Post Falls Takes On Sandpoint

Prep football

Jeff Choate, the Post Falls High football coach, hopes history repeats itself tonight.

But he realizes that his team isn’t the same as the one that opened preseason practices two months ago hoping to challenge for the top playoff seed.

And he’s aware that Sandpoint is multiple yards ahead of where it was a month ago.

Post Falls has beaten Sandpoint eight of nine times in the 1990s. Until this year, the Post Falls-Sandpoint game was played the final week of the season, and the last seven meetings decided a playoff berth. But, now in the Border League, the game is being played tonight, two weeks earlier.

“Traditionally, we haven’t played our best game against Post Falls,” said Sandpoint coach Satini Puailoa, whose team’s lone win against the Trojans this decade was in 1997, the year the Bulldogs won the state title. “Post Falls always seems to play very well against us.”

Kickoff at Post Falls Middle School in the Inland Empire/Border League game is at 7 p.m.

It’s a critical game for Sandpoint (4-2 overall, 0-1 IEL), which fell to Lake City 21-6 in a season and IEL opener. The same week, Post Falls (3-3, 1-0) beat Moscow 34-20.

Post Falls can lose and still stay in the playoff hunt. IEL leader LC is 3-0 and Coeur d’Alene is 1-1. Moscow is 0-3 and out of the playoff picture.

In Border League action, Lake City (6-0 overall) can clinch the title when it plays host to Clarkston (1-4, 1-3).

But the Timberwolves can’t secure a state playoff berth until next week. Under the combined league agreement, only games against teams from the same state count toward postseason.

Elsewhere, Coeur d’Alene (4-3, 4-1) visits Cheney (4-1, 3-1) and Colville (1-4, 1-4) goes to Moscow (1-5, 1-4).

The CdA-Cheney winner will gain sole possession of second.

The Trojans, missing seven starters who figured big into Choate’s preseason plans, could start as many as four sophomores.

Choate is using eight players who weren’t on the depth chart at the start of the season. They were on the junior varsity roster.

Quarterback Tyler Smith (shoulder), injured three weeks ago, and running back Doug Malar (shoulder), injured last week, are questionable.

“We’re preparing like they’re not going to play,” Choate said. “They want to play, and they could be 100 percent by Friday and come out and play the best games of their lives. But we’re preparing to play without both of them.”

Sandpoint is coming off one of its biggest wins in school history. The Bulldogs pummeled visiting Lewiston 56-21, the first victory at home over a Lewiston team since 1979.

And the Bulldogs had three TDs called back.

“They’re better than the year they won it all,” Choate said. “They don’t have a (Caleb) Bowman or a (Paul) Nieman, but (Carl) Roubicek is doing a great job of running the team.”

Roubicek, the Bulldogs’ senior quarterback, leads a potent ground attack. He’s rushed for 562 yards. Junior tailback Steve Jackson has 536 yards and junior fullback Brandon Delewese has 506.

Puailoa said his team has had an offensive turnaround since losing 17-6 to Cheney three weeks ago.

“It wasn’t that we got beat physically; we got beat mentally,” Puailoa said. “The kids have really stepped up and are playing every play.”

Lakeland (6-0) and Kellogg (5-1) are co-leaders in the Intermountain League at 4-0. But the foursome of St. Maries, Priest River, Grangeville and Timberlake still hold out hope - even if it is slim at best - of capturing one of the league’s two playoff berths.

As many as three of the four teams could be eliminated from the hunt tonight. Orofino (1-5, 0-4) is at Lakeland; Priest River (3-2-1) goes to Kellogg; St. Maries (3-3) is at Timberlake (3-3); and Bonners Ferry (0-6, 0-4) visits Grangeville (2-4).

With two weeks left in North Star League play, all four teams came into the week tied for first at 2-2.

Clark Fork beat Kootenai 50-33 Thursday. In a key game today, Mullan visits Falls Christian at 3:30. FCA will try to reverse a season-opening loss at Mullan (40-18).

In Central Idaho League contests, Wallace (4-2, 4-1), tied for second with Kamiah (6-1, 4-1), travels to league-leading Lapwai (6-0, 5-0), while Lakeside (1-5, 1-4), fresh off its first win, is home against Kamiah.

Wallace, which defeated Lapwai 20-6 in a playoff opener last year, must win either Friday or next week (at Kamiah) to earn a playoff berth.

One-sided The Post Falls-Sandpoint football series in the 1990s has been dominated by Post Falls: 1990 Post Falls, 17-14 1991 Post Falls, 24-0 1992 Post Falls, 33-0*x 1993 Post Falls, 21-7*x 1994 Post Falls, 18-12 OT*x 1995 Post Falls, 33-7*x 1996 Post Falls, 39-27*x 1997 Sandpoint, 49-35@x 1998 Post Falls, 20-13*x

*-Post Falls playoff qualifier x-game decided playoff berth @-Sandpoint won state title