Published: 9/18/2014 11:17:41 AM

Slowly, but surely, we begin to dive into the conference portion of the schedule for a lot of teams in Idaho. Some squads have played as many as two conference games up to this point, but not quite the full slate like we will see in the next week or so.

For those of you who don't know, The 'Hurricane Harris Hot 5' is a segment on my sports radio show that airs every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. on NewsTalk 97.7 FM/690 AM and online at eastidahonews.com (just in case you want to tune in sometime).

Let's get to it... Week 3 awaits.

Two years ago when these two teams met, it was for the conference championship, a game that Madison won 24-21. Early on, both the Bobcats and the Rams are showing that they are in the upper echelon of the conference. If patterns hold, these two teams could take the top two spots from the East for the 5A state playoffs. Both teams can pass extremely well. Can they stop the pass, however? The play of the secondary will be huge for both sides. Expect an all-out aerial show at Holt Arena. Don't forget that Rams QB Dakota Tillotson may be the fastest, shiftiest QB in the area. That adds in another aspect for Mitch Buck and Co. to plan for this week. Anytime Highland and Madison get together, it's a highly spirited game. This one should be no different.

Last season, Rigby held Skyline to 138 yards of total offense, including -16 yards rushing. I'm not sure that Rigby will hold the Grizzlies to that number again this year. The Trojans are fresh off of a 35-7 beatdown by Hillcrest that included the Knights running left, right, and through Rigby's defense. Adjustments for Rigby will be big against Skyline. Can they get their offense back on track and avoid turnovers? The Grizzlies have looked pretty good, despite their 1-2 record. Benton Mitchell is showing that he is a true dual-threat quarterback. He may need to use all of his arsenal to help lift the Grizz. Their defense has improved a LOT over last season. Skyline, on average, gave up 38.6 points per game in 2013. This year, that number is down to 23.6 points per game. It's Skyline's Homecoming and it's the featured game of the week for 'East Idaho Game Night', presented by Local News 8's SportsLine, IdahoSports.com, and Z103. This one should be a battle.

The Preston Indians will get a real test from Idaho competition this week. This used to be a huge rivalry before Preston jumped to 4A. Maybe the fire of the rivalry is rekindled this year? After all, this is the first time they have met in five-plus years. Snake River has mowed down their 3A competition so far, outscoring their opponents 112-18 in two games. Preston will need to play a complete game. The Panthers can score very quickly in a myriad of ways, including through the air in the spread formation. Snake River spread the field multiple times last week and scored multiple times. Preston head coach Nick Hyde told us in the IdahoSports.com Fall Football Previews that they are hoping to improve in the secondary this season: this game will be an excellent gauge of how far the Indians have come in that area.

It's the 2014 edition of 'The Cougar Bowl'. Firth's issues have been on the line so far this year. There hasn't been a lot of time for QB's Jackson Thompson and Brodie Cate to work in the pocket. But if they can avoid the pressure and get out in open space, watch out. As for South Fremont, Chad Hill's squad will certainly need to avoid turnovers: Firth has a penchant for forcing a bunch of them quickly. How much could South Fremont's spread offense hurt Firth? The red Cougars from South Fremont have not beaten the blue Cougars from Firth since 2011. The boys from St. Anthony are angling to change that trend this year.

This is the first of a two-game series for both sides. With only three teams in the new 1AD1 District 5-6 Conference, all teams will play each other twice during the regular season, a rarity in football. That makes this game that much bigger. Grace suffered their first loss last week at Horseshoe Bend. Challis is coming off of a 70-8 shellacking at the hands of Raft River. The Vikings are mad. Grace isn't happy either. Both sides will let the frustrations out on each other on Friday night. Both sides can certainly pass the football. This ought to be a fun game.