ORDER GAME PHOTOS

CLASS 5A

East #1 Rigby (9-1) at West #4 Meridian (7-3)
7:00 PM Friday
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Meridian had been vying to get another shot at Mountain View after falling just short in a 14-13 defeat to the Mavericks to open the season.  Once they knew they would get that shot, they came out fired up and notched a 35-6 win in a game that was never close.  Rigby, on the other hand, is looking to survive a semifinal trip to the Treasure Valley, hoping to avoid the same fate Madison suffered two weeks ago.  Madison handed Rigby a loss in the regular season finale, but were then defeated by Meridian 47-28 in the opening round of the playoffs.  After the emotional win over Mountain View last week, there is no room for a letdown against the team that has spent a majority of the season ranked #1 in the polls.

East #2 Highland (9-2) at West #3 Eagle (9-2)
7:00 PM Friday
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After having to make the long bus ride up to Coeur d'Alene and coming away with an impressive 23-14 victory, the Eagle Mustangs will get their semifinal game at home against a Highland team that is making its second trip to the Boise area in as many weeks.  Highland scored a late field goal from Ian Hershey to pull out the 22-21 upset victory over Rocky Mountain last week and will hope that this week's trip to the Treasure Valley can deliver a similar level of success as the Rams look to punch their ticket to the state championship game and add another title to their storied program.


CLASS 4A

#5 Blackfoot (6-5) at #1 Sandpoint (7-2)
7:00 PM Friday (Pacific Time)
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Sandpoint was tested in a 21-14 quarterfinal victory over Shelley, but a 14-point third quarter was just enough for the Bulldogs to squeak out the win.  They'll need to play much better when Blackfoot visits on Friday night.  The Broncos cruised past Middleton and Nampa (both of which are moving up to 5A next season) to set up the showdown in Sandpoint.  Sandpoint's first state title since 1997 is within reach, but before they can even think about that, they'll need to play their best game of the season against a hungry Broncos team.

#6 Skyline (7-4) at #2 Pocatello (9-2)
8:00 PM Saturday (in Holt Arena)
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The defending state champions put an end to any possibility of a Cinderella run by #14 seed Vallivue with a 24-14 victory last week.  Skyline now travels to a venue that they are all-too-familiar with when they head to Holt Arena to face the Pocatello Thunder for a chance to play for back-to-back state titles.  Pocatello rallied from an early 14-0 deficit last week to defeat Bishop Kelly 28-17.  If the Thunder are to deny the Grizzlies a spot in the state championship game and prove once and for all that they are the title favorites, there will be no room for error.


CLASS 3A

#4 Sugar-Salem (7-2) at #1 Homedale (10-0)
1:00 PM Saturday
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Saturday afternoon will see a matchup of two teams far too familiar with each other when it comes to playoff meetings, although this matchup comes in an unfamiliar spot and setting.  Sugar-Salem has won three in a row against the Trojans, all in the championship round, but those all came on neutral fields.  The Diggers will face a true road game against Homedale in their semifinal meeting on Saturday.  Revenge has proven to be a factor for several teams so far this postseason, and Homedale will try to avenge three consecutive heartbreaking losses to the Diggers.  Those losses have denied the Trojans their first state title since 1997.

#3 Weiser (10-1) at #2 Gooding (9-0)
7:00 PM Friday
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Tom Harrison continues to prove how far he has brought the Weiser program since taking over in 2018.  His team's quarterfinal matchup was a unique one, as it pitted Harrison's team against Snake River, a team that has its field named after Tom Harrison and is currently coached by Tom's son, Jeb Harrison.  THe emotions of father versus son were present, but it was Weiser that came away with the 21-0 victory.  The Wolverines snapped a ten-year drought and are in the semifinals for the first time since 2011.  They won't get to enjoy the semifinals at home though, as they head to Gooding to face a powerful Senators team.  Weiser has a great shot at their first state title since 1987, but they will need to get a win in a tough road environment first.


