GRIDIRON GUESSES: The road to glory starts now

By MARK NELKE and
JASON ELLIOTT
Sports writers
At this point, three of the four area teams — the lone exception being the Post Falls Trojans — know that to get to the ultimate goal, they’re going to get used to traveling far and wide.
“All of our kids on our team went to South Fremont last year,” said Timberlake coach Kelly Amos, who is in his sixth year overall. “They know how to travel and what their job is. That’s the reason we go play those early season games. To travel on the bus, not sleep in their own beds, get off the bus and go play.”
Tonight, Lakeland (7-2) travels to face Pocatello (4-4) in the opening round of the state 4A playoffs. Also tonight, Timberlake (4-3), the 11th seed, visits No. 6 Weiser (8-1) in the 3A opening round.
On Saturday, St. Maries (3-5), the No. 10 qualifier on a three-game winning streak, visits No. 7 Aberdeen (5-3) in the opening round of the 2A playoffs.
Lakeland beat Moscow 45-0 last week to finish second in the 4A Inland Empire League and is the ninth seed into the playoffs. Pocatello is the eighth seed.
“I think we match up really well,” first-year Lakeland coach Mike Schroeder said. “It should be a good matchup of teams trying to get to the outside on the run. Defense, it’s always a concern playing against one of the faster backs (Pocatello junior running back) Ryden EchoHawk. It’s going to be a challenge containing him. Most of his games, he’s had a long run, so we’ll have to limit him for sure.”
Pocatello sophomore quarterback Hunter May has filled in for projected starter Dre Contreras, who has missed most of the season with a leg injury.
“Hunter doesn’t look like a backup anymore,” Schroeder said. “He’s a pretty good athlete. We’re going to have to play great defense to move on and also get some breaks.”
Lakeland notched wins over eventual playoff teams Post Falls and Timberlake, and lost to Sandpoint in the de facto league title game.
“For the most part, we’re as healthy as we’ve been all year with only a few cuts and bruises,” Schroeder said. “I don’t think we played as well up front defensively, which highly concerns me. But I’m optimistic that we’ll play well up front, and we’ll have to in order to win the game.”
Lakeland was tied with eventual champion Skyline after three quarters in last year’s state opener, before falling 42-21 at Holt Arena in Pocatello.
“We’ve had such a huge transition this year and I don’t think our guys have given a thought to that,” Schroeder said. “Our guys think they can play with anyone. We haven’t played well when we’re not doing well, but being successful during sudden changes will be a key component to being successful.”
Timberlake finished runner-up to Bonners Ferry (8-0) in the two-team Intermountain League after last Friday’s 18-13 loss at Van Tuinstra Memorial Field.
“It was a tough loss,” Amos said. “We’ve had a good couple days of practice and we’re ready to continue playing football. Our seniors decided that Bonners wasn’t going to be the end of our season.”
Weiser is the defending state 3A champion.
“They’re really physical and the most pure wing-T team we’ve seen in a long time,” Amos said. “They’re perfectly fine getting 3 to 4 yards a play. The film is just them grinding it out on offense and being physical on defense.”
Timberlake and Weiser will square off for the seventh time in the playoffs. The teams have split their six previous postseason meetings, Timberlake winning the most recent one, 42-33 in the 2019 quarterfinals.
Amos likes his team’s chances to move the ball.
“We’ve been able to open our passing game and get some opportunities in the last few weeks,” Amos said. “But we’ll have to be able to run the football, and that’s where we make our money. But we’ll have to be successful when we throw the ball to give us the confidence in those situations we need.”
With the school’s helmets being refurbished, St. Maries missed out on its annual football camp trip to Montana Tech last spring. In addition, a COVID pause midway through the season last year limited the Lumberjacks to just four games in 2020 and six in 2021.
“The biggest thing is COVID set us back so badly with how it affected us,” 13th-year St. Maries coach Craig Tefft said. “Without camp and the ability to play games, we knew it would take us five games this year to get going.”
After starting 0-5, St. Maries has won three straight.
“It finally feels like we’re playing Lumberjack football,” Tefft said. “We’ve executing and playing well right now.”
St. Maries advanced to state each year from 2012 to 2019, but missed the playoffs the past two years.
“We’re used to traveling and playing late into the year,” Tefft said. “But this group is used to being done by now. Other than the basketball kids, they haven’t had to travel. When the COVID thing happened, when we finally pulled out of it we’re going back to scratch and playing the type of football we’re used to playing.”
Aberdeen is the seventh seed in 2A.
“They’re a mirror image of us,” Tefft said. “It’s going to come down to field position and who doesn’t beat themselves. Both teams look the same across the board. It could end up being the quickest playoff game in history because both teams like to run the ball and grind out the game. Both teams might get five or six possessions, so you’d better be doing good with them.”
Post Falls (7-2), champions of the 5A Inland Empire League, has a first-round bye this week, and plays host to tonight’s Kuna-Rocky Mountain winner next week in the quarterfinals.
As for the picks, Mark went 6-0 last week and Jason was 4-2.
For the season, Mark leads at 47-8, followed by Jason at 43-12.
TONIGHT’S GAMES
Times Pacific
Lakeland (7-2) at Pocatello (4-4), 6 p.m.
NELKE: This is Pocatello’s first playoff game on its new home field, Lookout Field at nearby Hawthorne Middle School. Look for Lakeland to spoil it. Had last year’s playoff format for 4A been used this year, the Hawks would have played at home this week, after finishing seventh in the MaxPreps final regular season rankings.
Lakeland, 24-20
ELLIOTT: If Lakeland can run the ball with the ability it showed against Post Falls earlier this year, it might be a long night for the Thunder.
Lakeland, 32-28
Timberlake (4-3) at Weiser (8-1), 5 p.m.
NELKE: Timberlake also traveled some 5 hours to McCall earlier this year, only to turn around and come home without playing due to poor air quality.
Weiser, 24-22
ELLIOTT: Timberlake is going to need a few plays to break its way against the defending champions.
Weiser, 28-24
SATURDAY’S GAME
St. Maries (3-5) at Aberdeen (5-3), 1 p.m.
NELKE: The host Tigers come in with losses in their final two games. St. Maries might as well keep both streaks going.
St. Maries, 26-20
ELLIOTT: St. Maries might have found something in its ground game in the last couple of weeks after playing tough down the stretch.
St. Maries, 22-20