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1. Gage Crow, Lewis County

In what basically amounted to an early playoff game, Crow led the Eagles to a 38-36 win over Deary, giving them the inside track to a second place finish in the 1A Division 2 Whitepine League.  The senior battering ram ran for 350 yards and five touchdowns but his biggest play may have come on defense - he forced a Mustang fumble with under two minutes to go to set up the game-winning touchdown for Lewis County (3-4, 1-1 Whitepine), which clinches a playoff berth either by defeating Timberline or if Deary loses to Kendrick this week.

2. Bry Severe, Oakley

Oakley has spread the ball around all season, but, with a chance to earn the 1A Division 1 Snake River Conference title, Severe took it upon himself to lead the Hornets past the upstart Valley Vikings, 70-14.  Severe missed nearly all of last season with an injury and has been productive this season, but his five touchdown runs on Friday removed any doubt whether or not Oakley (6-1, 5-0 Snake River Conference) would get a signature moment from its talented senior in the regular season.

3. Preston Wood, Carey

In a game the Panthers desperately needed to keep their playoff hopes alive, the two-way junior standout led the charge on offense and defense to help Carey (2-5, 2-3 Snake River Conference) defeat Murtaugh, 32-12.  He had two touchdown passes on offense and intercepted three passes on defense as the Panthers remain in the conversation for a possible at-large berth into the 1A Division 1 playoffs.

Honorable Mention

Troy Smith (Camas County)
Everett Montgomery (Clark Fork)
Owen Hatfield (Council)
Tucker Ashmead (Deary)
Connor Perkins (Dietrich)
Josiah Valencia (Glenns Ferry)
Joe Klegg (Grace)
Porter Whipple (Kamiah)
Sawyer Hewett (Kendrick)
Qwincy Hall (Lakeside)
Ahlius Yearout (Lapwai)
Jack Driskill (Logos)
Conner Lulis (Mullan/St. Regis)
Grayson Benitez (Notus)
Rusty Hatch (North Gem)
Jack Clark (Potlatch)
Matthew Wemhoff (Prairie)
Justin Telford (Richfield)
Rylan West (Timberline)
Claytin Harper (Tri-Valley)
Elvin Lin (Watersprings)
Andrew Lukes (Valley)

Serving Notice

The Kendrick Tigers will be moving up from 1A Division 2 to 1A Division 1 next season and, though not necessarily by design, they're announcing to the Idaho 8-Man world that they'll be a force to be reckoned with immediately upon arrival in 2024.  The Tigers hammered Grace on Friday, 52-6, and is now 3-0 against Division 1 opponents this season.  And it's not just any ol' three opponents.  It's Oakley, currently ranked no. 1 in Division 1, Butte County, currently ranked no. 3, and Grace, currently ranked no. 4.  The cumulative score of those games?  146-56, and none of the three were played in north Idaho.  Though the Tigers do graduate some excellent football players following this season, they'll return a ton of talent as well.

Tiebreaker Looming?

On last week's Idaho 8-Man prepcast here on IdahoSports.com, the hosts mentioned the possibility for all kinds of ties in the 1A Division 2 Rocky Mountain Conference if Watersprings could spring an upset over North Gem.  Well...it happened.  The Warriors won, 22-16, which leaves both teams tied at 1-1 in conference play behind Rockland (5-2, 2-0 Rocky Mountain).  Watersprings has the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of the win, but there's a wild card in play here.  Watersprings (4-3, 1-1 Rocky Mountain) plays at Mackay (3-3, 0-2 Rocky Mountain) on Friday.  If Rockland (who plays North Gem) and Mackay both win on Friday, we'd have Mackay, Watersprings, and North Gem each at 1-2 in league play - Mackay would have beaten Watersprings, who beat North Gem, who beat Mackay - and tied for the second playoff berth to the 1A Division 2 playoffs out of the conference to end the regular season.

Independently Solid

The Richfield Tigers, playing as a 1A Division 2 independent, improved to 3-3 on the season with a road win over Challis on Friday.  The key driver for the Tigers was senior Justin Telford, who had 292 all-purpose yards and scored six touchdowns (three rushing, two receiving, one kick return) in the win.  Telford, one of just three seniors on the roster, leads the team with 676 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground and is also tops on the team with ten tackles per game on defense.  He leads the team in receptions, too, with 11, but sophomore Eli Brauberger has been the big-play target in the pass game, averaging 36 yards per reception with a team-high receiving touchdowns from quarterbacks Jace Fuchs (junior) and Devin Scott (freshman).