Postseason picture becoming much clearer in high school football
Sep. 25—After weeks of trying to figure out what direction the high school football season was heading, we might finally be seeing some clarity.
Early on, the Whitepine League Division I was a jumbled mess but now things are starting to shake out a bit.
In the Class 5A, Lewiston is starting to possibly look like a team that no one wants to play come November.
Meanwhile, it seems like we've known for some time who is in control of the Whitepine League Division II standings and nothing that took place this week changed that.
With that, let's jump right into it:
They were who we thought they were
Kamiah defeated Whitepine League Division I rival Clearwater Valley 34-22 on Friday with a power running attack.
The Kubs finished with 358 rushing yards. Colton Ocain led the charge with 128 yards on 20 carries and Connor Weddle added 94 yards.
The win for Kamiah (4-1, 3-0) cleared what were extremely murky waters in the WPL.
Just a week ago, it seemed to be a free-for-all.
Now, the Kubs and Prairie (3-1, 3-0) sit alone at the top of the league, and the two teams play a huge matchup at 7 p.m. Thursday in Cottonwood.
When is it OK to not be OK?
The Pirates struggled against a rebuilding Genesee team.
In fact, the Bulldogs led 16-0 at the end of the first quarter. But in true Prairie fashion, it rose to the occasion. The Pirates scored 44 unanswered and won the game 50-22.
Colton McElroy was the star, notching three rushing touchdowns. Eli Hinds racked up a team-high 128 yards, scoring two touchdowns.
So far, the Titi Cain era has produced a team that's still in the hunt for the Whitepine League Division I title and a state tournament bid.
However, the game against the Kubs will be the biggest in Cain's first season. Not only will it be for sole possesion of first place, but if Prairie comes away with a win, it should also earn Cain respect around town.
Lewiston is hot
Lewiston (4-1) might just be the hottest team in Class 5A after its heart-pounding 40-38 overtime win against Sandpoint.
The Bengals have won four straight and have scored more than 40 points in each of their wins.
Under coach Matt Pancheri, Lewiston always comes out looking dangerous after the nonleague portion of its schedule. He is 19-10 in nonleague games in five-plus seasons at the helm. The Bengals play their final nonleague game of the season at 7 p.m. Friday against Moscow at Bear Field. A win will tie Lewiston's best nonleague record under Pancheri, which was set a year ago.
However, the Bengals' season truly will get started in two weeks against Class 5A Inland Empire League foe Post Falls. Pancheri is 4-12 against 5A IEL opponents, notching his first winning league record last season.
Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks.
