14.

Coeur d’Alene at Lakeland: The Viks will be out to give coach Bill Anderson his first quality win in two years. That quality victory probably should have come against the Hawks last year.

This will be a test to see which team can continue some new-found momentum. Both were 0-2 before winning last week.

I shouldn’t have picked against the Hawks last week. Something tells me I shouldn’t pick against the Vikings this week.

So based on that logic … Lakeland 22, CdA 21.

Guest: The Hawks will give Coeur d’Alene a tussle for three quarters, but the Viks, who worked some kinks out against Deer Park, will prevail. CdA 28, Lakeland 13.

Moses Lake (Wash.) at Lake City: At the start of the season, I figured the Timberwolves could win three games, perhaps as many as four or five if things came together.

Well things are coming together very quickly, thank you. The T-Wolves beat a very good East Valley team last week. It was no fluke.

Moses Lake, one of the traditional doormats of the Class AAA Big Nine Conference, pulled off an upset over Eisenhower of Yakima, Wash., last week.

So the T-Wolves will have all they can handle. But they won’t have to wait long for a third victory. LC 23, ML 21.

Guest: How ‘bout those T-Wolves! It’s a long bus ride from Moses Lake and it will be a lot longer going home! LC 21, ML 10.

Other picks

Greg Lee Steve Myklebust

Moscow 28, B. Ferry 13 Moscow 31, B. Ferry 7

Sandpoint 34, W. Valley 14 Sandpoint 28, W. Valley 21

Kellogg 30, P. River 14 Kellogg 27, P. River 14

St. Maries 40, Wallace 6 St. Maries 35, Wallace 14

Lakeside 36, Kootenai 18 Lakeside 14, Kootenai 12

Odessa 42, Mullan 24 Mullan 40, Odessa 13

C. Fork 42, F. Christian 12 C. Fork 35, F. Christian 0

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