5A Classification

Football

Rocky, then everybody else

When it comes to the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies, not many teams in the state seem capable of catching up. Against Capital, Rocky put forth a balanced, seemingly invincible attack. On the ground, running backs Devon Fox and Jordan Erickson racked up more than 100 yards and four touchdowns between them. The defense, meanwhile, recorded two picks and six sacks, while the Grizzly special teams unit score twice on kick returns.

Eagle remains the only other unbeaten 5A Southern Idaho Conference team, but the Mustangs and Grizzlies won’t meet on the field until Oct. 18, Rocky’s second-to-last regular season game.

Saturday speedster

While it looks like the Boise State Broncos might be set at quarterback for the next four years, if they ever need another all-purpose athlete, they’ll know who to call.

Borah quarterback Austin Bolt added to his already impressive senior resume, with 384 yards of offensive firepower during Saturday’s matchup against Meridian. And while Bolt excelled through the air in the first half, the Lions hit the gas on the ground in the second, scoring four rushing touchdowns in the final two quarters.

Riding high

The Eastern Idaho rivalry between Highland and Pocatello played out as expected, with the Rams putting up 409 yards of offensive on their way to 34-0 victory over the 4A Indians.

While Highland lit up the score and marched up and down the field at will, the Rams’ defense pulled off the real feat, holding the Indians to negative five yards on the ground.

The rushing attack of the Rams received most of the workload, with Kaleb Demuzio gaining 102 yards on 12 carries.

Bengals’ battle at the border

Lewiston grabbed its fifth consecutive win over Clarkston in a weekend packed with rivalry football. Quarterback Kash Lang and running back Cruz Hepburn totaled three touchdowns on offense between them, but the night’s spotlight belonged to defensive lineman Trevor Grim, who nabbed an interception on the goal line and ran seven yards for the pick-six, ultimately swinging the momentum in the Bengals’ favor in the River Rivalry Game.

Five turnovers, two wins

Thanks to an electric defense, which forced five turnovers, Timberline notched its second win of the season, coming off the back of a historic 12-game losing streak. But the win, much like last week’s, didn’t come easy. Staring down a 13-point deficit, the Wolves had to rely on Taylor Marcum to carry the team to victory. With 209 rushing yards, a pair of touchdowns and a score on kick return duty, Marcum pulled his team back from the brink of defeat as Timberline scored 28 unanswered to beat Centennial.

Boys Soccer

Post Falls remains unbeaten

While the Boise Brave cruise along the regular season, just one other team in 5A has posted an undefeated record. With nearly half the season over, Post Falls has quietly snatched six wins in Northern Idaho. The Trojans backline has held strong all season long, posting four shutouts and only two goals allowed. Meanwhile on offense, Post Falls has yet to score less than two goals in a match, with a season-high seven goals coming against Lewiston Saturday.

The best battle in Boise

According to the state’s coaches, Boise and Centennial stand as the two best teams in the state, with the Brave earning the top spot in our coaches poll. But No. 1 Boise and No. 2 Centennial will put those rankings to the test Monday, as the two are set to go head-to-head in a potential playoff preview.

Girls Soccer

Titanic win

Thunder Ridge earned a valuable non-conference win against Hillcrest 3-2. With Willow Hurley, Olivia Christensen and Allie Chapple all scoring, the Titans earned their third win of the season. With another victory, Thunder Ridge will have eclipsed last year’s record.

Season-high for Brave

The Boise girls soccer team hasn’t had quite the astounding success as the school’s boys’ team, but they have sure come close. Ranking third in the coaches poll, Boise recorded 14 total points against Capital — the most of any team over the week. The Eagles, meanwhile, have yet to win a match this season. 

4A Classification

Football

Civil War streak

Hillcrest earned its 11th win in 12 meetings against rival Bonneville Friday 20-13. The sixth straight Civil War win came against a tough Bees squad, who came within inches of an upset after a late fourth quarter touchdown and a recovered onside kick. But a Hillcrest interception by Colby Sessions put the nail in the coffin, stifling the comeback.

Kan’t stop the Kavemen

It’s been said a thousand times in recent weeks, but the Kuna Kavemen are a dominant force in 4A. Not many saw this coming, but now the Kavemen are undefeated heading into the midpoint of the season. Their most recent victim, Columbia, managed just eight points compared to Kuna’s 52. Quarterback Sean Austin hit 14 of his passes for 204 yards and a score, while the defense forced four turnovers.

5A underfoot

Thunder Ridge came into Friday’s matchup with the weight of the 5A division behind it. Meanwhile, the dominant Blackfoot Broncos looked to make a cross-divisional statement.

And in the world of high school sports, where big plays and high scoring affairs are somewhat of a commonplace, Blackfoot’s 6-3 grueling defensive victory was an unexpected reprieve.

The Broncos won the battle in the trenches, with linemen like Lander Wall giving running back Teegan Thomas an efficient 209 yards and one touchdown.

Good luck scoring on Minico

While Canyon Ridge may have been outmatched Friday, the Minico Spartan’s 27-0 rout was not an outlier for one of the top teams in the Great Basin. Outside of an opening loss to Tooele out of Utah, Minico has allowed just nine points this season, all coming in one game against Burley. Meanwhile, the Spartans haven’t score less than 20 all season.

