Panhandle Picks with Greg Lee

I had my first perfect week of the season. Unfortunately, so did my guest, Coeur d’Alene High’s first-year principal Randy Russell.

The good news for me is I didn’t lose any ground to the guests overall. The bad news for me, though, is I lost the tiebreaker to Russell.

Going into the next-to-last week of the regular season, the scribe and the guests are knotted at 56-21 (.727).

If I’m going to win the season battle, I must make my move this week.

My guest this week is former Lewiston High and University of Idaho football standout Brad Rice.

Rice is a financial consultant at D.A. Davidson in Coeur d’Alene. He has been a volunteer assistant coach at Lake City this fall.

Sandpoint at Lakeland: If this were just a battle between the Hawks’ Bubba Bartlett and the Bulldogs’ Kurt Stoll, it would be entertaining enough.

But this game should be a tug of war for four quarters. To have a shot, the Hawks must control the ball and keep the Bulldogs offense off the field. In an upset special: Lakeland 23, Sandpoint 21.

Guest: The Bulldogs are on a roll. They make it five straight wins with the help of Mr. Stoll. Sandpoint 28, Lakeland 21.

Post Falls at Lewiston (tiebreaker): The winner will still cling to playoff hopes, but this will be like a cat without claws trying to cling to a window ledge. Lewiston 21, PF 14.

Guest: My alma mater bounces back from last week. Lewiston gets a win before going into the season finale at LC. Lewiston 33, Post Falls 21.

Lake City at Moses Lake: The Chiefs have been racking up yards in their option attack. I’m going against better judgment. ML 35, LC 28.

Guest: Moses looks tough, but the T-Wolves are working to supplant the 1996 Lewiston Bengals (12-0) as the best team in the history of North Idaho. Yes, Lewiston is in “North Idaho.” LC 35, ML 28.

Coeur d’Alene at Southridge: The Viks even their record to 1-1 against Troxel-coached teams (Andy Troxel is Southridge’s coach). CdA 33, Southridge 21.

Guest: This is a tough one because I hate picking against a Troxel, but the Viks are hungry for a potential shot at the T-Wolves in the playoffs. Shea Vucinich makes a big play late. CdA 34, Southridge 27.