CLASS 2A

#4 Bear Lake (7-3) at #1 West Side (9-0)
6:00 PM Friday
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West Side took little time in putting away Grangeville in their quarterfinal game last week as they soundly defeated the Bulldogs 48-8.  A similar result was delivered in the regular season when the Pirates and Bear Lake did battle, as West Side easily took care of the Bears 42-8.  The Bears enter this meeting with much more confidence, however.  Bear Lake's defense played lights out in impressive wins over Cole Valley Christian and Nampa Christian.  Bear Lake did just enough on offense to find the end zone twice in both victories while the defense did the rest in their 14-3 and 14-6 wins, respectively.  If they are to pull off a massive semifinal upset, they'll not only need to slow down West Side's high powered offense, but they will have to keep up on offense themselves.

#3 Firth (8-2) at #2 North Fremont (9-0)
1:00 PM Saturday
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Firth is only three weeks removed from their last visit to North Fremont and they will roll into Ashton on Saturday afternoon with revenge on their minds.  The 22-21 loss in the regular season finale denied the Cougars a conference title, but if they can get past the Huskies in the rematch, they'll have a great shot to win their first state title since 2006.  The Huskies are undefeated, but have been in a lot of tight games recently.  They'll need to not only repeat, but improve upon their impressive performance against Firth three weeks ago if they are to advance and get a shot at their first state title since 1989.


CLASS 1AD1

#5 Lapwai (8-1) at #1 Raft River (8-0)
1:00 PM Saturday (Mountain Time)
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While it comes as little surprise that Raft River rolled over Potlatch in the quarterfinal 63-22, Lapwai's victory last week is the bigger shocker.  After losing to Prairie 58-26 in the regular season, the Wildcats more than avenged that loss with a statement 68-36 victory that should have the Trojans' attention.  Raft River has cruised past all competition this season, with their only test coming against defending state champion Oakley.  As long as Raft River can take care of business against a hot Lapwai squad, they could be headed towards a rematch with Oakley for the state title.

#3 Butte County (7-1) at #2 Oakley (9-1)
4:00 PM Saturday (in Holt Arena)
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If you saw the score of Oakley's quarterfinal game early on last week, you may have scratched your head, as Genesee held a 16-14 lead as a heavy underdog.  Any trace of a close contest was quickly erased, however, as Oakley pulled away for an impressive 80-36 victory.  A slow start will be much harder to overcome against a high quality Butte County team.  Butte County's lone loss on the season came to the same Raft River team that handed Oakley their lone loss this year.  With both teams wanting revenge against the Trojans, there is much more at stake in this semifinal matchup besides the ability to play for a state title.

CLASS 1AD2

Castleford (9-1) at Kendrick (7-2)
1:00 PM Saturday (in the Kibbie Dome) (Pacific Time)
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It took no time for Kendrick to turn what was expected to be close game with Horseshoe Bend into a rout last week as the Tigers cruised to the 48-8 win.  Castleford topped that margin, however, making short work of Rockland 58-8.  With Castleford sporting one loss and Kendrick having two losses, the Wolves will argue that they deserve home field advantage, but they will instead make the long trip north to the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.  Kendrick's two losses this year came to 1A Division I teams in Oakley and Genesee, and they have a perfect record against 1A Division II opponents.  Their blowout of Horseshoe Bend showed that they will not only but a stiff test for Castleford, but a serious threat for the state title as well.

Dietrich (7-3) at Carey (10-0)
1:00 PM Saturday (in Holt Arena)
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The quarterfinal round in 1A Division II provided little drama as all of the favorites romped to easy victories (the closest margin was 34 points.)  Dietrich was involved in the closest game last week in their 46-12 victory over Camas County, but the competition will take a massive step up this week.  Dietrich is the defending state champion at the 1A Division II level, and standing in their way are the Carey Panthers.  The Blue Devils came closer than any opponent was able to against undefeated Carey this season.  They came up just short in the regular season finale 24-22 three weeks ago.