Larison strikes gold

No one had a better homecoming night than Vallivue quarterback Lan Larison and the Falcon offense. Against rival Caldwell and in front of their home crowd, the Falcons put up 50 points in just the first half. Larison seemed able to score from anywhere, with four of his touchdowns coming from between 40 and 99 yards out. Meanwhile, running back Carson Child added another four touchdowns and 236 yards on the ground. Outside of Vallivue’s 639 rushing yards, Larison also used his arm to score — albeit sparingly — hitting Gage Hernandez for a 46-yards touchdown.

Boys Soccer

First loss in a century

Twice this year, No. 2 Century has ended a match in a draw. But 2019 had yet to see a Diamondback loss, at least until Wood River got its shot at the Great Basin powerhouse Saturday. Kam Murdock scored the lone Century goal, not enough to overcome Wood River’s two scores.

Girls Soccer

One goal to rule them all

Opposing offenses have just six more chances to score on Bishop Kelly, a feat accomplished just once this year. Not since the Knights’ opening match against Columbia has Bishop Kelly allowed a goal, with eight shutouts posted since then, with only one ending in a draw. With Erin Harrington leading the scoring charge, the Knights matched their season-high goal total with 10, tied with their previous matchup against Emmett earlier this year.

3A Classification

Football

Weiser win streak

No. 3 Weiser, hot off an upset over Gooding, improved to 4-0 with a win over Vale 42-13. The Wolverines won on the ground, with 333 yards of offense coming from the rushing attack. Brett Spencer recorded 74 of those yards, along with a pair of touchdowns, while Layten Tolman, Ande Jensen and Jack Burke found the end zone as well. Weiser’s records is its best since 2011. The Wolverines will matchup against 0-4 Parma next Saturday.

South Fremont’s defense seals the deal

South Fremont won a thriller against Firth, with its 20-18 victory coming within a few ticks of the final whistle. When South Fremont quarterback Jace Neville went down with an elbow injury, backup Kaimen took up the mantle and threw for a 17-yard touchdown to Bridger Poulsen.

A 51-yard scoop-and-score by defensive end Tristan Olson proved to be the game winner, as the Cougar defense held fast for a fourth quarter stand.

Back in good graces

No. 3 Gooding bounced back from a disappointing Week 3 upset loss to No. 5 Weiser by handing Snake River its first loss of the season. The Panthers came within a two-point conversion of tying the game, but Senator Logan Anderson deflected the Panther pass, securing his team’s lead.

Boys Soccer

Sugar’s perfect season

The Diggers are well on their way to winning the 3A Mountain Rivers Conference with a steady production of efficient, not flashy, wins. Sugar-Salem has won five of its 10 matches by just two points, but has yet to lose, with an opening match draw against American Falls being the only instance this season Sugar hasn’t earned a pure “W.”

Girls Soccer

Three years of perfection

The last time CDA Charter lost a non-league match, America was in the midst of a presidential election. Freemen ended that historic lossless 42-match streak, downing the Panthers 2-0. CDA Charter will face St. Maries en route to preserving its perfect league season.

2A Classification

Football

Pick your poison

Against a winless Parma, Melba notched three picks on their way to a 54-14 win. Scotty Martinez carried most of the load on offense, running for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also accounting for one of the Mustangs’ interceptions.

Manning magic

Just weeks after former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning gave the Wendell Trojans a shout out for receiving a grant from Riddell, the Trojans earned their first victory of the year, defeating 3A Payette 28-25. Head Coach Michael Konrad entered his team into Riddell’s Smarter Football program and received a $10,000 grant and a personalized message from Manning. Konrad told KMVT he plans to use the grant fund to purchase 30 new helmets for his team.

Savage competition

Along with North Fremont, Salmon has cruised to an undefeated season after Friday’s 18-6 win over Teton. The pair of 4-0 Nuclear Conference teams will face off next Friday for what could be a conference-deciding game.

1ADI Classification

Football

Far from lost

Lost Rivers continued on its regular season tear, downing Glenns Ferry 48-14. Bridger Hansen accumulated more than 200 yards on the ground and a handful of touchdowns.

Swimming up river

Grace’s hopes of a perfect season were put to an end, as Raft River held off the Grizzlies late in the fourth quarter. Even with 22 points scored in the final quarter and four total touchdowns from quarterback Gage Stoddard, Grace couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 46-36 and 2-1 on the year. 

Northern menace

Potlatch rebounded from a Week 4 loss to Kendrick by defeating Kamiah 30-14. The Loggers now sit at 3-1 in the White Pine Conference, just one game behind Clearwater Valley and Prairie.

1ADII Classification

Football

Horseshoe Bend fries Rockland

Offensive gadget Austin Fry accumulated 327 yards and five touchdowns in the Mustangs’ 58-28 win over Rockland. The win was a welcome one for the Long Pin Conference, which now has two teams at or above .500 following Garden Valley’s 54-32 win over Rimrock.

Clark-Watersprings shuts out Sho-Ban

A 52-0 halftime lead for the Warcats spelled doom for Sho-Ban, who failed to get on the board in the second half. A powerful running game by Clark-Watersprings kept the clock moving, as the Warcats cruised to 2-2 record.