Football Teams Boast Many Father-Son Combos

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a distinct father-son flavor among Inland Empire League football teams this fall.

You’re aware of the obvious father (coach)-player (son) connections: Jerry Lee (coach) and Austin (son) at Post Falls; Lake City’s Van Troxel (coach) and Chad (son); and Lewiston’s Nick Menegas (coach) and Mike (son).

Austin Lee, a senior, is among a handful of feared two-way starters (tight end/defensive end) in the league. Chad Troxel, a sophomore, is Lake City’s starting quarterback; and Menegas, a senior, starts at center and wears the number (58) worn by his hero, former Seattle Seahawks center and Post Falls High standout Joe Tofflemire.

The IEL has other coach-son ties that may not be as obvious.

At Coeur d’Alene, there are Tim (father, assistant junior varsity coach) and Max (son, tight end/defensive end) Peebles and Dave (father, assistant JV coach) and Mark (son, running back/defensive end) Scates.

At Sandpoint, John Knowles (assistant varsity) gets the pleasure of coaching son Ryan, a senior linebacker who is being heavily recruited by NCAA Division I schools.

Other father-son combos include Bill (JV assistant) and Bob (two-way lineman) Pratt at Lake City) and Wade (offensive coordinator) and Chad Quesnell (wide receiver) at Post Falls).

Perhaps the combo that generates the most interesting conversations around the dinner table is Joe and Rich Partington. Joe is an assistant varsity coach at Coeur d’Alene while his son Rich, a senior, is the starting center at crosstown rival Lake City.

This ‘n that

Standout Coeur d’Alene middle blocker Angie Shirley is drawing considerable attention from college coaches.

Shirley has taken visits to Virginia, Idaho and Oregon State. She may take two more visits.

She said she’s also considering Washington State and Ohio State.

Two North Idaho boys and girls soccer teams will advance to state instead of the usual one because the tournaments are going to be held in Coeur d’Alene, Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

Sandpoint’s boys already have earned a state berth by virtue of winning the North Idaho Cup last spring.

North Idaho boys teams officially play in the spring, while Boise area teams play in the fall.

That means area boys teams have tryouts then jump into regional playoffs with little or no preparation to determine state berths. Both boys and girls begin regional playoffs late next week.

It’s time for North Idaho boys teams to start playing in the fall like the rest of the state - especially now that the Panhandle league has grown to eight teams.

The change would put area boys on a more level playing field with their counterparts statewide.

Speaking of soccer, David Tabakman has resigned as boys soccer coach at Coeur d’Alene. He’ll remain as the girls head coach.

Lake City volleyball coach Kent Scanlon wants another shot at Coeur d’Alene, which completed a regular-season sweep of his Timberwolves in a 15-12, 15-12 match Tuesday.

If LC and CdA meet again, it’ll have to be at regionals.

“I think we’re much more talented. They’re just playing more as a unit,” Scanlon said. “My teams have traditionally played the best in the (regional), and I’m hoping that’s true this year.”

It went relatively unnoticed, but the Lake City and Coeur d’Alene football teams achieved a first three weeks ago. They both won on the same night, CdA defeating Deer Park (47-0) and Lake City defeating East Valley (26-22).

, DataTimes