Ah-Hi deserved spot on All-Idaho football team

I may be wrong, but …

When Kevin Ah-Hi called Tuesday to tell me he had orally committed to play football at Montana State, the call jolted my memory (this pumpkin-headed journalist needs a nudge now and then).

It reminded me what a crime it was that the standout Coeur d’Alene High running back had been left off the All-Idaho 5A team as voted by the coaches. All Ah-Hi did was break the Vikings’ all-time rushing record, finishing with 3,155 yards as a two-year starter.

He started with Gabe Le in the backfield in 2004 when the Vikings played in the state final. Ah-Hi’s 263 yards and three touchdowns in CdA’s 51-19 win over Lewiston last fall clinched a playoff berth.

Now, I can understand Ah-Hi not being picked to the first team. I’m not about to say any of the first-team picks were undeserving.

Not to take anything away from other selections, but Ah-Hi, at the least, should have been a second-team selection. Enough said on that topic.

Ah-Hi recently tried out and was selected to the USA U-19 boys national rugby team. He will play in a match against Canada in February before going to the World Championships in April in Dubai.

He’s doing it with Montana State’s blessing.

•I said early this winter that the Lewiston High boys basketball team would challenge for a state championship. I’m not going to back down from that statement.

In fact, after watching Coeur d’Alene nearly upset Lewiston last week – check that, the Vikings should have beaten Lewiston, but the Bengals rallied for an 80-74 win in overtime – I still believe the Bengals will contend for gold. They have a nice balance of solid perimeter shooters and inside players (read: height).

Lewiston coach Dave Cornelia thought his team stole a victory over CdA. He thought his team didn’t deserve to win.

I wouldn’t go that far, but the young CdA team pushed Lewiston as far as it’s been pushed all year. The 13-0 Bengals hadn’t trailed at halftime or in the fourth quarter this season until that game.

I asked Cornelia if the unbeaten record was beginning to weigh on his players. I suggested that suffering a loss before the regular season concludes might be a good thing.

“I think we have a little bit of a bull’s-eye on our back, but at the same time they’re 17- and 16-year-old kids, so they don’t care,” Cornelia said. “If you ask every one of them, they’d rather be 12-0 than 11-1. They don’t see the big picture, where as coaches we know we’ve got a lot of work to do still.

“These kids want to keep it rolling. And as a coach, I’m never one to say a loss is good for you – until maybe it happens, then I might change my mind.”

•When I went to church Sunday morning, I thought the music was a tad loud. But then it dawned on me. After sitting through back-to-back spirit doubleheaders last week – the Battle for the Prairie Pig on Thursday and the Fight for the Fish on Friday – my ears were still ringing.

The spirit doubleheaders have their distinct personalities. But I must say the skits put on by the Post Falls and Lakeland students were outstanding. For my money, the festivities at PF overshadowed the spirit doubleheader between the city rivals.

The students at all four of the Kootenai County schools must be applauded for their efforts to raise money for good causes.

Lake City and Coeur d’Alene students combined to raise $1,297.49 for the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations. At Lakeland, students handed a check for $2,750 to the Children’s Village. At Post Falls, students raised $4,300 for the four children of Lisa King, to further their education after high school.

King, 39, a Post Falls resident, was killed in an accident just before Christmas. Her husband, Bob, was on hand with his children to accept the check. There weren’t many dry eyes among the Trojans faithful.