Greg Lee

The football team some thought was the best in the 5A Inland Empire League going into conference play gets a chance at redemption. Coeur d’Alene survived a Kansas Tiebreaker on Monday with Post Falls and Lewiston. The Vikings, who fell to Post Falls 13-7 in a regular-season finale last Thursday, beat the Trojans twice, 7-6 and 7-0, before a crowd estimated at 1,000 at Lake City.

Coeur d'Alene takes tiebreaker

Idaho prep football playoffs

WORLEY, Idaho – As a freshman, Kinsey Gomez shocked the State 5A cross country meet field by knocking off the defending champ. Two years later, the Coeur d’Alene standout dethroned another state champ, and this time Gomez didn’t sneak up on anybody.

It was double the pleasure for the Sandpoint High School boys and girls soccer teams at the State 4A tournaments last weekend. The Sandpoint boys captured their seventh state title this decade, and second straight, while the Sandpoint girls, after two years in the 5A classification, returned to their state championship ways, collecting their fifth this decade.

Some wondered if St. Maries would win another state volleyball championship. It’s not that the cupboard has been bare. But it has been 16 years since the Lumberjacks hung a banner in their gym.

St. Maries vball returns to top

CdA's Gomez wins again

St. Maries volleyball coach Missy Asbury didn’t need words to describe how her team rallied from a two-game deficit against three-time 3A Idaho state champion Sugar-Salem. Asbury pointed to her heart. The Lumberjacks seemingly got better the deeper the match went as St. Maries pulled off a 22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-5 victory over the Diggers in a second-round match Friday afternoon at Coeur d’Alene High School’s Elmer Jordan Court.

Lake City captures 5A IEL title

The Post Falls football team kept its faint state playoff hopes alive with a 13-7 win over Coeur d’Alene in a 5A Inland Empire League game Thursday. Now Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene will root for Lake City to capture the league championship tonight at Lewiston. An LC win would put Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene and Lewiston in a three-way tie for second, necessitating a Kansas tiebreaker Monday to decide the second playoff berth. Lewiston can secure the league title and render a tiebreaker moot with a win. LC is in the playoffs win or lose.

Post Falls knocks off CdA

Has 5A Inland Empire League football been unpredictable enough for you? We go into the final week of regular-season play with all four teams still alive for the two state playoff berths.

The Post Falls volleyball team was determined not to have another meltdown similar to what occurred four days earlier. The Trojans found themselves trailing 11-2 in the third game against Lake City after winning the first two. Unlike what happened against Lewiston in the 5A Region I championship match Tuesday, Post Falls pulled out of a funk and earned a state berth 25-13, 25-17, 25-20 Saturday at The Arena.

T-Wolves shock Vikings

Lake City senior long-distance standout C.J. Helbling returned Thursday. Helbling was physically present at the 5A Region I cross country meet, but he still struggled with a quad injury that has pestered him since late September. Helbling toured the 3.1-mile layout at Circling Raven Golf Course near Worley in 16 minutes, 14.8 seconds to capture a regional title by nearly 11 seconds.

When it comes to boys soccer in Idaho, Sandpoint has been as good as any team in the state this decade regardless of classification. This year Sandpoint is seeking its eighth state championship since 2000.

Panhandle Picks

Lewiston volleyball coach Kelly Harwick wasn’t overly concerned when her team dropped the first two games in the 5A Region I championship game Tuesday. Harwick watched her team rally from a similar deficit against 4A state power Sandpoint this season.

Coeur d’Alene boys soccer coach Eric Louis was mildly alarmed midway through the first half of the 5A Region I championship game Saturday afternoon at Post Falls. Louis had just watched his team repel four quality scoring opportunities by the Post Falls Trojans. He knew it was just a matter of time before the Vikings would seize control.