Published: 11/5/2014 9:03:05 PM

It's playoff time! After all the anticipation of the season just a couple of months ago, we're down to the elimination rounds with the state championship just two weeks away.

In the 3A ranks in last week's play-in/first round games, the average win margin was 34.9 points per game: needless to say, most games were lopsided victories. In my opinion, this week's action will be MUCH closer. 

This matchup is becoming an annual tradition in the state tournament, as this is the third straight year the White Tigers and Grizzlies have tussled, including the second straight year in the state quarterfinals. Fruitland sailed past Kimberly 34-14 on Halloween, thanks to a balanced attack that saw five different Grizzlies score touchdowns along with three 100-yard rushers in Garrett Tipton, Kennon Smith, and Ben Hinatsu. They will face a Timberlake squad hungry to reverse the failures of seasons past. The White Tigers have allowed Fruitland to score an average of 34.0 points per game in their previous two state tournament matchups while only averaging 10.5 points per game themselves. Timberlake's Josh Lampert had 17 carries last week for 117 yards and a touchdown vs. Payette in their 35-21 win. While the Tigers don't pass much, they have been rather effective through the air: just last week, Ryan Starr completed 3-of-4 passes for Timberlake, with all three passes going for touchdowns. Is this the year that Timberlake finally gets past Fruitland? Or will the Grizzlies continue their quest for a ninth straight state championship appearance? The winner of this quarterfinal will take on the winner of Homedale and Emmett.

In the Huskies' first season in 3A, they are primed to make a deep run in the playoffs. Their first opponent is conference-for Homedale, the team that nearly ended Fruitland's run to the state championship game last year. The Huskies' two losses came against 4A competition, falling by a combined 8 points to playoff qualifying teams in Kuna and Middleton. Outside of those two losses, Emmett is averaging 42.0 points per game, while surrendering just 13.6 points per game. If you take out the 34 points they gave up to 4A Skyview in the Huskies' one-point win, that number drops to 8.7 points per game. Of all the 3A teams to play Emmett this year, it's been Homedale giving them the most trouble. Emmett's 28-15 win on Oct. 10 shouldn't go overlooked. The Trojans beat Kellogg 27-7 last week at Kellogg in a game that very well could have been a shutout had Homedale not fumbled into the hands of Gus Colburn, who returned the ball 70 yards for the Wildcats lone touchdown with two minutes remaining. Homedale was dominant on both ends of the field, including picking off five passes. The offense was balanced well, including 233 yards passing from Lawsen Matteson and excellent rushing from Devin Fisher and Josh Tolmie. The winner of this quarterfinal will take on the winner of Timberlake and Fruitland.

The two-time defending 3A state champions have had a much rougher road than in previous years. The Russets fell to 5A Bonneville on Sept. 19 before being shut out at Snake River 19-0 on Oct. 3. Couple that with a loss to 4A Pocatello 28-10 to finish the regular season, and it's no wonder why some around the state have questioned the Russets' postseason viability. But, sure enough, the Russets came out firing on all cylinders last week in a 69-7 thrashing of Buhl to open up the 3A state tournament in a game, statistics-wise, that was about as balanced as it could possibly be. The question that remains: how effective will Shelley's two-quarterback system used in the Buhl game be against the undefeated Senators? Gooding made quick work of the Parma Panthers in a 64-13 win, leading them to another rematch with Shelley, who has knocked the Senators out of the playoffs the last two years. Gooding CB Clancy Cockerham told the Times-News, "Everything we did was to prepare for Shelley, and we are going to be ready for this." QB Wyatt Williams added to that, when he said, "I remember the feeling last year after they beat us in the dome, and it was awful. All of us returners committed to ourselves that its not going to happen again." Gooding's numbers are impressive, averaging 58.6 points per game on offense, while giving up just 13.8 points per game on defense. The thought in the minds of some has been that Gooding's schedule has been rather weak, hence the high scoring averages. Will Gooding overcome the Shelley obstacle? Or will the Russets continue their quest for a 3-peat? The winner of this state quarterfinal will take on the winner of Snake River and South Fremont. You can watch this game LIVE on IdahoSports.com GameStreams with Matt Harris and Kip Blanchard on the call of the game.

If you were to look at this game purely off of their Zero Week matchup, it wouldn't even be close. The Panthers 56-12 thrashing of the Cougars was the state's first look at Snake River's new offense, featuring QB Sean Miller in the shotgun a good percentage of the time. The Panthers have rolled through much of the season, outside of a 14-12 loss at 4A Preston in Week Three. Snake River's defense has posted four shutouts this year and may be more dominant than the offense has been, as they have given up a grand total of 45 points this year (5.0 points per game). The Cougars, meanwhile, have steadily improved throughout the season. But it was an overtime win vs. Firth on Oct. 19 that really sped up the progression of South Fremont. "We had that Firth game, and ever since then that's changed the whole mentality of our program and our confidence," Cougars head coach Chad Hill told the Post Register. That certainly seems to be the case. QB Junior Gonzalez has done an excellent job leading the Cougars' spread offense, especially with his ability to avoid pressure. "Junior makes plays, he finds a way to buy some time," said Hill to the Post Register, "He moves so well in the pocket." How much will this confidence affect the Cougars against Snake River on Saturday? Well, they will certainly be in a much better position than they were last time around. The winner of this game will take on the winner of Shelley and Gooding. You can watch this game LIVE on IdahoSports.com GameStreams with Lorin Jensen and Kip Blanchard on the call of the game.

