Greg Lee

A pair of high school football league openers Friday could go far in deciding conference championships, if not state playoff berths. Unbeatens will clash when Post Falls travels to Lewiston in an Inland Empire League opener. Both teams are 3-0, and the game most likely will decide the league championship even though both teams will play three more league games. Kickoff at Lewiston, as well as most stops in the Panhandle, is at 7:30.

Sandpoint middle hitter Alli Nieman gives Lake City something to think about. The Bulldogs prevailed 15-9, 15-3. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Deer Park High School football coach Bryan Frost's short-handed team was outmanned in every way imaginable Friday against the Coeur d'Alene Vikings. So the final score - heavily tilted in Coeur d'Alene's favor at 46-7 - neither surprised Frost nor concerned him.

His starting job was a long time in coming, but Post Falls quarterback Travis O'Briant is off to a strong start. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Lowe

Though Lakeland High School has A-1 classification numbers, the Rathdrum school will remain in the A-2 division for at least the next three years. A year ago, it appeared Lakeland was A-1 bound. The school had been posturing for a possible move up next year as school officials attended Inland Empire League meetings. They had even gone as far as scheduling four of the five league members in most major sports. But when the attendance figures for the past two years were tallied this summer, Lakeland caught a break.

Coeur d'Alene's two football teams, winless in their season openers, take on the Frontier League in hopes of notching their first victories Friday. Lake City, which has lost 10 straight since the school opened, came as close as ever to capturing its first win last week in a 20-17 loss to St. Maries. The task doesn't get any easier this week, though, when the Timberwolves have their home opener against Cheney, a traditional Frontier power.

Lakeland's Kevin Bridge is recovering from neck surgery. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Post Falls' Josh Mort takes the outside route while scoring. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Schwenke

Intermountain League football preview. Quarterback Al Bevacqua will be back to guide Lakeland this season. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review <

1. Post Falls coach Jerry Lee, left, has some fatherly advice for his son, Austin, a standout tight end and defensive end for the Trojans, favorites in the Inland Empire League. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. Post Falls expects veteran Brett Hollenback to be a leader on both offense and defense. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Lake City's hitter Jenny Owen returns to the Timberwolves this year. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Dave Stockwell has yet to coach his first Lake City High School girls basketball game, but the new Timberwolf coach has already scored a big coup. Make that two big coups.

Following its series-opening Northwest League win over the Boise Hawks last weekend, the Spokane Indians had visions of first place dancing in their heads. Four straight losses later, though, the Indians head to Northern Division-leading Bellingham this weekend hoping to climb back into contention.

The numbers finally added up Sunday evening for the Boise Hawks. Actually, timely hitting probably had more to do with Boise's 11-4 Northwest League victory over the Spokane Indians than the sum. Still, the Hawks' 15 hits - 29 combined in the opening two games of the five-game series - had a cumulative effect.

Templeman

1. Sarah Peterson's having a ball. 2. Sarah Peterson (left) reflects on her practice session with the North Idaho all-star basketball team. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Co-athlete of the year Ian Waltz shows his winning form in the shot put at the State A-1 track and field meet. File/The Spokesman-Review

Alleging that his athletic and academic rights were violated, a former North Idaho College wrestler has filed a tort claim against head coach John Owen and the school. Matt Rosen, 21, seeks $750,000 in damages. In his claim filed by Spokane attorney Russell Van Camp, Rosen alleges his health, safety and well-being were jeopardized due to the overall lack of supervision and control of the NIC wrestling program.

Hey, has anyone seen where the 1994-95 high school sports year has gone? Oh, there it ... uh, goes. It came to an end last weekend in the Boise area, but it seems like just a couple of weeks ago that we christened the Coeur d'Alene-Lake City rivalry in the season-opening football game.

Post Falls' Darick Pope, left, strains for second place in the 110-meter hurdles, nearly a second after winner Rex Grange of Highland crosses the finish line. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Vallivue's Sally Vail, left, outdistances April Near of Bonners Ferry. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Ian Waltz warms up for the discus after easily winning the shot put on Friday. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review