Published: 9/20/2016 12:18:53 AM

Four weeks of high school football are in the books. And, next week, we'll be at the midpoint of the regular season. I don't know about you, but the season is going WAY too fast. Granted, that also means that playoff football is around the corner too.

Some teams in eastern Idaho are off to hot starts, some are rounding into form, some are struggling to maintain early expectations, and some are just hoping winter sports are kinder to them than football has been.

Let's take a look at the week that was in eastern Idaho High School Football.

The scoreboard operator sure earned his paycheck in this one. The stats sheet is longer than my dust-covered honey-do list at my house. The Grizz ran for 322 yards. Skyline's Bridger Taylor was about as efficient as it gets, completing 19-of-23 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns. The Grizz' David Ames III had 96 rushing yards on six carries for a touchdown and caught a whopping 13 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown... and tacked on a 75-yd kickoff return for a touchdown too. It's easy to see why BYU is interested in his services. Kyler Morgan had 116 rushing yards and a touchdown. Skyline is looking more and more like a serious threat to dethrone three-time defending state champion Bishop Kelly. As for Bonneville, there were a lot of positive's coming out of this game - namely the offense coming to life. Saia Taufatofua completed 24-of-35 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns while tacking on a rushing TD too - certainly a bounce back performance from their Civil War loss a week ago. Jaden Howell, Kehari Harrigfeld, and Kolby Tamayo also stepped up in the receiving corps. Giving up 65 points is never good, but Skyline has dumped tons of points on teams all year so far - and they are supremely talented. Bonneville coach Matt Virgil told the Post Register, "You don't draw up a game plan to stop them. You draw up a game plan to slow them down." That should speak volumes of Scott Berger's Grizzlies this year.

It started out slowly, but Highland snagged their first win of the season. I wonder if Rams fans were worried after the first quarter when the game was still scoreless. Regardless, Highland was able to pile on 30 straight points en route to the win. The defense looked a lot like most expected it to look this year - tough. The Rams gave up only 97 yards in the win, according to the Idaho State Journal. Highland's RJ Palmer had a good game, collecting two touchdowns through the air while adding 70 yards on the ground. Century, meanwhile, is still trying to figure out who they are. Multiple injuries at different positions have not helped their cause. Replacing as many seniors as they did last year was going to be tough, let alone having to replace their replacements now due to injury. Century has three straight home games now against conference opponents - those games are crucial to their chances of returning to the playoffs.

This was pegged as one of the must-see games last week and deservedly so. Both teams were 3-0 heading into the game and both were ranked in the polls. It was Madison's homecoming too - and they made it one to remember. They blew the doors off of the Broncos in the second quarter en route to a 28-0 halftime lead. The Bobcats were extremely balanced on the stat sheet and extremely aggressive throughout the game. I wrote last week after their close 16-13 overtime win over Pocatello that we may not really know who Madison is right now. I think that maybe... just maybe... they've answered that question. As for Blackfoot, they were dominated in every aspect of the contest. Victor Flores of the Post Register tweeted that Stan Buck told him, "This wasn't just the most lopsided Buck Bowl ever, it's the worst loss he's ever suffered as a coach." That's saying something considering his success at Blackfoot. I have to imagine that the Broncos will be fired up for their game this week at Rigby - not only to exact some revenge on the Trojans for beating them not once, but twice last year, but also to maybe get out some frustration from the beatdown they suffered against Madison.

The game was right there for the taking by Hillcrest, but they let it get away from them in their Saturday afternoon loss to Lake City. The Knights led by 10 heading into the fourth quarter and had scored in every quarter. But it was the final 12 minutes that counted the most - Lake City capitalized on Hillcrest turnovers to make the comeback and make the long trek back to northern Idaho a happy one. Knights head coach Jeff Marshall told the Post Register, "We had the game won. We just shot ourselves in the foot." Hillcrest's Oakley Hussey was the most effective on offense for the Knights, rushing for 82 yards and a touchdown. The Knights also received a better offensive outing from Dalton Clark, who passed for 171 yards. Hillcrest will need to move on from this one and improve quickly... conference play is up next for the Knights.

It was only a matter of time before Rigby found themselves and recorded their first win of the season. They had me fooled though - I picked Minico to win it. The Spartans only managed 73 rushing yards on 46 attempts against Rigby, showing that the Trojans defensive line is certainly improving. Meanwhile, Rigby racked up 371 total yards of offense in very balanced effort, with 170 of those yards coming through the arm of Tanner Clayton. Rigby gets one more chance for a tune-up before they head into conference play - the Blackfoot Broncos come to town. With Blackfoot getting pounded last week by Madison and Rigby gaining confidence, this should be a physical, fun game all-around.

