Published: 10/15/2014 11:56:00 PM

The two teams at the top of the 5A District 5-6 conference standings meet up to do battle at Thunder Stadium, where one week ago Morgan Pyper led the Knights to a 29-13 Civil War victory over Bonneville. While these two are tied in the conference standings, whoever wins will grab a hold of first-place outright and most likely head into the state playoffs as the top seed from the East. Highland would have an easier path should they win: they face Bonneville at home on Oct. 24. Hillcrest, should they win, would need to get past Madison on the road. Regardless, can Hillcrest slow down the multi-dimensional offensive attack of Highland? Or will Hillcrest establish their run-first mentality and stuff the Rams on the line? With conference surpremacy on the line, who knows what will shake out on the field.

This is the last chance for Skyline. The Grizzlies MUST win this game to keep their playoff hopes alive. With Madison a game ahead in the standings for the third and final playoff spot, a Skyline loss would instantly eliminate them from playoff contention and secure Madison a berth in the postseason. The Grizzlies came up just short against Hillcrest's run-oriented attack, how will they fare against a pass-happy Bobcats team that steamrolled Idaho Falls on the ground last week? Madison's key is finding balance. They have to keep the Grizz guessing... it was one of the factor's in Highland's 23 point win over Skyline: a consistent, balanced offense. The Skyline DB's will still get plenty of work on Friday... they'll need to be at their best. You can hear this game on NewsTalk 97.7 FM in East Idaho or online at eastidahonews.com.

This game is like a double-edged sword, much like it is for Madison/Skyline. A win gives Rigby a second consecutive playoff berth, while a loss dooms the chances of postseason play for Preston. The Trojans gave Pocatello a healthy dose of Drew Zagula running the football and solid playmaking from Hayden Livingston. Livingston arguably played his best game of the season last week, because he managed the offense and didn't force it. Preston's Austin Smellie will need to play excellent football... completing 14-of-37 passes this week (his stats vs. Blackfoot last week) just won't cut it. If Preston wants in to the playoffs, a win at Rigby would be BIG for their chances. The Indians will lay out everything they have, weapons wise, to get the 'W': their season depends upon it.

Both teams have already secured a playoff berth, but this game will help determine seeding. I wonder how much film of the South Fremont/Shelley game the Sugar-Salem coaching staff has watched. For the first three quarters, South Fremont gave the Russets everything they could handle. That's when the Shelley defense stepped up and helped to put away the game, thanks to two Pick-6's from DB Braxton Smith. It's been more than five years since Shelley has lost a Mountain Rivers Conference game (2008 vs. Sugar-Salem), and the Diggers would love nothing more than to end that streak and propel themselves to the top of the conference standings. It's pretty simple: if Shelley wins, they are the conference champions. If Sugar-Salem wins, it sets up an all-important matchup at South Fremont next week. You can watch this game online on IdahoSports.com.

This game lost a bit of its lustre last week when Bear Lake upset Aberdeen 20-8 to end the Tigers perfect regular season record. They run into a West Side team that is cruising towards their own perfect regular season. This is the most impressive Pirates team that I've seen since they won it all back in 2010. They have more than enough offensive weapons to hurt you multiple ways and, defensively, are as stout as they come. Aberdeen will need to figure out their faults from last week, put them behind them, and make the necessary corrections for their toughest test yet. A win gives West Side their 33rd district title in school history. A loss would mean that Aberdeen could have an inside track to the district title, meaning they would have to beat Soda Springs on the final weekend. Bear Lake may have a say in that as well, as the Bears could win out and find themselves tied up top with the leaders. A lot of football left to be played in the 2A South East Idaho Conference.

A lot of people are calling this the de facto conference championship game. Whichever side wins will most likely take the top seed from 5A District 1-2 in the state playoffs. Both sides are loaded with talent on offense and defense. Lake City feels like this is their year to end the reign of Coeur d'Alene atop the IEL standings. A Coeur d'Alene loss would mean a must-win matchup at Post Falls, followed by an early first round playoff game against West B #2... which if they won that game would result in, potentially, a quarterfinal matchup with Highland (Hillcrest might have something to say about that however). A Lake City loss puts them in the essentially the same scenario. Tensions will be running high in Coeur d'Alene on Friday night.

These two teams met in the middle last year to play a fantastic game that came down to the last play and a few feet (literally). Gooding wants their revenge on Grangeville for that loss, and a win would potentiall put a little more validity to their record: the knock on the Senators has been that their strength-of-schedule has been rather weak, something that they don't entirely have a say in. With Gooding blowing away almost everyone they've played, this should be a good test. Grangeville could end their regular season with a good win and take a needed bye week to rest and gear up for the state playoffs. We may learn a lot of both teams championship viability on Saturday afternoon in Eagle.