Lake City coach Van Troxel admits the team he brought to Holt Arena for last season's Rocky Mountain Rumble wasn't the best one he's ever had in his tenure at the Coeur d'Alene school.

But once the Timberwolves beat Del Oro of California 34-33 in the inaugural high school football showcase, Troxel saw his team instantly transform into a contender at the 5A level.

"It was really a big boost," Troxel said. "We didn't win as many games as we could have a year ago, but we learned to compete that third week against Del Oro. From that point on, we competed in every game."

Today, Lake City will return to Holt Arena for the 2009 edition of the Rumble. When the Timberwolves play Sky View of Smithfield, Utah, they'll look for another confidence-boosting win. Three other Idaho schools - Highland, Pocatello and Minico - will hope for the same in their respective games against Beehive State foes.

The talk heading into the 2008 showcase was whether or not Idaho teams could stay close to the California powers that made the trip east. It took all of one play for the Gem State's answer.

Minico's Skylar Morgan, now a freshman on the Idaho State team, returned the opening kickoff of the day for a touchdown, sparking a 28-6 victory for the Spartans over Colfax.

"I'll tell you what, when Minico took that opening kickoff for a touchdown, that set the tone for the whole day," event director Caroline Faure said. "There were all those doubters and naysayers out there saying that Idaho couldn't hold a candle to those California teams."

The Gem State's 2-2 record, and even Highland's strong showing in its 34-21 loss to Grant Union, proved otherwise.

Troxel, for one, wasn't surprised by Idaho's success that day and won't be shocked if the state repeats its performance today.

"When this whole thing started, I was all for it because we need to let other people know we can play football," Troxel said. "No, we don't have the numbers that other states do, but we play hard and play good football."

Maybe more important than state pride, though, is what a victory against an out-of-state opponent on the big stage, which will feature live TV on Altitude Sports and $1,000 scholarships for the MVPs of each game, can mean to a team.

Lake City found that out last season, as did Minico.

"It was a real confidence builder. We were pretty high off that," Morgan said. "After we beat that team, we were probably the team to beat in Idaho. They all wanted to say, 'Hey, we beat them, so we can beat a California team, too.'"