Last week's near-upset of Madison had a lot of people (including myself) picking Pocatello to beat the Tigers last week. Coming off of that game against Madison, we thought that the Indians were showing flashes of their potential. And now, Pocatello is already one game down in the conference race. Pocatello's offense normally throws the ball like it's going out of style, but they were limited to just 23 total passing attempts this week, completeing eight of them. The Idaho Falls defense also harrassed Pocatello QB Will Schumber into a total of -28 total rushing yards. The Indians will need to regroup quickly and not let the loss hamper them moving forward. As for the Tigers, they received a rather efficient performance from sophomore QB Cannon Thompson, who completed 15-of-26 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Cooper Peterson torched the Indians defense for 161 total receiving yards. With three teams from 4A District 5-6 selected to go to the playoffs, is Idaho Falls suddenly in the mix?

For the second straight week, Shelley dispatched a 4A school in dominating fashion. It was a very balanced game for the Russets, as they passed for 192 yards and rushed for 185 yards on the evening. QB Bryon Leckington completed 13-of-19 passes for two touchdowns, rushed for two touchdowns, and capped off the evening with a 37-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter. The Russets are playing extremely well under second year head coach Jake Monahan, which is a good sign heading into their final four games of the regular season - none of those games are easy at all, starting with a road trip to Gooding this week. Preston threw the ball 53 times against Shelley. FIFTY THREE TIMES! Britton Atkinson went 25-of-53 for 255 yards (which aren't bad numbers by themselves), but was also intercepted five times. It's hard to win games if you keep giving the ball back over and over again to the opposition. If the Indians can cut down on turnovers, they will make progress and improve. If not, it will be another long season in Preston. 

The Diggers improved to 4-0 on the year by dismantling the Eagles in the run game. Six rushing touchdowns from three different players and a 48-yard passing touchdown to boot for Camry Ingram. On a positive note for Sugar's offense, the passing game game alive - something that they've been trying to work on for awhile. QB Junior Gonzalez completed 7-of-9 passes in the ballgame. If they can maintain that balance, Sugar's chances of a deep run to the playoffs look good... very good. As for Marsh Valley, it was a tough learning experience for them , but they'll improve. Running backs Tucker Eddins and Peter Whitworth led the way for Marsh Valley against Sugar. There weren't a ton of positives for them on the scoresheet, but they are competing week-in and week-out and will see the results of their labors pay off in the not-to-distant future.

Teton led the game 32-6 at the half and never looked back. They will need performances like this one every week during conference play if they hope to get in to the state playoffs... the Mountain Rivers Conference currently features three 4-0 teams. An upset or two along the way will help Teton's cause. As for Salmon, the Savages recorded their first points of the season on Friday against Teton. Now, it's for them to play a complete, mistake-free game and try to win a conference game. Their mantra from here on out should be "Win and we're in." Only conference games remain for Salmon - it's now or never.

This game gave us a bit of everything. South Fremont looked like they were going to run away with it after the first quarter with how quickly they scored touchdowns. Then, both teams stalled for the better part of two and a half quarters. Then, with South Fremont up 22-0, they began to shoot themselves in the foot - over and over and over and over and over again, through penalties or miscues on offense. Despite barely generating much offense throughout the game, Firth was there in the end with a chance to tie with under a minute left. However, they too shot themselves in the foot multiple times with penalties and miscues. Last year's game was dubbed 'The Penalty Bowl' by myself and Will Nordquist. This year's game was part two of that debacle. Things got heated at times and there were good displays of sportsmanship at times. The game really had everything combined into it. South Fremont's Reece Yancey is the real deal and with the weapons that they have on offense, they could do a lot of good things. Firth just couldn't connect on their passes and their run game was slowed quite a bit by the South Fremont defensive front seven. Both of these teams should go deep into the playoffs.

It was the Boone Giulio Show all night in American Falls. The junior quarterback threw for four touchdowns and ran for another in the shutout victory. Running back Luis Cervantes had himself a night as well: 77 yards on 17 rushing attempts, plus four receptions for 82 yards. Wide receiver Cameron Henesh was the big benefactor of Giulio's great night: he caught 13 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Soda Springs is not making the progress that most would expect in their second season under a new head coach. With conference play opening up this week, the Cardinals have to correct the flaws in their offense and defense now... or it will be too late to salvage their season. You feel bad for their team, but they just don't have as many football athletes as their opponents do.

