Viks Should Roll Against Stags

The win drought for Coeur d’Alene high school football teams should end for at least one team Friday.

After two down-to-the-wire losses, the Coeur d’Alene Vikings should get well in a hurry when Deer Park (0-1), a Class A school north of Spokane, visits.

The trials and tribulations at Lake City, though, will likely continue. The Timberwolves were spanked by preseason Frontier League favorite Cheney, and the team most coaches expect to challenge Cheney, East Valley (1-0), travels to LC this week.

It’s the first Friday of the season when both CdA schools are at home on the same night. The games, like most in the Panhandle, kick off at 7:30.

Four Intermountain League teams, meanwhile, begin conference play Friday when St. Maries (3-0), heavily favored to win the league championship, treks to muchimproved Priest River (3-0) and Kellogg (1-1-1) visits defending league champion Lakeland (0-2).

Elsewhere, Post Falls (2-0) visits West Valley (0-1) and Bonners Ferry (0-2) goes to Wallace (2-0-1). In the annual Shriners doubleheader at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Clarkston (0-1) takes on Moscow (1-1) at 5:30 followed by Lewiston (2-0) meeting Pullman (0-1) at about 8:30.

In a pair of afternoon North Star League games at 3:30, Mullan (2-0) entertains Kootenai (0-2, 0-3) and Lakeside (2-1) goes to Falls Christian Academy (1-1, 2-1).

Sandpoint (2-0) makes a 550-mile trip to Montana to take on Laurel (1-1) on Saturday at 2 (PST).

East Valley at Lake City

Even if the T-Wolves were at full strength, they’d still be short-handed against the Knights.

LC has lost one starting running back for the season and the other for at least another week. Travis Whiteside suffered a broken collarbone in two places after gaining 92 yards on 16 carries and Brian Ross sustained strained ligaments in an ankle.

Timberwolf coach Van Troxel will look to two sophomores and two defensive starters to share the running back chores.”The good news this weekend is East Valley is not as big as Cheney, but they’re quick - and they’re one of the quicker teams we’ll see,” Troxel said. “(But) it’s a better physical matchup for us.”

The chore of posting the first win, though, doesn’t get any easier for LC. To stop EV the T-Wolves must find a way to stop running back Jesse Ewell, who gained 221 yards on 32 carries against CdA last week.

Ewell, bullish 5-foot-9, 205-pound fullback and linebacker, won’t sit out against LC as initially suspected. He was ejected late in the contest against CdA for questioning an official, and a Washington state rule says any ejection requires a one-game suspension. Two ejections in a season and the player’s season is over.

But upon further review officials rescinded the decision.

Deer Park at Coeur d’Alene

For many reasons the Viks will be heavily favored against the smaller Stags. CdA may not have to use all of its weapons. That could be good news considering most of the Viks’ mistakes through two games have been self-inflicted.

Though CdA first-year coach Bill Anderson said prior to the season that victories weren’t a major concern in the preleague season, they need a victory to build some momentum as they head toward league.

, DataTimes