It’s that time of year again when we try and prognosticate the winners of the state championships. It’s the Real Dairy Shootout sponsored by our good friends at The United Dairymen of Idaho. The girls are up first and their tournaments begin Feb 14 and goes through the 16th. I included the venues each is played at, but remember that all six state title games are Saturday at the Idaho Center in Nampa. The 1A2 game starts first at 9:30 am and the 5A game begins at 8 pm. And one ticket gets you in to all 6 games, which is quite a deal. Come out and support the girls! If you cannot, every single game will be webcast by idahosports.com for free!
Check our website for the schedules.
Here are my picks for the 6 divisions competing for all the marbles. You can pick, as well, by commented on this article. Good luck to all the teams involved!
5A (The Idaho Center): The two-time defending champ, Lewiston, is not back in 2013, so a new champ will be crowned. Post Falls is ranked #1 in the state, with Coeur d’Alene #2. These two have played each other 3 times with Post Falls winning 2 out of 3. Highland is also good coming into state with an 11 game winning streak. They did lose to Coeur d’Alene 43-38 and Post Falls 57-44, but that was back in December and they had to travel a long way north for those back to back games. District III is well represented by 4 teams. Rocky Mtn, Mtn View, Meridian, and Capital finished 1 through 4 in league with these records: 18-3; 17-4; 16-5; and 14-7. Anything can happen at state and often does. Rocky and Coeur d’Alene open with each other and whoever wins that game will make it to the title game and play Post Falls. I’m going with Coeur d’Alene to win it all this year based on their track record when they get to state.
4A (Mtn View High): All eyes will be on Middleton for several reasons. They are ranked number one, they are undefeated, they are on a monster winning streak that I think is over 70 games, and they are going for 4 titles in a row. They are in a league of their own right now, and I simply cannot pick against them and their fine coach, Andy Jones. They will beat the Lady Bobcats from Burley for a record tying 4 titles in a row for any school in any division.
3A (Skyview High): Marsh Valley is back to defend their title from 2012, but they are seeded #2 from their District behind Snake River. They played each other 3 times and Snake won 2 out of 3. Marsh opens with Filer, and they have only lost 4 games. They played each other twice in the season and they split. Parma and Sugar-Salem are also outstanding teams, but I’m picking the winner of Marsh and Filer to play in the finals against Snake River. The Panthers of Snake River will win it all in 2013.
2A (Bishop Kelly High): Butte County, which dropped down to 1A1 this year, won this title last year over Kamiah, which also dropped down. Soda Springs is ranked #1 and they have beaten some schools bigger than they are. Sugar-Salem, Snake River, and Marsh Valley have all fallen to the mighty Cardinals. This is their 11th straight appearance in the state tourney and everything points to them winning a title in 2013. There’s only one problem for me: I teach at New Plymouth High and I have never in my life bet against any team that I root for. I look at it two ways: 1) I could go with the favorite, but if my team wins and I didn’t pick them, I could never forgive myself, and 2) I could go with my team but they lose. Which of the 2 choices is the worst? The first one and it isn’t even close. I’m going with my Lady Pilgrims to win it all and beat the Lady Cardinals in my final year teaching at NPHS. Send me into retirement with a bang Ladies!!
1A1 (Columbia High): This division is for the “big” small schools. Idaho divides the small schools into 2 divisions because there are so many of them, and I totally agree with this decision. While the movie “Hoosiers” was a great movie, only having one champion out of hundreds of schools of different sizes is a bad idea. When the little guys wins, it makes for a great movie, but it only happens once every thousand years. In Idaho, we have 6 champions and it’s great when that many schools can celebrate winning it all.
This division is the perfect example of why Idaho should seed the state basketball tourney. With all due respect to the other teams, Kamiah and Butte County are the two best teams when you look at their scores this year, and they should be on opposite sides of the bracket. I have seen the semi-final game be the state title game too many times when it’s an exciting and close game between the two best teams. The resulting title game afterwards is usually a blowout. The Kamiah-Butte County game should be a classic, and when Kamiah beats the Lady Pirates, they will win the state title game the next day over the always talented, dangerous, and fun-to-watch Lapwai Wildcats.
1A2 (Nampa High): The Dietrich Blue Devils are ranked #1 in the state, and they are also looking for their third consecutive state title. They have one blemish on their record this year, a 41-40 loss to the Carey Panthers. Is it just me, or does Carey seem to be in every state tournament in every sport each year? Carey is on a 9 game winning streak, and I will go with these two meeting in the title game, which will be the fourth time they have played each other this year. The Blue Devils will want revenge for Carey spoiling their perfect season, and they will be holding the trophy again for the third time in a row when the beat a very formidable opponent in the Carey Panthers.
There you have it, folks. Make your picks by commenting on this blog. Once again, I wish the best of luck to all the teams in the big dance. And always remember: it is better to get to the state tourney and lose than to never get there at all.
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