Panhandle Picks With Greg Lee

For a second straight week, I came up short by one game. I’ve dug myself a hole, but I have plenty of time to recover. There are seven weeks left counting this Friday.

My friend Nick Menegas, who retired as head football coach at Lewiston, knocked me off last week. He picked 10 of 14 correctly to my 9-of-14 effort. Through two weeks, the guests are 17 of 23 (.739) and yours truly is stumbling along at 15 of 23 (.652).

My guest this week is Post Falls head basketball and track coach Wade Quesnell.

Quesnell, who has seemingly coached year-round since his teaching career began in southern Idaho, took off one of his hats this year. He stepped down as offensive coordinator for the the Trojans football team.

A native of Murtaugh, Idaho, Quesnell has been a head coach in three sports, including seven seasons as head football coach at Filer.

Post Falls at Colville: It’s the Trojans’ third straight road game.

Post Falls is nursing wounds in several areas. Perhaps most bruised is its pride after falling to Clarkston 26-10 last week after opening a 10-0 lead.

The Trojans have yet to put together a full game. They had to rally in the second half of their opener to beat Moscow 34-20.

Post Falls better not overlook Colville. Although the Indians have stepped up in classification and joined the Border League, they will give Post Falls all it can handle.

The Trojans will start to put more of the pieces of their puzzle together Friday. PF 28, Colville 13.

Guest: The Trojans go into Friday’s game a little banged up. But the coaching staff and players rebound from last week’s loss at Clarkston. PF 28, Colville 14.

Coeur d’Alene at Moscow: This is the second game of the annual Shriner’s Doubleheader in the Kibbie Dome. Sandpoint and Clarkston square off in the opener.

It’s a huge game for both teams. The winner keeps outside hopes of a playoff berth alive. The loser will have six long weeks remaining in the season.

CdA may not have been overly impressive in its first win last week, but it was a shot in the arm, nonetheless.

The Bears, struggling at 0-2, need an elephant-sized shot in the arm. The teams are very close in ability so the winner is decided by fewest mistakes. Or who capitalizes on the last mistake. Moscow 20, CdA 19.

Guest: The much-improved Vikings are a two-point conversion away from starting the season 2-1. This week they will get that late conversion to win. CdA 22, Moscow 21.

Bonners Ferry at Lakeland: One will go by land (Lakeland) and the other will go by air (Bonners Ferry).

Bonners Ferry coach Ted Reynolds isn’t trying to hide anything. The Badgers have averaged 44 passing attempts in their first two games, and 6-foot-6 quarterback Andy Rice will make as many attempts against the Hawks.

Lakeland will try to minimize those attempts by shrinking the game with ball control. This could be the game that will ultimately decide the Intermountain League title.

So give that crown to Lakeland. LL 21, BF 7.

Guest: This is a huge IML matchup. The winner will await Trent Duffey and the St. Maries Lumberjacks for a possible playoff berth. I’ll take (Terry) Kiefer and Company at home. LL 20, BF 16.

Other games Lee Quesnell Lake City 47, W. Valley 7 Lake City 42, W. Valley 20 Sandpoint 24, Clarkston 21 Sandpoint 26, Clarkston 24 T. Lake 26, Grangeville 20 T. Lake 18, Grangeville 14 St. Maries 22, Kellogg 13 St. Maries 30, Kellogg 18 F. Christian 26, Kootenai 18 Kootenai 28, F. Christian 22 C. Fork 36, Mullan 32 C. Fork 26, Mullan 20 Wallace 18, Prairie 13 Wallace 26, Prairie 16 P. River 13, Orofino 8 P. River 22, Orofino 14 Potlatch 33, Lakeside 12 Potlatch 24, Lakeside 12