Give the Bulldogs credit - they played the game a lot closer score-wise that most people, including myself, thought they would. Ririe is showing real progress under second year head coach Jim Newton. They played within a touchdown of the No. 1 team in 2A for most of the game. It wasn't the best showing we've seen from Aberdeen's offense, but it will do if you're a Tigers fan. Aberdeen will need to clean up some mistakes this week in time for conference play. 

North Fremont completed only one pass in this game. That's it. By itself, it sounds like a horrible outing... however, it was far fromt that for the Huskies. They led 34-0 after the first quarter. North Fremont absolutely torched Malad to the tune of 567 rushing yards on 34 attempts: an average of 16.7 yards per carry. Four separate players scored touchdowns. Running back Sawyer Dye amassed 242 yards on just 10 carries, while Shaun Bell gained 120 yards on six carries - meaning both of them rushed for over 20 yards per carry. Pretty impressive stuff. For Malad, on a positive note, they scored their first points of the season. That's about as far as it went though. It's going to be a long year for Rick Driessen and his team - the rebuild will take awhile for the Dragons.

The Panthers had set themselves up for a tough schedule this year. But I think Jason Taylor and his staff wanted it that way so they could toughen up their squad heading into conference play and the playoffs. Going 2-1 against South Fremont, Teton, and Homedale is certainly respectable. The Panthers will be a tough out every week from here on out as their defense and special teams play has improved. As for Homedale, the Trojans couldn't keep up with West J's double wing offense and, when they did and forced a fourth down, West Jefferson was able to kick field goals. I expect Homedale to drop out of all three polls this week - their preseason schedule hasn't done much to prepare them for conference play or the state playoffs. 

The Vikings continued their resurgence this year by earning their second consecutive conference win of the campaign. Running back Pete Bradshaw was an absolute beast, rushing for 156 yards on 19 attempts, including the game tying and eventual game winning touchdowns. This team is night and day from what it was last year. If they can somehow upset either Raft River, Oakley, or Glenns Ferry, they might be in line to earn themselves a playoff berth - which would be most impressive considering their 0-8 season last year. 

The Grizzlies certainly were not singing 'Hitt me baby one more time' after this one. Yes, I know I spelled 'Hitt' with two T's. It was the Kolten and Kayden Hitt show all night long in Grace on Friday. Kolten completed 15-of-22 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns while running in two more touchdowns. Kayden caught 11 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns and also returned a punt for a touchdown. What's amazing is that despite the Hitt's appearing all over the score sheet, Raft River is not a two-man team. Players like Colton Koller, Spencer Boden, and Quintin Ward all made an impact. As for Grace, head coach Brandon Sanchez had called this game their biggest of the season in our IdahoSports.com football preview. With a 1-2 conference record, they may have to win out just to snag one of the conference's three seeds to state... and they still have to play Glenns Ferry, Valley, and an improved Challis squad. I know they can play, but can they do it consistently?

The Pirates have loved to run the football for a long time. However, they received a steady, hefty dose of what they've been dishing out in the run game on Friday afternoon. North Gem ran the ball often and efficiently. Dylan Low lead the way for North Gem with 142 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Walker Davids chipped in 66 rushing yards. Butte County's Bryant Webb had 170 yards rushing while Keyan Cummins had 85. Those were the two lone bright spots for Butte County. The Pirates were thought by many to be a playoff contender and certainly win the conference crown. That doesn't appear to be the case anymore.

This one was never close as Clark County led 40-0 at halftime. Running back Payton Shenton rushed for 117 yards on four attempts and score two touchdowns. Dax Thornton gained 105 yards on four carries with two TD's as well. Despite the blowout, the Bobcats showed a lot of class in what they did in the fourth quarter. According to the Post Register, Watersprings' main running back Kyson Poletti re-injured his knee, leaving only seven healthy players for Watersprings. Clark County then voluntarily played with seven players to keep the numbers on the field even. Classy move indeed. Watersprings battle with numbers continues again this season after last year was cut short by the same problems. I wonder how much longer the football program will be sustainable for the small 1AD2 school - it's tough sledding right now for sure. 

The Bulldogs rolled the Raidersin this one and led 38-0 after three quarters. Rockland got touchdowns from Zak Smith, Spencer Permann, Zach Hunter, and Kaden Woodworth in a balanced effort. It's a good sign for Andy Nelson's rebuilding effort in Rockland. As for Rimrock, Todd Jensen is doing his best to resurrect the Raiders program. It will take time for him however. They've shown some flashes but have yet to get it going consistently.