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The 3A State Semi-Finals feature schools with high-powered offenses. The scoreboard operator in these games will certainly be earning his money! The teams have combined for a 35-4 overall record. Emmett and Sugar-Salem are both looking for their first state championship in school history. Gooding won two 2A titles in the mid-1980's while Homedale is looking for their 9th title overall (with their 8 state championships coming while in 2A).
Emmett Huskies (9-0) vs. Sugar-Salem Diggers (9-1)
Emmett came up painfully short in last year's state semi-finals, losing to Fruitland 13-12. But if you've watched them this season, one thing is apparent - the Huskies are for real and can beat you in more than one way. Whether it's through the air, on the ground, or on defense or special teams, Emmett is taking the pain from last year's failures and using it to fuel them for this year's run.
The Huskies have some pretty impressive numbers overall. Emmett has scored 60 or more points three times this year, 50 or more points twice, and at least 42 points in every game this season minus their Sept. 3 matchup with Middleton (a 28-26 Emmett victory). The Huskies in their last seven games are giving up an average of 10.6 points per game while scoring an average of 56.9 points per game - a difference of 46.3 points per game. That's a big margin of victory that rivals the stats some 8-man football powerhouses put up week-in and week-out. The team has been ranked all-season long and stood at the top of the IdahoSports.com Power Rankings all year long as well.
Their opponent on Saturday is Mountain Rivers Conference champion Sugar-Salem. The Diggers, who ousted perennial-favorite Shelley for the conference title back on Oct. 16 with a 16-6 win over the Russets, will try to avoid the same fate that came upon the Russets in last week's quarterfinals against Emmett - annihilation.
The Diggers haven't had the strongest football pedigree in their history. The last time they made it to the state semi-finals was 1999. But second-year head coach Tyler Richins is turning around the program and molding it into what he wants it to be: a power-run oriented, defensive assignment based juggernaut. After going 4-5 last year, the Diggers 9-1 record has shown the improvement and progress that one could hope for in only their second year of a rebuild. Richins, the son of former Shelley and Hillcrest head coach Dwight Richins, is using the same formulations on offense that his father used during his championship campaigns with the Russets. While Sugar-Salem is not as balanced on offense as Emmett is, they certainly pack a punch in the run game.
That punch is mainly provided by the Diggers' Derek Ostermiller, who is 85 yards shy of 2,000 for the season on the ground and has also racked up 23 TD's. In a game that I attended earlier this year, Ostermiller rushed for 463 yards - and had 302 of them by halftime. He certainly is a key figure for the Diggers and one that Emmett must be aware of.
Emmett has their own power back too - senior Mason Farnsworth, who is a couple of yards shy of 1,300 on the year. He is a force to be reckoned with for the Huskies and one that Sugar-Salem knows is a player they must try to contain.
This semi-final will feature a lot of running and a lot of hard-hitting defense. The Huskies are trying to snag their first state title and this year might be their best chance before they move back up to 4A next season. As for Sugar-Salem, a victory against Emmett will continue to validate their progress and establish themselves as one of the up-and-comers of 3A football in East Idaho for the near future.
Gooding Senators (8-2) vs. Homedale Trojans (9-1)
This semi-final might be the exact opposite of the Emmett/Sugar-Salem final. Both of these teams LOVE to throw the football. That doesn't mean they don't run it - they do, of course - but they both hang their hat on the aerial attack. And this game features two of the best quarterbacks in 3A: Homedale's Lawsen Matteson and Gooding's Wyatt Williams.
Let's start with Homedale: Matteson a three-year starter that has thrown for over 7,000 yards in his career and is the undisputed leader of the Trojans. That ability has shown so far for Homedale, who sport a 9-1 record en route to averaging 42.6 points per game. Their only loss came to conference-foe Emmett and they've blown out everyone else they've played. In fact, outside of their 64-14 loss to the Huskies, Homedale has given up 48 points TOTAL including pitching four shutouts. That's a 5.3 ppg average on defense. Pretty impressive to say the least.
The Trojans thought it was their year two seasons ago when they beat Fruitland in the regular season before falling by one-point to the Grizzlies in the state semi-finals. It's been awhile since Homedale won a state football title (1997), and the Trojans would love to break that streak this year. But standing in their way is another high powered offense.
The Gooding Senators have had their high octane offense in full force this season. Led by quarterback Wyatt Williams, it wasn't surprising to see six touchdowns on the board for the Senators by halftime. That's how good they've been this year. Gooding has scored 50 or more points four times this year, including an 87-12 win over Filer back on Oct. 9. The Senators started out the season with an easy win over New Plymouth before beating Nampa Christian and Wendell by two touchdowns apiece. Then, the Senators ran into trouble as Skyview hammered them 47-6 and Shelley edged them in a close 42-41 contest.
Since that time however, Gooding has ran off five straight wins over Kimberly, Filer, Buhl, Weiser and last week's nailbiter over South Fremont. Williams ability from the quarterback position has been evident in each of these matchups - he can stay in the pocket or scramble around forever if necessary. The question may be the ability of Gooding's defense to slow down the Trojans. The Senators will need a solid performance from their defense in limiting the efficiency of Homedale's offensive attack - and they will need that performance for all 48 minutes of this semi-final.
This game boils down to one thing: execution. Whoever wants to win this ballgame will have to out-execute their opponent, plain and simple. Both teams know how to score - but can they stop one another? We'll find out Friday night.
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