Panhandle picks with Greg Lee

Panhandle Picks is going big time this fall.

Entering our 13th season, we’ll continue taking on some of the area’s most recognizable faces as we predict the scores of high school football games each week. But we’re adding what we hope will be an entertaining element.

Panhandle Picks enters the blog world. I’m welcoming any and all bloggers to participate in the fun. Go to www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/idahopreps and under the “comments” option, post your predictions and see how you fare against the Scribe and weekly guest.

First, though, a little history. I had my first season tie last year with the guests. That means I’m 10-1-1 overall. We’re going to end the ties. From now on, one of the games each week will serve as a tiebreaker based on the final score of the said game.

I’m upping the ante with my guests this year. If I lose – notice I didn’t say if the guest wins – the guest will receive a gift certificate from me for lunch at my favorite burger joint, Hudson’s Hamburgers.

Enough with the preliminaries. Please welcome my first guest, Weldon “Will” Havercroft, Lakeland’s fine athletic director.

Strap on those helmets, friends. Here we go.

Sandpoint at Coeur d’Alene: The Bulldogs make their debut under Mike Mitchell, a longtime high school and college coach whose most recent stop was DeAnza College in Cupertino, Calif.

Mitchell takes over a program that was split when Sean Dorris resigned and former coach Satini Puailoa accepted an offer to return, but turned it down only to throw his name in the hat a second time when Mitchell was hired. Mitchell was hired just in time to take the Bulldogs to summer camp, his first chance to evaluate the returning talent.

Sandpoint will look much like a program in transition Friday. Coeur d’Alene, meanwhile, will look much like a program with an established winning tradition. The Vikings return speed and a number of athletes. That should be evident when the Bulldogs find themselves doing most of the chasing.

Give Mitchell time. Meanwhile, the Vikings are gearing up for another push for the 5A state playoffs. Coeur d’Alene 28, Sandpoint 14.

Guest: Two of the premier programs in the state, and they’re both viable contenders in their respective classifications. Both clubs have lots of speed and talent as well as strong defensive traditions. Coeur d’Alene 28, Sandpoint 25.

Lake City at Meridian (the tiebreaker): Timberwolves coach Van Troxel points out that his program has a losing record to just one school, and it’s the one LC opens against.

Both of those losses to the defending 5A state champs came last year.

At first glance, this was going to be an easy pick for me when you consider the Warriors return quite a bit of experience off last year’s team and they’re playing on a new field featuring Field Turf. Not to mention LC faces an 8-hour bus ride. But Meridian suffered a big blow in a recent practice when it lost projected starting quarterback A.J. Storms to a broken throwing arm.

LC matches Meridian with returning experience, but the edge for me comes in the fact that the T-Wolves return starting QB Garren Hammons, a senior. He reminds me of Dustin Sedgwick, who was behind center when LC captured its first state title in 2002. LC 28, Meridian 21.

Guest: A rematch of last year’s semifinal won by eventual state champion Meridian provides Lake City with a great opportunity to send a message to the southern two-thirds of the state. Coach Troxel and his staff will have the T-Wolves ready. LC 35, Meridian 20.

Bonners Ferry at Lakeland: Both teams return several players off last year’s teams. But the Hawks of Rathdrum return more, and getting off to a good start is most critical for Lakeland. LL 28, BF 13.

Guest: These are two teams with a long and storied rivalry who know each other well. Bonners Ferry prevailed 8-6 in last year’s opener, but both teams will be improved on offense this year. LL 21, BF 17.

Other games

Lee’s picks

Moscow 21, Priest River 14

Clark Fork 42, Kootenai 36

Wallace 36, St. Maries 21

Havercroft’s picks

Moscow 35, Priest River 21

Clark Fork 56, Kootenai 48

Wallace 42, St. Maries 28