Panhandle Picks with Greg Lee

You ever felt like finding a hole and trying to hide?

You ever felt like there’s probably not a hole big enough to conceal you? Welcome to my world this week.

I had one of those rare weeks in the 11-year history of Panhandle Picks. I had more wrong than right. I finished 4-6. That’s more wrong in one week than I had combined the first two weeks. My guest, first-year Sandpoint athletic director Cheryl Klein, was 6-4.

The only consolation is I still lead the guests. The scoreboard reads: The Scribe 23-9 (.719), the Guests 21-11 (.656).

My guest this week is Lakeland/Timberlake booster Dale Bunch, a local real estate agent. Bunch and his wife Sandy will be in Spirit Lake on Friday for the big intra-district showdown. They’ll sit somewhere near the 50-yard line in the bleachers so they can be as non-partisan as possible as they cheer.

Lakeland at Timberlake: This game may come down to which team deems it as most important.

With Lakeland no longer in the Intermountain League, the outcome has no bearing on the teams’ postseason hopes. So, from my way of thinking, this game is most important to Lakeland.

I picked the Tigers to upset Lakeland last year. In a wild game featuring measurable twists of momentum, Timberlake pulled away 58-35 by scoring 44 unanswered points.

Timberlake, which will challenge Bonners Ferry for the IML title, begins league play next week and will have more opportunities for victories in weeks to come. Lakeland received a rude introduction to the Inland Empire League in a 49-21 loss at Lewiston last week. The IEL schedule gets more difficult in weeks to come.

Lakeland quarterback Kam Kiefer accounted for the winning touchdowns in the Hawks’ 2-0 start. He will be the difference Friday. Lakeland 28, Timberlake 27.

Guest: Timberlake was not impressive in its loss to Riverside last week. Lakeland’s running backs, with Kam Kiefer at quarterback running the option, will be too much for Timberlake. Lakeland 21, Timberlake 14.

Post Falls at Lewiston: This is the Trojans’ first test since their 35-19 upset of Lake City. It will be an arduous exam for the Trojans, but Post Falls should prevail. PF 24, Lewiston 14.

Guest: Post Falls is much improved from last year and played a very good game against error-prone Lake City, but Lewiston is a reality check. Lewiston 28, Post Falls 13.

Lake City at Moscow: How can I say this gently? The T-Wolves are near the top of the 5A heap and the Bears would be fortunate to be competitive in 3A. LC 49, Moscow 6.

Guest: Lake City has a lot better team than it showed at Post Falls. LC 41, Moscow 0.

Other games