Border Teams Begin Shuffle For Playoffs

It’s not quite a logjam, but Border League football teams Lake City, Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene each have one conference loss.

The teams that finish league with one defeat are guaranteed a ticket to the postseason. There are scenarios where a team can earn a playoff berth with two losses.

The postseason picture will become much clearer when CdA goes to Sandpoint a week from tonight. But that - as both coaches emphasized this week - is getting ahead of things.

There’s plenty at stake tonight when Cheney (4-1 overall, 3-1 league) visits CdA (5-1, 4-1), Lake City (5-1, 5-1) goes to Clarkston (3-2, 2-2) and Post Falls (1-5, 1-4) is at Sandpoint (4-2, 4-1).

In Intermountain League contests, St. Maries (2-4, 1-1) travels to league-leading Lakeland (4-2, 2-0), the lone unbeaten team in conference; Kellogg (1-4, 1-1) goes to Priest River (5-1, 1-1); and Bonners Ferry (2-4, 0-2) is at Timberlake (2-4, 1-1) in what may be the most competitive league matchup.

In North Star League action, Mullan (5-0, 4-0) can secure the conference title with a victory over visiting Falls Christian (3-3, 2-2) and Kootenai (2-3, 2-2) is at Clark Fork (0-5, 0-4).

Elsewhere, Lakeside (4-3) goes to Clearwater Valley (3-3) and Wallace (1-5) is at Prairie (3-4).

Most games kick off at 7. Cheney at CdA: Vikings coach Shawn Amos wants his team to send a message tonight. Not to the Blackhawks, but to their opponent next week.

The Blackhawks used two late field goals to pull off a 23-21 upset at Sandpoint last month. So Amos desires a convincing victory.

Still, the task of just playing well against an established program like Cheney will be a test in itself, Amos said. “It’s not like you can take a week off when you play Cheney,” Amos said. “Cheney is kind of like Lakeland. It’s the standard by which you want your program to be like.”

A young team at the start of the season, Cheney has improved week to week. Junior quarterback Rhett Humphrey, two-way standout Ben Woodard and running back Adam Pegg have played big roles in the Blackhawks’ development.

“They shut us down last year,” Amos said. “We want some redemption offensively. Our kids remember how frustrating it was (last year).”

Cheney coach Tom Oswald figures his team faces its stiffest challenge tonight. “They’re probably the best team we’ve played,” Oswald said. “They have so many weapons. They really have a nice package.”

Lake City at Clarkston: As far as Timberwolves coach Van Troxel is concerned, it doesn’t matter who the opponent is tonight. For LC, it’s Week No. 5 with its back against the wall.

“It’s been that way since Sandpoint,” Troxel said of his team’s season-opening 20-19 loss.“That’s the reality. We’ve been backed up against a fence and we just have to get it done.”

Troxel isn’t sure which Clarkston team the T-Wolves will face. Will it be the one that’s 2-0 at home (including a 13-12 win over Lewiston) and has displayed a wide-open attack and passed the ball about 30 times a game? Or will it be the one that lost 26-7 at Sandpoint earlier and was spanked 47-14 at CdA last week?

He expects to see the “home” team.

Clarkston coach Dave Curtis said his team’s strategy hasn’t changed whether at home or on the road.

“But it’s been night and day,” Curtis said. “We’re a good football team, but you’ve got to make plays. (Last week) was a devastating loss. That really hurt us. We need to bounce back. This is a big game because we need to play a good game against a good team.”

Post Falls at Sandpoint: You can’t fault Trojans coach Jeff Choate for hoping.

Choate hopes Sandpoint is distracted tonight with homecoming and looking ahead to the biggest game of its season next week. But even if that happens it might not be enough to even the playing field.

“They’ve got a lot of talent,” Choate said of the Bulldogs. “We’ve got to have some things go our way. Hopefully we don’t give up the home run and can hang around.”

Sandpoint coach Satini Puailoa said his team is coming off its worst defensive showing in a 41-28 loss at Lewiston.

“The game showed us some things that we needed to find out about ourselves,” Puailoa said.