CdA-Lake City one of the state’s last great rivalries

The word rivalry conjures up all sorts of images of emotion.

When you think of rivalries at the high school level, what comes to mind?

To me, I go back to my roots, Kennewick, Wash., where my alma mater, Kamiakin, and the crosstown school, Kennewick, used to wage toe-to-toe battles in football and basketball back in the day.

But times have changed. In Idaho, for example, there used to be some engaging rivalries. Highland-Pocatello, Boise-Borah, Meridian-Centennial, Skyline-Idaho Falls are a few that come to mind. But those, too, have changed.

Why? It’s called growth. Back in my old hometown, a third high school, Southridge, came along a few years ago, and you can’t divide a pie three ways, right?

In Pocatello, Century took the crowd out of Highland and Pocatello and made it a company, so to speak. The same thing happened in Idaho Falls where there is four city schools, and also in Boise where Capital and Timberline call the state’s biggest city home. And the same thing in Meridian, where it’s gone from one school back in 1985 to now four schools (Centennial, Eagle and Mountain View) and where a fifth, Rocky Mountain, is scheduled to open in 2008. By the way, the newest school’s mascot will not be Oysters (although that would be a lot of fun).

I digress. I propose that the lone healthy intracity rivalry in Idaho is right here in our own backyard – Coeur d’Alene – between the Lake City Timberwolves and the Vikings of Coeur d’Alene.

What brought this all to mind, of course, is the fact that the football teams meet for the first time this season Friday at Viking Field. It should be standing room only. After all, Lake City (4-0), the top-ranked 5A team in the state, squares off against Coeur d’Alene (4-1), arguably as good as its crosstown rival. That’s what we’ll find out Friday.

These crosstown games have attracted crowds of more than 5,000 in the last few years. The gathered throng Friday could be the all-time best turnout.

And the funny thing is, I can only recall one upset in the 19-game history. There have been more “upsets,” if you will, in the boys and girls basketball games between the schools than football.

It seems strange to me. Usually, these heated rivalries are chock-full of upsets. Maybe we’ve just got to give it more time.

Anyway, can you name the game I alluded to, the one upset in the football series? It happened at the turn of the millennium, the fall of 2000.

CdA came into the game favored and led by senior standout running back Paul Ziegler, who was in the midst of rewriting the Viks’ record book. The Viks took a 19-7 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Timberwolves, behind the arm of junior quarterback Matt Stern, rallied for a 29-19 victory.

I mention that game because Friday shapes up as an opportunity for an upset. After all, LC goes into the game as No. 1 in the state. All the talk this fall has been about how the T-Wolves are going to win a state title.

So there should be emotion aplenty Friday.