Written by: Brandon Baney
When the Lakeside Knights traveled to Silverton to face the Wallace Miners in the regular season finale a year ago, both teams knew that the North Star League title would be awarded to the victor.
What neither side could have foreseen, though, was that the loser would be shut out of the 1A playoffs entirely.
The MaxPreps ranking formula used to determine who qualifies for the state playoffs (and who doesn’t) didn’t think much of the North Star in 2024. The league used a double round-robin schedule, where everyone played each other twice, which only compounded the situation.
This year, the double round-robin has gone away, and all four members of the North Star League are hopeful that this will increase their chances of sending multiple teams to the playoffs in 2025. With all four starting quarterbacks from a year ago returning to their respective squads, every North Star contest will be appointment viewing.
WALLACE
After suffering a 70-48 loss to Lakeside earlier in the season, the Miners found a way to rally back from a multi-score deficit in the season finale, stunning the Knights 54-46 and winning the North Star League crown.
As mentioned earlier, the Miners became the only team to advance to the playoffs. The Miners had to travel to eventual state champion Carey in the opening round and fell, 86-8.
Quarterback Cooper Miller threw for over 2,000 yards as a freshman last year, and added over 1,000 yards on the ground. His return serves as the bedrock for the Miners’ offense.
“Our strength is throwing the ball and striking a good balance between the pass and run,” says Wallace head coach Jared Young. “We have good receivers, so hopefully we don’t have to rely on Cooper running the ball as much this year.”
It’s true that Miller’s top receiver, Julian Davis, graduated. But speedy junior Emmit Myles is back after starting as a sophomore, and the Miners have been bolstered by two newcomers to the receiver group in 2025.
Junior Henry Larson returns after missing all of last season with an injury, while sophomore Lennox Radford has transferred in from Coeur d’Alene High School. Radford only played basketball during his freshman year at the 6A school, but decided to join the football team after moving to Wallace.
Starting running back Alex Grubbs injured his shoulder while playing baseball this spring with Kellogg High School, and may not be available this year, In his absence, Radford and sophomore Ashton Holbert are expected to handle the rushing attempts, along with Miller.
Both starting guards (juniors Reece Williams and Rossi Korasick) return, and freshman Ayden Murray is expected to take over at center for Garrett Clark, who graduated.
The Wallace defense will be buoyed by its front end, according to Young. “Our d-line should be better, our linebackers should be better,” he says. “We can be more aggressive this year, rather than sitting back and waiting for things to happen.”
“We want to increase our QB pressure and sack totals,” Young adds. “That in turn should help us prevent giving up big plays on the back end.”
Williams will lead the charge at defensive end, while junior Marley Pearce and Larson will anchor the linebackers. Radford is expected to play a prominent role in the secondary.
Overall, this is a speedy Wallace team that has a chance to repeat as league champion, provided everyone stays relatively healthy. Young says, “We have 21 guys out this year, but several are new to football, so we have to keep our core group of players healthy.”
LAKESIDE
Lakeside was riding high as the calendar turned from September to October last year. The Knights were 4-0 overall, 3-0 through the first lap of North Star play, and had outscored the opposition 250 to 114.
But cracks began to appear once October began as key members of the team were missing from the lineup due to injuries. Lakeside survived a 40-38 non-conference win over Deary on October 4th, but stubbed their toe against Coeur du Christ the following week in a 60-58 overtime loss.
A forfeit victory over Clark Fork set the stage for the season finale, where Lakeside couldn’t finish off Wallace despite holding a second-half lead. Every starter played both ways, and the Knights simply ran out of gas. When the final MaxPreps rankings were released, the Knights were the first team out of the playoffs, despite a 6-2 overall mark.
Second-year head coach Jerry Louie-McGee will turn to returning quarterback and linebacker Tyson Charley to lead the way in 2025. Charley was an All-North Star selection a season ago, and is perhaps the most dynamic athlete in the league.
If Lakeside can increase interest and player turnout, they will be a tough opponent again in 2025.
COEUR DU CHRIST
The Saints of Coeur du Christ Academy embarked upon their maiden voyage last season, finishing 3-5 overall. The private Catholic school in Coeur d’Alene featured several explosive playmakers, and the Saints were involved in several shootouts in 2024.
“We have a balanced offensive attack with an experienced quarterback, running back and wide receiver,” says second-year coach Kellen Clemens. “We’re anticipating a big step forward by our offensive line.”
Clemens’ son, sophomore Grant Clemens, enters his second season under center. Junior John Denke was an All-League selection last year at running back, and although leading receiver Ben Connelly graduated, senior Greg Hayes was also an excellent starting receiver a year ago. The line will be led by senior Dominic Kenner.
Defensively, Clemens says, “We need to be more stout against the run. I am hopeful that our defensive line play will be more consistent.”
If the defensive line can elevate their play, that will open things up even further for returning linebackers Denke, Hayes and junior Charles Jenne. Clemens will lead the secondary.
“This be Year Two for our program and many of our players. I’m excited to see the growth in Year Two, instead of starting completely from scratch (last year),” Clemens concludes.
CLARK FORK
The Wampus Cats struggled with low numbers in 2024, and attrition eventually led to an 0-7 record overall.
Clark Fork said goodbye to two standouts over the offseason: wide receciever/defensive back Evrett Montgomery, now playing for the College of Idaho, and two-way lineman Stone Koivu.
With everyone else returning, plus three varsity newcomers that could be impact players, third-year head coach Patrick Young is bullish about Clark Fork’s chances in 2025.
“I’m excited about our attitude and the change of culture that has happened,” says Young. “After our first two-a-days practice, a parent came up afterward and told me that this was the first practice he had seen where every player competed from start to finish. They all want to be here, they all have that drive to get better every day.”
The Wampus Cats’ foundation will be built around junior quarterback and defensive end Mateo Cruz. “He’s our best athlete overall,” says Young.
Joining Cruz on the defensive line are senior Payton Stevens and junior Tom Butler. Stevens will also play on the line on offense, while Butler will line up at fullback. “Tom Butler has totally changed his physique this offseason,” says Young. “He is bigger and stronger.”
How about those newcomers?
Freshman Bode Scarlett has a chance to make an impact at quarterback. While he learns the position, Cruz will continue to QB the offense, but as Scarlett gets more comfortable, Cruz could eventually move to running back. “No matter who is back there, we are going to run a lot this year,” says Young. “We want teams to commit to stopping our run.”
Also expected to help in the run game is 6-foot-1, 200-pound sophomore Jason Mayorga. “He is our most physical player,” says Young. Mayorga will play fullback on offense and linebacker on defense.
Finally, there’s senior Westin Caven. Caven has been an impact player on Clark Fork’s basketball team over the years, and has been a standout hurdler during track and field season in the spring.
Caven spent previous falls running cross country, but has decided that he wants to play football in his senior year of high school. Young says Caven will line up at running back and receiver, and will play defensive back.
“We have to make sure that we pick up the correct blocks in the run game because Westin can fly,” Young says. “He told me this spring that he wanted to play football for the first time, but I wasn’t sure if he would change his mind. But when he showed up for summer camp, I knew for sure.”