Much like the 3A classification, the average win-margin was sky high for all first round games: an average of 29.3 points per game. Last week's closest game featured St. Maries upsetting New Plymouth on the road 36-28, while the biggest blowout resulted from West Side's 62-14 demolishing of Salmon. 

If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that West Jefferson would have a winning record AND still be playing football into November, I would have called you a liar repeatedly. Kudos to Jason Taylor and the new coaching staff at West Jefferson for turning around one of the more dismal programs in the state. Their 17-game losing streak entering the season is far from the Panthers' minds. It's a new day for high school football in Terreton to say the least. The Panthers boast four players that have rushed for over 550 yards this year. While West Jefferson has made the playoffs and advanced to the state quarterfinals, awaiting them is one of the most consistent programs in the state: the West Side Pirates. The Panthers know of the Pirates too: West Side beat up on them early in the season on the Pirates' homecoming night. What will change from that matchup to the rematch on Thursday night? Probably, if anything, confidence. West Jefferson has more confidence than they've had in a long time. The Pirates are on a mission, however. They have more weapons than most teams would know what to do with. They are balanced and don't rely solely on one or two players to make plays. Their defense is stout. They tackle extremely well. We'll see what West Jefferson and West Side bring to the proverbial football table on Thursday night. The winner of this game will play the winner of North Fremont and Grangeville. You can watch this game LIVE on IdahoSports.com GameStreams with Matt Harris and Kip Blanchard on the call of the game.

It seems like every year, we will see a Grangeville vs. Nampa Christian matchup. In fact, 7 of the last 8 years have given us that matchup, with Grangeville winning the last three games. In the 2014 edition of the game, Grangeville thumped Nampa Christian 47-13, behind the arm of QB Layton Harris who threw for 236 yards and four touchdowns. RB Jacob Kaschmitter gained 126 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown as well for the Bulldogs, who seemingly controlled the game from start-to-finish. They'll face a North Fremont team that has one thing on it's mind: pound the ball. Grangeville coach Jeff Lindsley told the Idaho County Free Press that "They (North Fremont) wants to run about 90 percent of the time." It may even be more than that, as the Huskies attempted just TWO passes last week. Last week vs. Bear Lake, it was the Tanner Oberhansley show, as he ran all over the Bears with 200 yards rushing on 24 carries and four touchdowns. Michael Mower also had a solid day, chipping in 114 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 22 carries. The line for North Fremont is solid: they know their role and do an excellent job blocking, which is something that can easily be overlooked since it's not a statistic that shows up in a game recap. How will Grangeville handle a 500-plus mile trip? Will North Fremont be able to continue their offensive onslaught? We'll find out on Saturday. The winner of this game will take on the winner of West Side and West Jefferson. You can watch this game LIVE on IdahoSports.com GameStreams with Matt Harris and Lance Taylor on the call of the game.

It's a little unusual to not see the Firth Cougars in the state tournament at this point, but the Aberdeen Tigers controlled the game following Firth's opening-drive, one-play touchdown run by Jackson Thompson. The key for Aberdeen head coach Jeff Duffin was turnovers. "We told the team halftime: 'This is going to come down to who can not turn the ball over. We've got to win the turnover battle in the second half - that'll probably determine the ball game'. And it did," said Duffin to the Idaho State Journal. Aberdeen also helped their case by converting third-downs to extend drives and control the clock. A balanced rushing effort helped achieve success for Aberdeen, including 82 yds from Hilario Carrillo and 60 yards from Ethan Elliott. That's one thing to see in this next game: the run game of both sides. Not only does Aberdeen love to run, but Declo has built their two state championship runs on it. The Hornets have not had a close game all season long outside of their opening 26-23 win over 3A Sugar-Salem. However, the injury bug has pestered Declo late this year. The Hornets have opened themselves up a bit more in the passing game as a result of injuries at running back. That could work to their benefit against Aberdeen: having your opponent not be able to read your tendencies. Of course, you'd rather be healthy this time of year. But the point remains: Declo is the defending champions. They will stay that way until someone knocks them off. Aberdeen will give them what could be their toughest test of the season on Friday night. The winner of this game will take on the winner of Orofino and St. Maries.

If this game is anything like the first matchup two weeks ago, Orofino and St. Maries fans are in for a classic. The first tilt was a tight game overall, with each side trading scores until the end of the third quarter. That's when the defense really buckled down and prevented either side from scoring the rest of the way, as the Maniacs hung on for a 15-14 win. The difference in the game, according to the scorebook? A missed extra point attempt on the final touchdown of the third quarter. Lumberjacks head coach Craig Tefft told the Coeur d'Alene Press, "We were in a position to win, and didn't make enough plays. The turnovers really ended up costing us." As turnovers do in so many games, they cost St. Maries in the first game. The Lumberjacks ended up taking the third seed as a result of that game, while Orofino clinched the top spot. With Grangeville also playing well, you have to wonder if the Central Idaho Conference is the best 2A conference in Idaho: all three teams have records of 6-3 or better and all three teams advanced out of the first round of the playoffs. Orofino hosts the game this time around and will look to put the game out of reach and not allow St. Maries to linger. This should be a fun, slobberknocker of a playoff game. The winner will move to play the winner of Aberdeen and Declo.