Weight work paying off
A member of Lewiston High School’s chain gang – those guys who work the yardage markers during football games – had an astute observation as Coeur d’Alene raced away from the Bengals last Friday.
“Lewiston is getting beat the way Lewiston used to beat teams – with speed,” he said.
Not too long ago, Lewiston dominated big-school football in North Idaho and more than held its own on the state level.
Bigger, stronger, faster is a theme for most big-school programs. Back in the mid 1990s, Lewiston was bigger and stronger than area teams. Perhaps more importantly, the Bengals were faster, especially in the skill positions.
Lake City coach Van Troxel made no bones about it. His program put an emphasis on getting athletes in the weight room daily as a way of trying to pull even with Lewiston and the other perennial powerhouses statewide. But Troxel also did something else. If his athletes weren’t playing a spring sport, he made it mandatory that they turned out for track. He especially made sure that his skill players were running in sprint and relay events.
The same is true at Coeur d’Alene. Coach Shawn Amos finally got assigned to teaching fulltime in the weight room three years ago, and this year’s seniors are the first group to be under his full-time supervision for four years.
At Lewiston, meanwhile, there was a break down in the system a few years ago. The football players were no longer spending as much time as usual in the weight room and the fastest athletes on the track weren’t football players.
Certainly things go in cycles, but there was a measurable drop off at Lewiston. Bengals coach Emmett Dougherty said his players finally got back into the weight room on a regular basis last year.
It’s not a coincidence that Lake City and Coeur d’Alene have been beating Lewiston regularly in recent years. The Vikings’ 46-26 win at Lewiston on Friday was their fourth straight over the Bengals.
In two weeks, LC will be heavily favored to make it six straight wins over visiting Lewiston.
Playoff berth on line
The 4A Inland Empire League title and lone playoff berth could be decided Friday when Sandpoint (4-4 overall, 1-0 league) visits Lakeland (4-3, 0-0).
Sandpoint opened league with a 51-14 win over Moscow last Friday. The Bulldogs have won four straight since four consecutive losses to 5A teams to open the season.
The Bulldogs would earn the league title and playoff berth outright with a win. Lakeland needs a win coupled with a victory at Moscow the following week to secure the title and postseason berth.
It should be a tightly contested game. The teams have two common opponents – 5A Post Falls and 3A Bonners Ferry. Post Falls defeated Sandpoint 21-12 at Sandpoint on Sept. 1; Lakeland topped visiting Post Falls 35-21 four weeks later. Lakeland shut out Bonners Ferry 34-0 in a season opener; Sandpoint’s first win was a 37-6 decision over Bonners Ferry on Sept. 22.
This ‘n that
Top-ranked Lake City (7-0) and Coeur d’Alene (5-2) play their final non-league games Friday, and they’ll travel to Washington to take on a pair of Columbia Basin League (formerly Big Nine Conference) teams. LC goes to Moses Lake (5-2), which was ranked 10th in the 4A poll last week and CdA travels to Southridge of Kennewick (3-4), which is fighting for the CBL’s third 3A state playoff berth. Southridge is coached by Van Troxel’s youngest brother, Andy.
“Mullan (4-2, 3-0) and Kootenai (4-2, 2-0) have clinched the North Star League’s two 1A Division II eight-man state playoff berths. If Kootenai beats winless Lakeside on Friday, that would set up a showdown the following week when Mullan visits Kootenai. The teams would be playing for the league title and the hosting rights between the teams when they turn around and play each other in the first round the following week. The teams have already played once. They met in a non-league game Sept. 22 at Mullan in which Kootenai won 48-12.
“Wallace (3-4) will represent the NSL in the 1A Division I eight-man playoffs. The Miners earned the berth with a 46-6 win over Lakeside last month. Wallace will play host to the still-to-be-determined Whitepine League runner-up in the first round of the playoffs.